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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Marian University opens Unity Center

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Since the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Marian University’s Unity Center on Feb. 5, students and faculty have seen a diverse student body begin to come together. 

For sophomore Erynne Pope, this was a much needed change. Pope is the president of Marian’s Union for Black Identity, one of several groups on campus created to encourage minority students to celebrate their identities.

“We need cultural competency and a better awareness of diverse backgrounds at Marian,” Pope said. 

While there isn’t much diversity at Marian — currently, the student body is 72% white — the need for a Unity Center had been growing in previous years, something faculty director Davyd Hall knew from just looking around.  

“I started with the numbers,” Hall said. “The old multicultural center was in a smaller space, and it got crammed. I would have my student workers take note of how many people were in our room, and in showing that need [to department heads], we made the Unity Center what it is today.”

Hall said in its larger space, the Unity Center attracts two to three times the amount of students it previously did. 

For Jennifer Vergara, a sophomore and president of the Student Organization of Latinos, the center is a safe space, and one of the reasons she remains at the university. 

“Something like this on a college campus can make the difference between staying here or transferring out,” Vergara said. “Without Davyd and 21st Century [Scholars program] and the Unity Center, I would have had a hard time finding reasons to stay at Marian because it gives me a sense of belonging, and shared experiences with people who understand me.”

Beyond being a space for students to use throughout the day, the Unity Center will also host events held by the four multicultural student groups: Union for Black Identity, Student Organization of Latinos, the Asian Student Association, and Marian Alliance, an LGBTQ student group. 

Jalynn Edwards, president of Marian Alliance, has worked closely with student leaders from the other groups while the alliance is in a rebuilding phase. 

“The idea of the alliance is to create an open, safe and inclusive space for all Marian University students,” Edwards said. “We really try and focus on the Franciscan values … and working to create a series of events focusing on how Franciscan values directly correlate with LGBT communities.”

The Student Organization of Latinos and the Union for Black Identity are planning events, including bringing in an immigration lawyer to discuss Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and a Black History Month event, respectively. A representative for the Asian Student Association could not be reached for comment. 

The university will also use the center to train students and faculty on diversity and inclusion. 

“As a campus, we are growing, and the campus is trying to make an effort to create a more diverse institution,” Vergara said. “They’re training faculty and promoting multicultural events. … Jalynn and I were invited to sit in on a board of trustees meeting where the Unity Center vice president Ruth Rodgers said the Unity Center is a priority for Marian to truly become a more diverse and inclusive environment.”

Ruth Rodgers, the vice president of student success and engagement at Marian, hopes the center helps everyone on campus celebrate inclusion by getting a better understanding of each other, and who they are as individuals.

“Unity is achieved by each person knowing themselves and their identities,” Rodgers said. “The Unity Center is a unique place where we’re reminded that we are all designed by God and have special significance.” 

Less than a month since its opening, Hall said the biggest achievement for the Unity Center so far has been the advances of the multicultural student groups and using their voices throughout the campus. And for Pope, student voices are at the core of what the center is all about. 

“I think having it student-led gives the perspective that it’s a prominent need for students,” Pope said. “I think our generation has more passion and drive when it comes to celebrating diversity, so the Unity Center will allow us to do that.”

Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.

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