Cultural Center welcomes students eager to advance its multifaceted mission of bridging divides and fostering inclusion.
Photo by Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15)
By Dawn Bonker (MFA ’19)
‘IT JUST FEELS LIKE HOME’
The Cross-Cultural Center is welcoming all kinds of gatherings, including informal ones such as this one bringing together, from left, Safieh Moshir-Fatemi ’19, Lel Jones ’17, Rose Mackenzie ’17, Farrah Su ’17, Van Chung ’17 and Olivia Harden ’19.
fter the years of planning, after all those discussions and questions that started with “should” or “would” or “what if” and were freighted with serious thoughts, concerns and hopes about Chapman University’s new Cross-Cultural Center, there is a funny little thing going on that no one expected. Food appears. It’s not too mysterious. Leftovers happen when there are so many events, guest talks, club meetings and social gatherings. But students say it’s more than a perk. It’s a tangible sign of the role the center already plays in student life so soon after its opening, which many see as a milestone moment for the University. “Honestly, from the first week, I think there’s always been some food in here. I feel like in a really weird way that it signifies that it’s a home for a lot of students,” said business and French double major Camille Wampler ’17 when she and fellow members of the University Programming Board arrived for their meeting and discovered a tray of still-warm pasta and garlic bread left by, well, no one was quite sure whom. Not that it mattered. “It just feels like home to see people having a good time and hanging out,” Wampler said. That’s just one brand of welcome the center has extended in its first days. Since its February ribbon-cutting, the center, located on the third floor of Argyros Forum, has hosted film nights, talks and discussion forums. Student clubs and Greek Life organizations hold meetings in its four unique conference rooms. A clutch of cardinalcolored sofas in the main lounge has proved to be a good landing for informal gatherings. And that’s just the beginning. Organizers are excited about the center’s future as a hub of cultural life on campus – a place where students can learn about diversity in
Photo by Dennis Arp
Chapman’s new Cross-
“The intersection of ideas is natural here,” says Leti Romo, right, assistant director of cross-cultural engagement at Chapman. Joining Romo at the center’s ribbon-cutting event are, from left, Dean of Students Jerry Price, Imani Woodley ’18, Annabell Liao ’17, Tyler Samano ’17, Justice Crudup ’17, Cassidy Scanlon ’17 and Eugenia Lee ’17.
all its forms and those who need support in those journeys can find a haven. Leti Romo, Chapman’s assistant director of cross-cultural engagement, looks forward to planning leadership programs, retreats, guest speakers, mentoring services and outreach activities in the residence halls. The center is uniquely equipped for that multifaceted mission, Romo says. Unlike the ethnically based centers that rose up at colleges and universities in previous decades, Chapman’s center was developed to bridge all identities of race, culture, ethnicity, gender, class and economic background. The design was intentional. It addressed students’ vision for such a center and administrators’ desire that the space not foster isolation, but rather inclusion.
“It’s different because it’s specific to different identities,” Romo said. “It encompasses a lot. The intersection of ideas is natural here.” In a symbolic tribute to the goals for the space, students from the Department of Dance performed a modern-dance piece at the ribbon-cutting, gathering a rainbow of ribbons into a single cluster. As part of her blessing for the center, Gail Stearns, Ph.D., dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel, offered these words: “Each person is like all others, each person is like some others, each person is like no other. Each culture is like all others, each culture is like some others, each culture is like no other.” Such sentiments were long at the heart of students’ dreams for the center. But they gained momentum in 2015 as part of the UniversityContinued on next page
“EACH CULTURE IS LIKE ALL OTHERS, EACH CULTURE IS LIKE SOME OTHERS, EACH CULTURE IS LIKE NO OTHER.” — Gail Stearns, Ph.D., dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel
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