UW-Milwaukee Student Cultural Centers Consolidation Sparks Outrage From Students

Tensions were high during the General Campus Session on March 2 in the UW-Milwaukee Student Union, where about 30 students and faculty expressed their anger at the university’s decision to consolidate the eight Student Cultural Centers on campus, with one student calling it a “slap in the face.”

“I think the power of these sessions is for you to articulate exactly what you just said,” said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kelly Haag, “This is why it’s working. For us to be able to come back and say, overwhelmingly, we have heard this, this, and this, we can take what we heard and can do stuff with that.”

The university speakers at the meeting said they empathize with the students and the consolidation is happening to prevent federal funding cuts to the university. The new combined center is still expected to open in the 2026 Fall Semester on the ground floor of the UWM Student Union despite student’s pushback.

An email was sent out to students on the first day of the spring semester about the Cultural Centers consolidation, students expressed their frustrations for not being consulted in the decision. 

The eight centers that are going to be consolidated are: the Black Student Cultural Center, the First Generation Resource Center, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, the Veterans Resource Center, the Off-Campus Resource Center, The Roberto Hernández Center, the Southeast Asian American Student Center and the Women’s Resource Center. 

Haag and the Vice Chancellor for Community Empowerment & Institutional Inclusivity Chia Youyee Vang were chosen by the university to speak at the meeting and explain the reasoning behind the decision. 

“We’re all living through this together,” said Vang.
“I know the students have seen how it’s really hard for us to navigate all of this too. So I’m not saying be nice to us, but all I’m saying is that we’re living in this moment together. There are real consequences, and we are doing our very, very best to make sure that the staff we have can still be here to do the work.” 

Many students took time at the meeting to speak up and express their concerns and anger about the center’s consolidation. 

“Essentially, what it is, is just a slap in the face to those who utilize these centers,” said Sisi Lee, a general business major with a focus on pre-law. 

Students at the meeting expressed anger for not being included in the discussions prior to the decision being made.

“The plan is still in place,” said one student who did not share their name. “You guys are still going to go through it, even if we don’t want it. This is the complete opposite of what we want.” 

Throughout the meeting the students in attendance emphasized the lack of trust they felt towards the UW-Milwaukee Chancellor. Explaining how frustrated they are with his lack of communication with the students who utilize these centers. 

“What I want them to understand is, I want you to listen to understand. I listen to respond,” said Lee. “I think that there is a gap between administrators and students. You are not taking into consideration the students that you are stripping their safety net from.” 

Students are not the only ones who feel heavily impacted by this decision, many UW-Milwaukee faculty members also spoke up at the meeting to express their disdain for the decision. 

“I just want to reiterate how important it is to have, like, a space that can be private, because I do think that even beyond what I see and hear in the center during those hours, a lot of students come in with a lot of complex private problems,” said Nicole Deacon, a staff member at the Student Health and Wellness Center. “I think the idea of an open space might seem welcoming, but also, I just want to stress the importance of having those spaces wherever this goes.”

Haag and Vang both explained the university’s decision, detailing that with the new federal laws, these centers put scholarship money at risk. 

“It’s not necessarily directly that the funding to these centers would be impacted, but what has happened and what can happen is funding to the institution itself,” said Haag. “Like holding off of financial aid dollars.” 

According to Haag and Vang, the consolidation of these centers follows the federal funding cuts to DEI programs across the nation. They expressed the university’s goal was to keep federal funding for students and explained how this was the best way to keep these programs in place. 

Throughout the meeting Haag and Vang made it clear that no staff members will be lost during this transition. 

“Understand that every staff member and all the student workers who work in these centers are going to be retained,” said Vang. 

Throughout the meeting, many students expressed how these centers are more than just rooms for them to go to, but they are a place where they can find their communities and feel connected to their peers. 

“I believe [these centers were] fought by those before us, to create a safe space, a safe haven,” said Lee. “You know, in a world where there’s chaos, you will want to separate yourself from that and go somewhere where you feel protected.”

This was the seventh meeting to discuss the consolidation of the centers, the next General Campus Session was online and took place March 9 from 3-4 p.m.