As construction on Alexander House continues, it has been announced that the building will include an Intercultural Space, which is intended to serve as a safe space to allow students from all backgrounds to be themselves and engage in conversation about different cultures and identities.
Alexander House, a temporary student center, which will house student organizations, Student Life and Student Affairs office spaces, and lounge areas for students, will now also house the Intercultural Space. The Intercultural Space in Alexander House will serve as a transitional Intercultural Space until the new University Center opens.
During the Spring 2019 semester, the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee of the Student Government Association (SGA) ran a campaign to show student body interest in a diversity-oriented space. Campus support and the work of D&I resulted in the existence of an Intercultural Space.
A couple of days before the approval of the SGA Proclamation that would create the Intercultural Space, the D&I Committee thought that it would be nice to see a space now rather than several years from now. “It was best to create a space now so that we could see the fruits of our labor […] having one interim will help shape what we want the center to be,” commented the Chair of the D&I Committee, Nasir Montalvo.
Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, agreed with this, saying, “Once the idea [the Intercultural Space] was proposed and accepted, we felt that the creation of an Intercultural Space should not have to wait three years until the University Center opened.” And the Intercultural Space in Alexander House was born.
The Intercultural Space was not in the original plan for Alexander House since the idea had not been yet proposed when the plans were created. The Space will be replacing a small lounge on the first floor of Alexander House. “In considering the priority of our students, we have decided to convert the smaller lounge space to an Intercultural Space,” said Klein.
The Space will resemble a lounge or living room area. The programs, decor, and resources will represent different cultures. The Assistant Director for Diversity Education will oversee the Intercultural Space by providing resources and support to Stevens students, and staff will host events in the Space. This will be the heart of continuous efforts to build a diverse, inclusive, and engaged community. Cross-cultural connection, community-building, allyship, and ongoing learning will all be promoted here. Outside of Diversity Education programming, all students will be able to utilize the Space as a lounge area. Additionally, student organizations will be able to reserve the Space for relevant programming events.
It appears that there is a lot of excitement about this new addition to the Stevens community. Liliana Delman, Assistant Director for Diversity Education, and Veronika Paprocka, Graduate Coordinator for Diversity Initiatives, are receptive to ideas for the Space and have plenty of their own. Delman will be overseeing the Space on a daily basis. Susan Metz, Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Maria Ouckama, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, and Klein will be part of an advisory group to guide the vision and direction for the Intercultural Space.
The Space is meant to be an inclusive area for all and aims to meet the needs of different groups on campus. For instance, religious organizations will be able to utilize the Intercultural Space for prayer. The hope is to allow the Intercultural Space to be malleable to fit the needs of the Stevens community.
Montalvo excitedly stated, “The Space will clearly articulate our goals [D&I] in being a more unified and inclusive campus. I encourage each and every single member of the Stevens community to visit once it is opened and relish in this moment in Stevens history.”
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