Written by: Dakota Gange
Finding what is conducive to one’s success as a student can be challenging. Western has a plethora of resources available for students, many of which are located in the Werner University Center — a central campus location that is full of student aid.
From Abby’s House assisting students with basic needs, to the Center for Professional Pathways helping students to navigate possible careers and internships, to the Non-Traditional Student Lounge, there’s help where Wolves need it.
Next to Caffé Allegro lies the Freedom Center — a room that is nearly impossible to miss upon entering the WUC. Their atmosphere is bright and welcoming, offering a casual lounge and living room setting with T.V., music, snacks and drinks; a study table, test-taking resources and most imperative, immediate drop-in student-led advisory that can be an aid for everyone in answering questions one may have. This includes basic questions about how to navigate DegreeTracks, all the way up to helping students with their DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — paperwork.
The Freedom Center was founded by minorities and established as a safe place for BIPOC students to gather; all ethnicities are welcome.
If one were to walk into the Freedom Center today, they’d find a recently rearranged, calming and welcoming atmosphere — while visiting I felt comfortable, welcomed and confident.
However, recently circulating among various campus departments, including ASWOU, is a letter suggesting the closure of the Freedom Center.
In a Western Howl “Letter to the Editor,” a person the Howl will not be naming, wrote:
“The majority of faculty and students at WOU are white females. This is not surprising as it is a teachers’ college in Oregon and females are historically the majority in education and Oregon is overwhelmingly white.
Society would benefit in many ways if more males from ethnic minorities became teachers (Black males are particularly underrepresented in the teaching profession) and WOU should lead in recruitment.
Unfortunately WOU’s creation of a ‘Freedom Center’ as ‘a safe space for BIPOC students’ and ‘to provide a refuge for People of Color’ is counterproductive. It is based on patronizing assumptions by white women and was not requested by any minority student.
BIPOC is a term created by white academics who mistakenly think their concern for ending oppression of Blacks automatically gives them enough of an understanding of Black experience as to qualify them to speak for Blacks.
This is pretentious and patronizing and in some cases (such as Rachel Dolezal, Jessica A. Krug, CV Vitolo-Haddad et al) leads to a fraudulent claim that an affinity for Blacks qualifies as identification as Black.
WOU needs to shut down the Freedom Center because it sends the wrong messages. It implies that minority students are not safe on campus and need a refuge. It officially divides the student body into two distinct groups: white and People-of-Color (which is plain racism).
WOU must hire minorities to represent and speak for minority interests and end this damaging patronization by unqualified white women,” this individual wrote.
Reitorized, the Freedom Center was founded by minority students. According to Western’s Institutional Research, as of fall 2022, 57.6% of students are White, with the next leading percentage of 23.8% for Hispanic/Latino students.
After receiving the letter, I spoke to Western student and Co-Director of the Freedom Center Aneli Godinez-Martinez.
“I know that the person that sent (the letter), after talking with our supervisors, is probably someone that hasn’t come to the center, and/or doesn’t know how it was brought up. I think the letter was pulled out of context a little bit right off the bat, as it pulls pieces of our mission statement into the letter,” said Martinez.
The Freedom Center’s mission statement, which can be found on Western’s website, states, “The Freedom Center strives to serve as a safe space for all students, especially those who are BIPOC and their intersectional identities. We welcome every unique individual here at Western Oregon University as we provide resources, connections, and education for our campus.”
This is where Martinez wants to clarify that though the mission statement says that it’s a “safe space,” it’s not to be taken out of context — the statement is not implying that any part of campus is unsafe, but rather that the Freedom Center is a place that welcomes tough questions for students who have additional hurdles, like how to renew one’s DACA paperwork, as well as a place for immediate advising help, even for what may seem like a simple question, such as how to register for classes.
While there are non-student staff members, it’s important that the Freedom Center is primarily run by students.
“We do mention that we are a space for BIPOC students and intersectional identities, but any student that comes in here — we love that we have students in here and that they like to hang out. Our resources are provided for everybody. But you know, minority students sometimes need a little extra help because maybe they’re first-generation students, and so they might not know how to go about college.”
While the center is actively expanding its ability to provide various resources to students, it can still aid in finding out any information a student may need.
“It’s (the Freedom Center) definitely to bring the school together, definitely not to separate us even more. I love that all races, sexual identities and orientations are welcome here. Everyone’s welcome here,” said Martinez.
“It’s always been a center that was worked on by minority students, and we wanted to create a space for students to feel welcome — but it’s not that we want to create a space that only minority students can go to, or the only place they feel safe, it’s more so just to be a space where students can get a peer to peer perspective — everyone that works here are students, so it’s student-led for a reason.”
Martinez expresses that if there’s any misunderstanding or curiosity about what the center is, the best way to get an understanding of it is to come in and meet with the students that work at the center. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come “see what they’re about.”
Contact the author at howlmanagingeditor@wou.edu
