Multicultural Resource Center, summer 2021

New Multicultural Resource Center website launched

This spring, the Multicultural Resource Center completed an extensive project to fully redesign the center’s website. The new site was launched in April at binghamton.edu/centers/mrc and features updated information about the center’s programs, initiatives and resources including: new workshops and development opportunities, expanded room and tabling reservation process, revised grants and funding opportunities, new electronic resource request process, Culture Connects Weekly Newsletter submission process, the MRC Library and more. More information on student involvement including an updated cultural organization listing with ways to connect will be coming to the site later this summer.

Multicultural Resource Center’s virtual center and transition back to in-person operations

During the spring semester, the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) launched a new virtual center, vMRC at www.kumospace.com/mrcbinghamton. vMRC was open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and staffed by one of the MRC student managers or MRC staff. The immersive video chat rooms provided students and other members of the campus community with a virtual space where they could connect with MRC staff and other students on campus. Utilization of vMRC remained low throughout the semester despite intentional advertisement of the space.

With the University’s transition back to in-person operations and instruction beginning in June, MRC staff have transitioned to working full time in the office. This has allowed MRC staff to reopen the center for limited use while implementing both spatial and programmatic changes for the upcoming academic year.

Hiring of new MRC student staff

After conducting interviews in the month of March, MRC staff successfully hired one new graduate assistant for programming, set to begin in the fall 2021 semester. Additionally, the MRC will have one returning GA for the next academic year. MRC staff are still recruiting a graduate student to fill the position of GA for administration; interviews and hiring for this position will occur in June.

In addition to hiring graduate assistants for the 2021-2022 academic year, MRC staff have begun recruiting interns (graduate and undergraduate) and student managers for the fall 2021 semester. Two information sessions were held virtually on Zoom on April 26 and April 30, with a total of eight students in attendance. The first information session was also recorded and uploaded to Panopto for students who were interested in applying for the numerous positions but were unable to attend either of the two information sessions. The MRC has hired one graduate intern and one undergraduate intern (looking to complete their internships as part of their Human Development 475 practicum requirement); MRC staff hope to also hire an additional two marketing interns and four new student managers, with interviews being held in June.

MRC TIP provides translation services

The Multicultural Resource Center’s Translation and Interpretation Program (MRC TIP) continued to serve the campus and greater Binghamton communities with translation and interpretation services this quarter. With the help of MRC TIP volunteers, the program was able to fulfill two requests to assist individuals requesting translation and proofreading services, one in Spanish and one in Hebrew. This quarter saw fewer TIP requests than previous quarters, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to translation work, MRC TIP has begun the process to renew its contracts with six local school districts in Broome County, which will all get renewed for the upcoming year in the next quarter. By fulfilling these services and updating contracts with the local school districts, MRC TIP will be able to continue meeting our WEAVE objectives, which allow us to provide translation and interpretation services not only to the campus community but also to the greater Binghamton community.

Pathways to Inclusive Leadership Program

The Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), in collaboration with the Q Center and the UDiversity Educational Institute, have partnered with the Center for Civic Engagement, the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, Residential Life and the School of Management to create the Pathways to Inclusive Leadership Program (www.binghamton.edu/diversity-equity-inclusion/pathways/). The collaborative initiative between the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Division of Student Affairs will launch in the fall of 2021 and will give students from various class standings an opportunity to explore leadership from a diverse and inclusive perspective. The current framework for the program involves students taking part in workshops, trainings and/or activities in four categories:

1. Foundations of Leadership
2. Leadership in a Diverse World
3. Leadership in Your Career
4. Leadership in Civic Engagement

Students will be able to explore these different aspects of leadership, and apply them to their college careers. To contribute to the category of Leadership in a Diverse World, MRC staff are creating a series of workshops focused on educating students on issues related to multiculturalism and student leadership skills, including workshops on Intercultural Communication, and Bystander Intervention.

To create a workshop on Bystander Intervention as it relates to hate and bias crimes, MRC Graduate Assistant for Educational Development Aaron Schwartz collaborated with the 20:1 Sexual Assault Prevention and Bystander Intervention Internship program (part of Health Promotion and Prevention Services) to create a workshop that was representative of other intervention workshops conducted on campus. A pilot session of the MRC Bystander Intervention workshop was held April 15, and included 20 current 20:1 interns. The workshop was well received by the attendees and 20:1 staff who learned new information that they can apply to their own sessions. Likewise, they provided feedback on what MRC staff can do to improve our workshop, including more audience participation and adding more small group activities.

With the creation and implementation of this program and subsequent workshops, the MRC was able to meet our WEAVE assessment objective under Goal 1: to provide new programming informed by review of student reporting annually; and Goal 2: to create initiatives that bring together the campus community for the benefit of students.

New Student of Color Mentoring Program

The New Student of Color Mentoring Program is designed to help new students of color familiarize themselves with the campus and develop bonds with other students, faculty and staff of color. This program was created to provide several forms of interactions to the existing networking between students and staff that incorporate hybrid delivery methods of resources. This is an expansion of already existing programs such as the New Student of Color Networking Event and provides additional support for students as they arrive on campus and throughout their matriculation. This mentorship program helps to enhance the college experience for first-year students of color by:

• improving integration into the student’s selected field of study
• reducing social barriers that impact motivation and persistence
• expanding the student’s network of developmental mentoring relationships for long-term persistence and positive achievement outcomes

This program allows the MRC to meet our WEAVE Assessment Goal 1: to provide new programming informed by review of student reporting annually; and Goal 2: create initiatives that bring together the campus community for the benefit of students.

MRC signature events and initiatives

During the quarter, the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) hosted several successful special events, as well as programmatic and workshop collaborations, to serve the campus community, a few of which included:

Matinee with the MRC: Each month the MRC showed a movie that created critical conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion. The purpose of the films were to engage in fruitful dialogue with viewers before and after each movie to improve our community on campus and beyond. Films selected for the Matinee with the MRC each month followed monthly thematic initiatives.

Virtual In the Lounge programming: The MRC Student Managers hosted two virtual In The Lounge events during this quarter to observe World Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Month. The MRC student managers also hosted one virtual de-stress virtual event in this quarter.

• De-Stress with the MRC: Student Managers Nicolle Tenezaca and Jeffrey Wong hosted De-Stress with the MRC on April 7, focusing on yoga activities for relaxation to observe World Health Day. The event provided participants with an opportunity to learn different yoga activities. Tenezaca demonstrated yoga poses for the participants to engage in active stress release as well as discussed types of activities students could use to de-stress. During the event students also participated in a discussion on the importance of physical activity and a healthy diet. Lastly, a collection of eight students completed a Kahoot challenge where two participants won prizes.
• Paint and Slip: Student Managers Sophia Wen and Adebola Abbey-Peter hosted Paint and Slip on May 4, to give the campus community an opportunity to de-stress through creative activities such as drawing, coloring and painting. Additionally, participants discussed how creative activities lend to relaxation as the end of semester and final exams began in May. The event concluded with a raffle drawing and two participants won prizes.
• Let’s Talk About Health Baby: Student Managers Adebola Abbey-Peter and Sheyla Santana Escoto hosted Let’s Talk About Health Baby on May 8, to observe Mental Health Awareness Month in collaboration with the Mental Health Outreach Peer Educators (MHOPE). This event gave students an opportunity to talk about the reality of mental health and other health issues. There was a Kahoot game about mental health for the participants that led to additional discussion on what makes them realize the importance of mental health.
• Cultural Recognition Ceremony: The third annual Cultural Recognition Ceremony (CRC) was held Thursday, May 13, at the Fine Arts Watters Theater. The CRC is a culminating experience that celebrates the excellence, commitment, dedication and tireless efforts of students of color, especially our multicultural community leaders. The theme of the ceremony was ELEVATE: Uplifting The Culture and the purpose was to recognize, honor and celebrate the success and impact of graduating students in the multicultural community. It is the acknowledgment of their resilience, strength and greatness that exceeds the expectations of a Binghamton University student.
  
  The ceremony was sponsored by the Student Association; Graduate Student Organization; Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and the MRC to celebrate the efforts and achievements of multicultural students of the 2020 and 2021 graduating classes. This year’s event included keynote addresses from Jamal Sowell, Esq., Florida State Secretary of Commerce and president and chief executive officer of Enterprise Florida, Inc. and Narae Yun ’15, director and program manager for the Institute for Inclusion at Morgan Stanley. Additionally, the event featured a performance by the Alpha Alpha Xi Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. as well as introduced two new awards: Excellence in Business Administration, and Pioneering Women in STEM, along with seven other awards categories.
  
  Our top award, the Milton Chester Multicultural Phenom, was presented to Luz Velaquez ’21. While at Binghamton, Velaquez served in a host of leadership roles with the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, first as an intern in the Fleishman Center’s Student Affairs Rotational Internship Program. Since that internship, Velaquez has continued to work at the Fleishman Center, currently serving as the student director of diversity initiatives. Velaquez was also a resident assistant, mentor, summer program coordinator and lead mentor for TRiO Student Support Services, an immigration researcher, JFEW SUNY Global Affairs Scholar, NASPA Undergraduate Fellow and Lideres Avanzando Fellow.
  
  In total, 58 graduating students, both undergraduate and graduate, were awarded certificates of achievement alongside cords to be worn at 2021 Commencement ceremonies; of the total, 13 were 2020 graduates and received their materials via mail since the 2020 CRC was canceled due to COVID-19. In addition, three faculty/staff and 11 students were awarded for their outstanding contributions to the cultural community, achievements in academics, STEM, arts and athletics and for providing significant efforts in enhancing diversity and inclusion on campus.