Center powers to new location, name
Friday, March 26, 2010
9:09 PM
Labels: bhardwaj , Center , Empowerment , News , SCE , vik , 0 comments
Labels: bhardwaj , Center , Empowerment , News , SCE , vik , 0 comments
Vik Bhardwaj
Managing Editor
The Student Empowerment Center, formerly known as the Student Development Center, was recently relocated from the second floor B-wing room B210 downstairs to the more spacious B120 and held its open house on from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday. Students could socialize and lounge on one of the two sofas in the room while eating food from a variety of local ethnic and American restaurants.
The SEC is composed of the Women’s Center, THRIVE, Multicultural Student Center, and Student Retention, with Veteran’s Services coming soon. It frequently works to connect students with the Learning Resource Center, the library, financial aid and the near-by counseling office.
Aside from referrals, the center offers a multitude of ways students can “recharge,” Coordinator of the Multicultural Student Center Jorge Tennin said.
The point of the Student Empowerment Center is to get around the fact that CLC is a commuter college by helping make it a place where students can connect, Tennin added.
The change in name was to avoid confusion with CLC’s other Student Development Center, a part of Career and Placement Services.
“The (new) name is fitting,” Tennin said, although he added the name did take some getting used to. Like hearing a new song on the radio, it eventually grew on him, Tennin said.
“I saw that the meaning related and that it was something we could live up to,” Tennin said.
The purpose of the Multicultural Student Center is to have an ethnic, diverse connection and representation on campus, Tennin said.
Multicultural Student Center consists of eight clubs—Asian Student Alliance, Black Student Union, Latino Alliance, International Club, Hillel, Muslim Student Association, Pride Alliance, and South Asian Student Association.
Student Retention offers academic coaching and information on need-based grants and scholarships like Title-9 grants.
Title-9 Grant Manager and Adviser to Latino Student Alliance Rudolfo Ruiz-Velasco said the retention efforts go beyond the center. He said the student may be more or less inclined to stay in school by the total student experience, with interactions at all levels, from the janitors to the teachers.
Regarding the recent cuts across the board to colleges and four-year institutions, Tennin said the MSC is as important as ever. There are 190 students and 17 academic advisers involved in the clubs.
Four year institutions could forgo its diversity clubs on account of the vicinal connections its students have living with each other, whereas CLC couldn’t afford to since its students don’t live with each other, said Tennin.
Student, officer of Muslim Student Association and member of South Asian Student Association Osman Mohammed said the clubs are an effective way for students to develop cultural awareness.
“By having clubs at the college, students can have a place where they can fit in,” Mohammed said.
Ruiz-Velasco said the club puts students in the company of productivity. Many officers in the club are examples of achievement. They go on to four-year institutions and provide a “domino effect,” he said.
The Women’s Center was founded by Director Theresa Aguinaldo and provides financial assistance and confidentiality to women who need it. Clients are qualified and approved by the Women’s Center.
The Women’s Center, the American Association for Women in Community College, as well as CLC, all recently co-sponsored a slew of informative lectures, as well as a performance of the “Vagina Monologues” to commemorate March as Women’s History Month.
THRIVE is under the Women’s Center and provides students with free academic guidance and coaches, development workshops, study groups, peer mentors, conferences and social events to help keep students on track.
THRIVE clerk and student Liz Clark said there are two types of Women’s Center clients, traditional and non-traditional. The former may be the typical 18 to 22 year old college student. The latter make up the older students who may have jobs or families.
Clark’s first stint at college didn’t work out because she felt disconnected. She attended Penn State University. Some 15 years later, she thrives at CLC because of its closer-knit community.
Clark, a single mother, first came to the Women’s Center as a client in search of child care assistance for her 4-year-old son. She obtained it, and while looking for jobs the following summer, heard about an opening to work for the center and took it.
She can now return the favor by offering assistance to others.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Clark said.
She is majoring in psychology and is vice president of Student Government Association. She plans to go on to the University Center then to NIU to get her master’s.
New Student Orientation and First Year Experience used to be in B120, but moved down to the student activities office, C101. Coordinator of First Year Experience Mark Lowry said the move was more convenient in that it brought him closer to the familiar faces who started in NSO/FYE.
Lowry said his previous office won’t be sorely missed since it was in the corner and away from most student traffic, but will take the walk up to B120 to visit from time to time.
The Student Empowerment Center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday through the spring semester. Brochures for all the components of the SEC can be found in C101 and B120. A bulletin board is located outside B120 with information regarding scholarships, a calendar of events, and other offerings.
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