Fading Diversity

(Lory Student Center)

Diversity Offices On
Colorado State’s Campus
• Asian Pacific American Cultural Center
• Black/African American Cultural Center (BAACC)
• El Centro Student Services
• Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Resource Center (GLBTRC)
• Native American Cultural Center (NACC)
• Women's Gender and Advocacy Center
• Resources for Disabled Students
• Adult Learner and Veteran Services
• Office of International Programs


The student offices on campus are a vital part of Colorado State University’s community and may students value the offices because they give them a sense of individuality on a campus and in a community that is far from diverse.
Sophomore Rachel Washington often visits the Black/African American Culture Center and says the office is not only a resource center to find tutoring and mentoring but it helps her get socially connected with other students on campus that she can identify with.
“I really love the BACC office it’s a place I can really feel comfortable on campus. I mean, this campus isn’t exactly the epitome of diversity let’s face it” she said.
Washington says she goes to the office to get away from the general campus life sometimes and feels just like she is at home.
“Fun Friday is the best day of the week because that is when most of the people show up. We play WII and just talk about what happened that week.”
This is also the case for Senior Mayra Granados who has chosen El Centro as her home away from home. The hard working student is often in the office studying and sleeping between classes because she lives off campus.
“It is so convenient having the office there being so far away from home and living off campus. Sometimes I just don’t have the energy to go back to my apartment between classes but El Centro is right there” says Granados.
But the offices are not looked at in a positive way by all students on campus unfortunately. Many individuals on campus feel that the offices cause reverse discrimination. Meaning, they do not seem inviting to white students on campus.
The argument has gone so far that the University has even considered eliminating the offices altogether or combing then into Co-Located offices in one area designated for them. Many students were outraged at this idea and could not believe that the University would even consider removing the offices when the campus already has such a bad reputation when it comes to diversity.
Junior Garrett Hayes and President of United Men Of Color even went a step further to say that the removal of the offices would be a symbolic representation of the ignorance and lack of culture on campus.
“If they decide to take the offices away it will only show us as students of color how intolerant this university is of different cultures and peoples besides the majority group. The underrepresented will visually see how much the campus doesn’t care about them” Hayes said.
The University has already made large steps to watering down the offices by having the names of the offices names changed. Originally each office ended with the title Student Services, for example Black Student Services, and Native American Student Services. But just a couple years ago the names were changed to Culture Centers.
“I was so upset when they did that because it was a step in the wrong direction as far as I saw. It was the beginning of taking away the significance of the offices” Hayes said.
Assistant Director of the BACC office Marcus Elliot said that the name change was an attempt by the offices to be proactive because they already saw a bill being passed at that time that would deem the names culturally non-inclusive. Elliot and some of the other staff in the other offices decided that it was better to just change the name instead of waiting for the bill to pass then having to scramble to make all kinds of changes.
“At the time there was a strong likelihood of the bill passing that would eliminate non-inclusive resources on campus. That means the offices and affirmative action as well. We didn’t want to stress the students out any more than they already were about the changes so we found that changing the names was the least tumultuous way to do that. It was 2007 when the discussions started so we wanted to jump on it quick” Elliot said.



The students that are against changing the offices see the power and the symbolism the offices have. They are not just structures on campus they are safe havens for that particular group on a campus that can cause some students to feel unsafe. The best example of the how our campus really is is shown in the GLBT office. Few individuals actually know that there is a secret door into the GLBT office for the students who don’t want to be seen entering the office to use.
The door is on the inside of the Greek Life office because some students felt targeted while entering the main entrance of the GLBT office. Similarly the Women’s Studies Office is located far away from the main traffic of the campus for victims of sexual assault to feel more comfortable going inside. This shows the significance of the offices being separated. Students would not feel this same security if there was one large office.
“For the past 30 years we have been fine and secure as far as the offices go. But these past couple of years have been extremely rough for us. Even though the bill didn’t pass the efforts the University took to make the changes shows that they wanted something done” said Elliot.
Some try to argue that there is animosity between the offices themselves so the change would help promote equality and lessen the tension between the offices. But Elliot argues that the animosity is not as a result of staff.
“A lot of the animosity between offices is definitely student driven. I feel that as a cluster the offices work very well together. Only students seem to complain about things as petty as office size. The way we see it we are here for a reason and any student can go to any office so to us there is no problem” said Elliot.
Some people feel that it is only a matter of time before the offices are combined or eliminated. But other students have hope that the offices will prevail.
“I see the idea of a combined office like an internment camp. I know it’s a very dramatic reference and I in no way am trying to disrespect any victims or families of the Holocaust but like I said it’s symbolic. Putting us all together in one area like that just feels wrong to me. It’s like the University is trying to silence us” said Hayes.
There have already been rumors that they are attempting to cut funding to the offices over time.
“We are in financially trying times and students need to understand this first and foremost. We are trying as hard as we can as directors to keep the offices moving as smoothly as possible but sometimes there isn’t much we can do” Elliot said.
The offices themselves are meant for everyone on campus but the significance of the offices mean more to the students then individuals who think they are not worth keeping know. There has even been talk of adding a white student services on campus but to students of color this is not only a bad idea, but it is downright insulting. No one knows what the outcome will be but one thing is for sure, the student offices are at the mercy of the heads of the University and unfortunately they do not seem to care too much about the continuance of the offices.