The University committee studying the state of cultural space on campus released its highly anticipated report Tuesday, which recommended the expansion of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture and the establishment of a multicultural center nearby in the Bryan Center.
Citing "a lack of belonging and inclusion" on campus, especially among racial and ethnic minorities, the Cultural Space Committee suggested that allocating more space would place a higher value on cultural identity.
Interest in the possible construction of a multicultural center has heightened in recent months, with discussion taking place in such forums as Duke Student Government campaigns and the Duke Student Movement protests. The recommendations released this week could clear the way for final plans for such a center.
The committee was composed of two professors, four administrators and nine students--many of whom are past or present leaders of cultural groups.
Their report says defined space is a prerequisite for improving cultural interaction.
Contrasting the current locations of fraternities and the Mary Lou Williams Center, the committee's report suggests creating more cultural space in buildings will lead to easy access and greater campus presence.
"Designating permanent space for institutions on campus not only provides its validation, but also represents it as an ideology that the University is consistently committed to pursuing," the report reads, citing the Chapel as an example of the power of visibility.
Specifically, the report proposes utilizing the planned expansion of the Bryan Center as space for all cultures to interact on a daily basis.
A multicultural center, according to the report, should include office space and commons rooms similar to those of living groups, totaling about 20,000 square feet. Such areas, according to the report, would give groups like Diya, the Black Student Alliance and prayer groups a sense of ownership and support at the University.
"Learning about and experiencing different cultures should be an integral part of every Duke student's daily experience," according to the report. "We see a vibrant, highly visible and identifiable multicultural center as a part of the Bryan Center."
The report also recommends that the Mary Lou Williams Center expand within the West Union Building, rather than within a new freestanding building, which the committee saw as less visible and available.
Moving the center to the ground level with also about 20,000 square feet would be more appropriate, the report states.
Additionally, it suggested associating the Great Hall with the center to make the space more available for weekend events.
The committee said the physical connection between the West Union and the Bryan Center should be improved, by reworking the Bryan Center walkway and the surrounding area into a defined quadrangle.
Although the facilities serve similar populations, the centers should remain distinct in their respective missions, the report argues.
President Nan Keohane issued a two-page response to the committee's report, endorsing its main points and promising studies this summer to determine what space is available. She added that as Bryan Center renovation plans proceed, the needs of cultural groups will be considered.
Beyond improving cultural interaction, the new spaces would help advance racial and ethnic relations at the University, said Leon Dunkley, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center and a member of the space committee. "I think the good that will come of this is to change the conversation we're having about what racial and social differences mean at Duke," he said.
Several questions remain, Dunkley added, about what direction the proposed multicultural center should go. For example, the committee has yet to define what a cultural group is.
Dunkley wondered whether the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life should be allotted space in the center.
Such unanswered questions point to larger racial issues at the University, he added. "It really was a lot to ask student groups to solve institutional and perpetual problems at Duke in six months," he said.
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