Mount Hood

The Freedom Center opens in WUC

A place for connection, understanding and learning about heritage and culture 

Mikayla Coleman | News Editor 

Oct. 1 marked the opening of Western’s Freedom Center. Located in the Werner University Center, the Freedom Center is meant to be a physical space in which students of color are able to find refuge. While this is the main purpose of the Freedom Center, different clubs and organizations that are culturally specific are able to use the space to hold meetings and collaborate with one another. 

The road to the opening of the Freedom Center proved to be a treacherous longhaul. Students have been advocating for the creation of a space like the Freedom Center for quite some time.

“It has been a project that has been requested by the students for a very long time, and to finally have it shows all the hard work that past and current students put into it,” said Elisa Tenido, Associated Students of Western Oregon University Director of Multicultural Advocacy. 

The establishment of the Freedom Center is hoped to expand cultural competency among everyone on Western’s campus, something that many believe has been lacking for far too long. The Freedom Center is expected to be a place where students can make connections based on cultural backgrounds, whether they are similar to or different from one another. 

“As a Filipino, I do not know a lot of other Filipinos on campus and the (Freedom Center) provides a space where we can meet,” said Tenido. 

The Freedom Center was officially opened by co-founders senior communications studies major Makana Ripley and junior social science major Arlette Topia Lopez with a ceremony and cake pops.

In the same way that Western works hard to ensure the comfortability of everyone on campus — taking this step will allow a safe space in which students are able to talk about differences and make connections between the vast amount of different traditions and heritages students bring with them when they come here to pursue their higher education. 

For those who have experienced racial profiling or discrimination, it can be hard to explain and make connections with people who have not had to experience those hardships. 

“Personally it is hard for me to put into words how important this space is for people of color. When people of color talk about their experiences with non-people of color, there always seems to be this layer of explaining that is done … explaining why something is funny or why something is offensive,” said Tenido. 

The Freedom Center hopes to be able to bridge these gaps through growth in knowledge and understanding. 

“Having the (Freedom Center) takes away that layer because people of color can just talk about their experience or something funny that happened when they were growing up or (compare) random cultural superstitions,” said Tenido. “It is a space for students of color to be seen by other students of color to share and bond.”

Contact the author at newseditor@thewesternhowl.com

The fight for the Freedom Center continues

Students voice opinions on Freedom Center project in special Board of Trustees meeting

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor 

The special meeting designated for the Freedom Center held on May 12  ended an hour and a half early with the Board of Trustees chair Betty Komp accepting no questions from members on the committee. 

In preparation for the meeting, students signed up to give their comments on the student drafted cultural proposal project presented by Incidental Fee Committee chair Makana Waikiki on April 21 — the second to last meeting of the Board of Trustees. To view the full proposal, check out vol. 3 issue 24, page 3 of The Western Howl that was released on April 27.

In this special meeting, the board changed its comment process, giving each student three minutes to voice their concerns. In total, nine Western students signed up to publicly address the committee members, including Associated Students of Western Oregon University President Elect Logan Jackson.

“Due to the events that have happened over the past year especially, we’ve been given the perfect catalyst to really start addressing issues we have here on campus involving diversity and inclusion,” said Jackson.

Jackson noted her experience as a student of color and commended the university for the progress she has seen in her three years of being a student at Western. However, Jackson went on to say that there is still work to be done on a multitude of levels.

“I look forward to being able to work with everyone next year in an effort to continue the progress that has slowly but surely been made here at (Western) in regards to diversity and inclusion,” said Jackson.

Because of the meeting format, the Board was not able to take any action. However, Chair Komp opened the discussion for committee members to only comment and not question students on their given testimonies. Board member Gayle Evans addressed the students saying she had taken notes, and other members had further questions to ask of the students when the time was appropriate.

“As a white person raised mostly in Oregon I have learned a lot in the last year,” said Evans. “I understand what you’re saying about people who do not have the same background and experience to fully understand, relate and support BIPOC.”

Although members voiced that they had questions, the committee chair ended the meeting at around 1:30 p.m. instead of the designated 3 p.m. One of the board members voiced their  disagreement because the session still had an hour and a half left.

“It is up to the discretion of the chair to say whether you are going to accept the question or not,” said Komp in an interview after the special meeting. “My interpretation is that they had further questions about this topic and they can take that to their committee meetings.”

Komp cited a policy claiming that because the meeting was designated as a comment time for students, board members were primarily responsible for listening rather than asking questions at that time. 

The committee has one final meeting on June 9 at 1 p.m. It is currently unknown whether the proposal will make the agenda. To view the meeting, the live stream will be hosted by WOUTV.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu