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A Core Constituency of Macalester students has been established to promote greater on-campus discussion and action in regards to issues of multiculturalism. The Core Constituency was formed last semester by a small group of domestic and international students of color concerned with the troubling state of multiculturalism at Macalester. On Monday of this week, the constituency increased to 55 members. Women, domestic and international students of color, LGBTQ students, low-income students, and cultural org leaders were especially encouraged to join.

The CC emerged in direct response to an environment that is increasingly hostile to students of color and an institutional undermining of student of color support. Specifically, we see the restructuring of staff positions as indicative of the administrationƒ?TMs mere lip service toward multiculturalism. The recent departure of Dean Joi Lewis exposes the systemic ghettoization of both the Dean of Multicultural Life position and multiculturalism as a supposed pillar of the college. Moreover, the rushed and expensive opening of the Institute for Global Citizenship further evidences the uneven attention given to domestic multiculturalism in terms of power, resources and strategic planning. CC members feel severely marginalized by the opaque decision-making process that has characterized these institutional impositions.

The CC is organizing across cultural orgs and against the institutionally fostered domestic and international divide. We believe that only through the establishment of a diverse coalition can we effectively galvanize broad-based action.

We hope that the Macalester community-students, staff, faculty, departments and student organizations-will organize and act in solidarity with our work.

Submitted on behalf of the Planning Committee of the Core Constituency.