Spring Break
Headway is made in updating cultural centers
Representatives from each cultural center have narrowed down designs to two choices
Christopher Johnson
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News
By the end of the 2008 summer term, plans for relocating the OSU cultural centers will be finalized.
A student advisory steering committee will help guide the architects designing the conceptual layout of where the centers will be located, as well as design the layout of each cultural center.
Two members from each cultural center are serving on the committee along with Sandy Tsuneyoshi from Intercultural Student Services, Lori Fulton from Facilities Services and Beth Rietveld, the director of the Women's Center and interim Diversity Development director.
"We have narrowed down the options from 10 proposed location layouts for the cultural centers to two," said DaMarcus Redeau, representative of the Black Cultural Center.
One proposal is a north-south corridor that would leave every cultural center in place except for the Asian Pacific Cultural Center, and the other is an east-west corridor in which every cultural center except the Native American Longhouse would be moved to a new location on Jefferson Avenue.
According to Jones and Jones architect Mario Campos, the east-west corridor is attractive to students because it is more accessible to pedestrians and would provide a high level of visibility for the centers.
However, the committee is currently leaning toward the north-south corridor proposal. This is partly because the Black Cultural Center wants to honor the history of the students and staff members who struggled to start it, while the current location of the Centro Cultural César Chávez holds sentimental value to its members, said BCC representative Amber Calkins and CCCC representative Emanuel Magaña.
The north-south corridor option would also lessen the cost of moving.
Members of the Centro Cultural César Chávez see a growing opportunity in the north-south option because the south side of campus has started to bud with plans for a new dining facility.
Renovations of the cultural centers are already desperately needed.
A student advisory steering committee will help guide the architects designing the conceptual layout of where the centers will be located, as well as design the layout of each cultural center.
Two members from each cultural center are serving on the committee along with Sandy Tsuneyoshi from Intercultural Student Services, Lori Fulton from Facilities Services and Beth Rietveld, the director of the Women's Center and interim Diversity Development director.
"We have narrowed down the options from 10 proposed location layouts for the cultural centers to two," said DaMarcus Redeau, representative of the Black Cultural Center.
One proposal is a north-south corridor that would leave every cultural center in place except for the Asian Pacific Cultural Center, and the other is an east-west corridor in which every cultural center except the Native American Longhouse would be moved to a new location on Jefferson Avenue.
According to Jones and Jones architect Mario Campos, the east-west corridor is attractive to students because it is more accessible to pedestrians and would provide a high level of visibility for the centers.
However, the committee is currently leaning toward the north-south corridor proposal. This is partly because the Black Cultural Center wants to honor the history of the students and staff members who struggled to start it, while the current location of the Centro Cultural César Chávez holds sentimental value to its members, said BCC representative Amber Calkins and CCCC representative Emanuel Magaña.
The north-south corridor option would also lessen the cost of moving.
Members of the Centro Cultural César Chávez see a growing opportunity in the north-south option because the south side of campus has started to bud with plans for a new dining facility.
Renovations of the cultural centers are already desperately needed.
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