Protests met plan to tie International House, Multicultural Center

By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- The future of a proposed merger of Duke University's International House and its Multicultural Center -- which had run into strong opposition from some students and alumni -- is now in the hands of a university task force.

The task force -- composed of students, faculty and staff members -- will convene next month and is scheduled to release its report and recommendations in April. While the proposed merger, originally planned to take effect next semester, has been postponed, those recommendations nevertheless still are likely to include "some level of reorganization" of the two campus institutions, said Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs.

"While no decision has yet been made [about the exact future of the two institutions], we expect the task force to define a new vision for this new center," Wasiolek said. "We will take those recommendations of the task force."

The International House provides educational services, advocacy and outreach to the university's international population. The Multicultural Center, according to its mission statement, plays a "pivotal role in Duke's steadfast commitment to provide students of color and cultural communities a quality educational experience" and ensures the "formulation and implementation of a diversity agenda" at the university.

The decision to join the two was made, at least in part, for financial reasons, as part of the university's broader effort to cut its budget by $125 million over three years. Administrators said it was also done to make the two centers work more cohesively while serving the university's vision of an international education.

But the announcement of the merger, which included the laying off of the center's director and one of its staffers, led to almost immediate protest.

More than 150 students showed up at a meeting with administrators to oppose the merger. A petition to student affairs and signed by more than 500 students called for "an indefinite reversal of the administration's decision to merge the Multicultural Center and International House" and the "repeal of the layoffs of the two center staffers."

"A merger would dilute what both of those centers do," said Albert Osueke, a 2008 Duke graduate who has been active in organizing alumni opposed to the merger. "The Multicultural Center addresses more domestic issues, racial issues. The International House was a haven for people adapting to a new place. By pooling the resources for such divergent missions, it doesn't seem like a step in the right direction."

Wasiolek acknowledged that there was much negative reaction to the proposal, but suggested that much of it came from those who were upset about how the idea was arrived at and how it was presented to students as afait accompli.

"They felt they hadn't had significant impact into the decision," she said. "Many more students, when they learned more about the idea, have been more positive."

The task force, Wasiolek said, addresses the issue of student input. "I see this task force as really providing an opportunity for those in the Duke community -- and there are many who are really passionate about this -- to talk with each other," she said. "They can talk to each other and across the community, and gain more insight into what can be done."