The Multicultural Student Services office is located on the third floor of the Memorial Union. Photo courtesy of und.edu

As I was sitting in the Union last week promoting events for the Black Student Association events for Black History Month and I noticed a series of tours happening for prospective students. There were groups of six to nine students being introduced to student studying areas.

I have always thought these tours are not only effective but also important because they give prospective students a chance to see UND for what it really is. I was in my own world, but I listened to how several tour guides talked about the things that make the Union important and beneficial for it’s students.

I soon noticed a trend that was occurring which I felt held huge problems. Several of the guides were making statements such as, “There is nothing important on the third floor of the Union,” or “All that is upstairs are empty study rooms.” The  statements very well could have been opinions or simply that the tour guides didn’t know. But these statements made me feel really uneasy.

The Black Student Association, and the African Student Union are just a few of the multicultural organizations that UND offers and their center of support is found within the 3 floor of this building. In fact, Multicultural Student Services center recently moved into the Union. To say there is nothing important such as this office or the Veteran Student Affairs office hurts and is harmful.

There are many students who are people of color, veterans and others who use the third floor as a place to address specific multicultural concerns. In fact, the Multicultural Student Services not only encourages all people to be allies of its center, but it is founded on creating financial opportunities, such as scholarships for its students. According to the UND website the MSS office’s purpose is to “Serve as a general institutional contact and advocate for students, individually and collectively, work with UND departments and offices to address the unique needs of students, provide advice and counsel regarding broad campus issues and promote diversity throughout the campus.

Through this statement we see there is a vital component built within the Union that needs to be addressed which prospective students could greatly benefit hearing from.”

I believe no ill intentions came from the mouths of these tour guides I saw. However, I feel like the way in which tour guides gave statements describing this building were misleading.

For many students the Multicultural Student Services office is an outlet for community growth. It is a center for support that deserves to be talked about and acknowledged. My question is, why is it being overlooked and how is it being portrayed to the overall community?

From the experiences I have gained by talking to the organizations that use the space it makes many students who identify a wide range of ways like they don’t matter.

I think it is time we step up and implement the Multicultural Student Services office into tours and try and make sure more people know about it. Since all kinds of students are encouraged to get involved, I think it could benefit not just the students who use it but the whole UND community.

Inclusion and diversity is important, and we shouldn’t forget that we as an institution we have the power to uphold that standard.

Amina Chinnell-Mateen is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]