On Friday Oct. 6, the Multicultural Resource Commons, formerly the Multicultural Resource Center, held a celebratory event in Wilder Hall’s MRC lounge to mark their 30th anniversary. Founded in 1995 as an offshoot of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the MRC has sought to provide a safe space for students of color, LGBTQ+ students, international students, and other underrepresented students throughout its 30-year tenure. It was founded after a College-wide task force recommended the Commons’ creation to make Oberlin more inclusive for marginalized students, along with a greater focus on student advocacy.
“While the MRC may have been started in 1995, I think the work of supporting Black students and other students of color was [already] relevant on this campus,” Kyle Williams, assistant vice president and dean of intercultural engagement said, referring to institutions such as Afrikan Heritage House which was created in 1969. “I don’t want to discredit the work that was done by the trailblazers who were in those spaces as well.”
Williams said that the MRC was originally run with the help of four student interns, each one representing a specific community: Black students, Latinx students, LGBTQ+ students, and Asian and Pacific Islander students.
The MRC originally struggled to settle into a rhythm, experiencing budget challenges leading to low-paid staff until its reorganization in 2003 and 2004 which reclassified the MRC’s community coordinators from interns to members of Administrative and Professional Staff. This reorganization enabled higher pay and benefits, coupled with an administrative reshuffling that brought a new director onboard.
“All of a sudden the MRC office changed … Everyone in that office was a highly skilled student life professional as well as a highly skilled multicultural experience professional,” Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Kamitsuka — then associate dean — said in a 2016 release from the Office of Communications.
The mission, though, has largely stayed the same.
“The MRC is for everybody because we are a multicultural resource center,” Assistant Dean of Student Life Shilpa Davé said in a 1997 article in the Review. “We want to support everyone across the board in whatever projects they’re doing.” (“MRC supports diverse campus communities,” The Oberlin Review, Nov. 7, 1997).
Williams echoed this sentiment.
“We really want to make sure that every single student, including our white students, understands that your culture is important here and that we value you and that you have a place in CIE,” he said, referring to the broader Center for Intercultural Engagement.
The MRC now features three other full time employees along with Williams: Assistant Dean for Intercultural Engagement Kimberly Springer, Program Coordinator for Intercultural Engagement Felicia Muhammad, and Director for Intercultural Engagement Cesar Quezada. Quezada, Williams, and Springer each joined the MRC in the past year and a half, and all expressed confidence in it.
“I feel like we have a really great opportunity to … build those connections with students and foster that sense of belonging,” Springer said.
With 30 years behind it, the MRC is firmly focused on Oberlin’s current and future students. Springer, a Cleveland native, expressed her hope that the MRC can successfully build relationships with students through the Friday event.
“Come visit us, come get to know us,” Springer said. “We want to be in community with students.”
Williams broadened the scope of the celebration to the whole year.
“I want people to think of this as like the kickoff to the celebration that we will be having for the year,” Williams said of the Oct. 6 community event. “We continue to highlight the important work that this space has provided to our students, and even [allow] them to participate and engage in thoughtful conversations about what the future of the MRC will look like.”
