MU | F e a t u r e s
Tapper says his involvement with
multicultural programs and Black Student
Union “really helped me wrestle with what
it meant to be biracial, what it meant to
identify as black and what it meant to be a
minority in a mostly white space.”
At the Intercultural Center, he says, he met
many of the people who would become his
best friends. “It really helped expand my
horizon. I got to meet people from all across
the world,” he says. “It was a very formative
space for me.”
Zander Willoughby, a senior from Grand
Rapids, Mich., says he also made many of
his MU friends at the Intercultural Center.
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A member of Black Student Union and active
in OMA programming, Willoughby says the
center is a “‘No judge zone’ during meetings
to openly discuss the things that aren’t
discussed in the classroom.”
With a new facility that looks more like a
University building than a private home,
Dixon hopes students from all walks of
life will feel more comfortable using the
Intercultural Center. He wants to remove
any intimidation factor and help all students
realize “this is a place where you can
come and hang out.” But even a sense of
intimidation can be a learning experience,
says Tapper. If white students are not
comfortable being a minority in a space,
“I would encourage them to reflect on the fact
that that’s probably what students of color
experience most days on campus.”
Dixon also sees the new spaces as an
opportunity to expand programming and host
conferences and trainings. He hopes to attract
more high-profile speakers that would garner
regional attention and make it a place where
people can discuss contemporary issues such
as racism and equality.
It will be, Dixon says, “an important visual
marker that says we affirm people of diverse
backgrounds.” Tapper agrees, adding that if
Manchester is “an institution where students
are going to feel affirmed and to grow and