The question of whether Iowa State should have a multicultural center was addressed in an open forum sponsored by the Government of the Student Body Cabinet Wednesday.

More than 30 people attended the discussion about possibly developing a multicultural center on campus.

The meeting was held in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union from noon to 1 p.m.

Introductions were made by Leonard Bell, director of minority relations and a junior in journalism and mass communication.

Bell introduced Alissa Stoehr, member of The September 29th Movement and a senior in liberal studies, who had done research on “peer 11” schools and their multicultural centers.

Like ISU, the peer 11 schools are land-grant universities. They include Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, University of Arizona, University of California, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Texas A&M and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

“What I have done is to make it easier for students to see what [the peer 11 schools] have done,” Stoehr said.

She said her on-going study shows what peer 11 schools offer in terms of multicultural resources and studies in comparison to ISU, which she said is clearly lacking in the multicultural-studies department.

“This is to show what we can do when we do have a multicultural center,” Stoehr added.

Although some of the programs at the peer 11 schools are the same as ISU, some of the universities offer various programs such as African American, Buddhist, Hebrew and Semitic, Latin American and Iberian studies.

Bell said the Multicultural Task Force is going to make a proposal to GSB sometime next year asking for their support.

“Nobody on the committee is an expert,” Bell said.

“They are all just students who care about multiculturalism and the students’ input.”

Bell wouldn’t comment on when the proposal would actually be made to GSB or the administration’s feelings about the possible cost of the center.

But he said Jischke has shown support for the project.

“I think it would be a worthy investment,” Bell said.

Some members of the audience felt a multicultural center at ISU is long overdue.

“I don’t feel the sense of mission as there was to save Veishea,”said Milton McGriff, member of The Movement and a graduate student in creative writing.

After Stoehr discussed some of the multicultural programs available at the peer 11 schools, the audience broke up into small groups to discuss some sample questions. Some of the questions asked included what the multicultural center should be called, what type of structure or format a multicultural center should have and what purposes a multicultural center would serve at ISU.

The groups were also asked to discuss the pros and cons of a multicultural center.

Suggested services the center could provide included peer mentoring, support for a cultural-studies program, referrals to campus resources and services, empowerment of student excellence and liaisons with other campus departments and resources.

A study-lounge area, library and computer lab were also suggested.

The small groups stressed the proposed multicultural center should not be just a place for international students.

Most groups said the center should meet the needs of every interested student or student organization.

Though Bell said he was pleased with the turnout, he said he was disappointed there weren’t more ethnic minorities present at the meeting.

Bell said he knew there would be some students on campus who would think the center would be unnecessary.

“The reality of our society is that some people are ignorant to other people’s needs,” Bell said.

“The awareness isn’t there. I do think the majority of ISU students do recognize that a multicultural center is a good thing.”

Copies of Stoehr’s research are going to be displayed outside GSB headquarters for any interested students or faculty.