Providence College - United in Diversity: Center Opens in Slavin
(Article from The Cowl)
By Valerie Ferdon '12/News Editor
Among the figures who gathered to celebrate the opening of the Unity Center on October 5 were Major John Leyden, director of Safety and Security; Dr. Steven Sears, dean of Student Affairs; Koren Kanadanian, director of Emergency Management; and Luyi Shao, the director of the Rhode Island Kung Fu Club.
This last unfamiliar face was accompanied by four of his students, who at the end of the grand opening performed the Lion Dance, a symbolic Chinese tradition to ward off negative energy and promote good luck. The group filled Lower Slavin with the sounds of percussion, ranging from cymbals to a large drum, while members took turns under the large lion costume, carrying out the animal's movements through a kung fu dance.
Not only did the performance succeed in channeling positive energy into the new student space, but it also represented one type of cultural experience the Unity Center hopes to support and foster on campus.
The Unity Center was created during the summer renovations for students to use for fellowship, meetings, and study. Open 24/7, the center occupies Slavin LL03, the room next to the stage and across from the Wii televisions. It is directly connected to the Balfour Office of Multicultural Activities, an office under Student Affairs that provides opportunities for students to broaden their perspective and deepen their understanding about diversity.
The event began with a blessing and short homily by James Cuddy, O.P., Chaplain of Providence College.
It's only the beginning, said Cuddy. The space is here and it's centrally located—that is no mistake. At the very heart of who we should be as a community is the desire to be one with one another. To reach across whatever differences and divisions might be there, to come to know and to understand one another more deeply.
Last year, Nedzer Erilus acted as the interim director of the programming functions of BOMA. This year, however, the College hired Elena Yee to serve as a director of BOMA and the Unity Center.
Yee spoke at the opening of the Unity Center, first expressing her delight with the turnout.
My transition to coming back to the East Coast has been hard, but being here and seeing all of you has already made it easier, said Yee. For that, I thank you.
In explaining the role of the center, she continued, The emphasis is on activities, not on people insomuch that what I am hoping to do is include all of you, the entire campus. Welcome. This is your space, and it is for all students.
Yee acknowledged all of the outside groups that assisted in the planning and carrying out of the event, among them BMSA, Student Congress, and BOP. Furthermore, she acknowledged God's role in the entire process.
I believe in God's redemption, and I know that there has been some pain and difficulty that came as a result of allowing for our center, said Yee. But again, I believe in the redeeming work of God to change what is painful [into] what is good.
Yee will be working closely with Mo Maruping '12, the student diversity coordinator. Maruping has already met with BOP, BMSA, Campus Ministry, Student Congress, and SOAR, hoping to foster a link between this multicultural center and other major clubs on campus.
My main focus is trying to find ways to get these clubs to collaborate with each other and do more together, because diversity is not just black, white, Spanish, or Asian, said Maruping. Diversity is meeting different people, trying different initiatives, and seeing how we can better our community and become more of a PC family.
At the conclusion of the event, Sears expressed the significance of the Unity Center to the multicultural spirit on campus.
The opening of the Unity Center is cultural celebration, said Sears. This is the start of true inclusion; the Unity Center will aid in the transformation of our students. There is no separation. Our students, with God's grace, gathered today for the opening so that they may generate further discussion in their continuous search for truth.
This grand opening was seen not only as a significant success in itself, but moreover as the start to a movement that has the potential to shape the future of the College.
This is only the beginning, said Maruping.
Music is Tafi Maradi by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)