Student senators tour new center
Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center slated to open in January
Plans for the new Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center have been in the works since 1991. The building, which is joined to the Kansas Union, should be finished Dec. 10.
By Erin Sommer
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
Members of Student Senate and the Multicultural Education Fund Board got a peek at the new Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center yesterday.
Students and faculty members from both groups toured the third floor of the building with Santos Núñez, program director of multicultural affairs.
Alex Porte, Great Falls, Va., sophomore and student body assistant treasurer, went on the tour and said that the building appears to be “pretty much done,” with most of the drywall and glass panes put in place.
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN Alex Porte, student senate assistant treasurer, points out the view from the new Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center to Hannah Love, student senate president. Construction on the building, next to the Kansas Union, is set to be complete in mid-December with the dedication ceremony set for January 28.
Porte said that each semester students paid $3.50 in fees to pay for the construction of the MRC. The fee was introduced in fall 2005 and will continue through at least 2012. Other funding for the building came from private donations, mainly from the Sabatini family. Students also pay a $1.50 fee to finance the Multicultural Education Fund Board, which the MRC uses to finance multicultural groups and events.
“It looks good. It really looks like it’s about to be finished,” Porte said. “We’re really proud of the building.”
According to the University Web site, the center was established in 1991, in 2001 a new building was proposed and KU administration agreed in 2003 to begin the project. The Center is currently located on Summerfield Drive, and the new building is conjoined to the Kansas Union on Jayhawk Boulevard.
The Center was originally set to open earlier this fall, but because of construction setbacks its opening was pushed back to this winter.
Porte said that during the tour, Núñez said that the building would be fully complete on Dec. 10 and would formally open on Jan. 28. Porte said that the floor he toured featured a meeting room that could hold about 90 people, an Academic Resource Center with computers for student use, and offices.
Porte said Student Senate passed legislation earlier this year that would give $20,000 to the Multicultural Resource Center for a digital screen that would hang in the hallway connecting the Kansas Union and the Center and give announcements about events that happened at the Center. Student Senate also approved $10,000 that will be spent on two panels that will hang in the same hallway and depict the history of multicultural affairs at the University.
Hannah Love, Dodge City senior and student body president, also toured the building yesterday. She said that the building had interesting architectural aspects and that it showcased views of the campus through its windows.
She also said that she was relieved the project was finally over.
“It’s so nice to have the building built and know that kind of representation is on campus,” Love said. “It’s nice to see the rewards of it.”
— Edited by Amelia Freidline
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