UC Berkeley will reopen multicultural center that it abruptly closed last year

"UC Berkeley's Multicultural Community Center, a more than 20-year-old, student-run space with roots in the ethnic studies movement that offers cultural programs and support services, will reopen this spring, Chancellor Rich Lyons said Tuesday in an interview with Berkeleyside. The spacious, airy center inside the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union has been closed since last summer, with events paused and student interns offering snacks and services like free printing on a nearby outdoor patio during the fall semester."

"News of the closure had sparked an outpouring of concern among students and alumni on social media, with some sharing that the center had provided a critical safe space for community and grassroots organizing, and a few even saying they would not have graduated from UC Berkeley without the support structure it provided."

"The center's walls were festooned with pro-Palestinian and anti-imperialist art, alongside rotating exhibits that had included a tribute to the poet June Jordan and one marking the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, said a staff member in the university's Division of Equity and Inclusion, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to talk to the press."

UC Berkeley's Multicultural Community Center, a more than 20-year-old student-run space rooted in the ethnic studies movement, will reopen this spring. The center offers cultural programs and support services and is located inside the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. The center has been closed since last summer; events were paused and student interns provided snacks and free printing on a nearby outdoor patio during the fall semester. The closure prompted widespread concern among students and alumni, who described the center as a critical safe space and support structure, especially for first-generation students. Limited university communication spurred speculation about links to federal inquiries into campus antisemitism. The center's walls displayed pro-Palestinian and anti-imperialist art alongside rotating exhibits honoring figures like June Jordan and hip-hop's 50th anniversary.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org