ISU students may soon be getting what they have been wanting for years, just not yet.

Last spring, students voted to pass a referendum to fund a multicultural center in which funding would come from a $3 increase in student fees each semester for 10 years.

The referendum has not been passed by the Board of Regents, but it is on its agenda for approval at its next meeting, which is Wednesday, said Richard Reynolds, director of the Memorial Union.

If approved, the increase in fees will begin next fall.

ISU students, faculty and architects have been working together to bring preliminary ideas to the floor in the hopes for a completion date of fall 2008 on a new multicultural center in the Memorial Union.

Discussions for a multicultural center have been ongoing for more than 10 years at Iowa State.

Students and faculty from the Multicultural Student Programming Advisory Council are continuing to meet with Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck architects in a series of brainstorming sessions called charrettes.

The purpose of the charrettes is to produce design plans based on the students’ wants and needs.

“We want this to be something that students are happy with,” said Lynn-Tyre Lundy Evans, program assistant for Multicultural Student Affairs and facilitator of advisory council.

“We want it flexible enough that as the student population changes, they can make it their own.”

The next charrette session is Nov. 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

It is open to the public.

“Hopefully we’ll decide on two to three floor plans based on what students feel they would like,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said they hope final floor plans will be done by next summer, but it depends on how quickly they can work forward on the design phase.

Multicultural centers are an intricate part to many student union centers across the nation, Reynolds said.

The reason Iowa State has been without a center is due to lack of funding and space.

The multicultural center will be located on the second floor in the space being used for temporary University Bookstore administrative offices.

The bookstore is set to move out of that space during middle or late fall 2007. Reynolds said the space allotted for the center should be roughly 3,800 to 4,000 square feet.

Reynolds said the location should be a highly visible area since it is near one of the parking ramp entrances.

The Memorial Union was selected for the space because it was a good, central place for students, Evans said.

Reynolds said that he would like to see the center used to showcase artwork from a variety of cultures and also be used as a destination for students during orientation.

“I would like to see it used extensively by all students on campus,” Reynolds said.

“Students are a key piece [of the center],” said Japannah Kellogg, programs coordinator for the dean of students office and interim director of Multicultural Student Affairs.

“It is important to get students involved and for them to have ownership,” Reynolds said.”

“If you don’t have students helping, then you run the risk of it not being used,”

Kellogg said the center will have staff members, but will be focused toward students.