Below please find a press release from the students from the Ethnic Student Center. This statement reflects, among other things, the students deep commitment to improving shared governance on this campus.
For Immediate Release, December 6, 2017 -
To the Western Washington University community: students from the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) are calling for the immediate support of students, faculty, and staff in the demand that the university act in a transparent and collaborative manner with issues pertaining to the MultiCultural Center (MCC). Building for the MCC will begin this coming February in spite of the fact that there is 40 percent of the center that the University is withholding from ESC students and has not designated any services to that area.
70 percent of the funding for the center is being provided by students through student fees, yet the university has not recognized the unpaid labor and economic support that students are providing for this project. From the beginning of the planning for the project the University has emphasized its apparent effort to be “transparent”, “collaborative”, and “center student voices”. Yet, this has been far from the truth. The University has not provided any ESC student with information about the 40 percent space that will hold “MultiCultural Services”, services that are currently not on Western’s campus nor services that have been created.
Given the University’s record with lack of transparency and lack of student understanding, we (as ESC students) do not agree with this approach of going into the construction of the center without us knowing what will be going into that space. It is then why we (as majority stakeholders) are demanding the University not only include us in the process for deciding what will be in that space but also give us the right to decide what services WE as students need, not what the University thinks we need. As ESC students on this campus, we are demanding for that space to include: an Undocumented Student Center, the Tribal Liaison, a Culturally-Proficient Counselor, the LGBTQ+ Resource staff, etc.
In the past, the University has tried to quiet our work as ESC students to the point of dividing student organizing groups. We want to be very clear that as ESC students we will not be silenced. Our history on this campus stems from never staying quiet, and we will continue to uphold that identity. As students who have been the ones to create the student support, draft and vote on the referendum, and continue to ensure the sustainability of this center, we can also be the students who rescind this project. We will not continue to allow the University to use our identities and our experiences on this campus as a diversity initiative.
We ask our fellow students, professors, and staff to show your support for the demand from ESC students by sending emails to both the President and Vice President to demonstrate how important shared governance is across all fields of the University. In addition, we as students believe it is essential the University prioritize the funding of programs surrounding cultural, ethnic, and inclusive learning like the Education & Social Justice minor, Justice Speaks, and the reestablishment of Ethnic Studies. Our existence on this campus is more than just a percentage, it includes the existence of our struggle on this campus and our journey as agents of change. We are here for more than just fulfilling an initiative. We are here to enrich OUR learning, not to be a General University Requirement for “enriching the Western experience.”
In solidarity,
Ethnic Student Center Students