The Multicultural Center — a place some students call a home away from home — is expanding its membership, adding about 2,000 students since 2008, according to a university official.
Alisha Rocha, elementary education senior, said the center treats her almost like family.
"It's the support staff here that was important to me," she said.
According to the Ball State University Fact Book, the percentage of on- and off-campus minorities is 11 percent for this school year. The number is up .7 percent from 2007-2008, for which the most recent information is available. However, this is down .5 percent from last year.
Patricia Lovett, director of the Multicultural Center said although Ball State has a small number of minority students, the percentage is similar to other schools.
Kyle Hayes, senior political science major, said he was nervous to go to the Multicultural Center at first, but he has made new friends and become a part of the group.
"It's almost a challenge to try it out," he said. "I think it's intimidating to some students."
Lovett said the center has been steadily expanding. This year, they have about 5,000 students, which is up from 3,000 in 2008, Lovett said. She recommends students at least give it a try.
"I think you need to have at least one multicultural experience in college," she said.
The Multicultural Center is a place for students of every ethnicity to come together to support each other and promote cultural diversity, Lovett said.
This week is International Education Week for schools across the country, but Ball State celebrated last week with their own version.
Ball State chose not to hold their Cultural Week at the same time as the rest of the country because they were hoping for more student involvement, and didn't think it would be as popular the week before Thanksgiving Break, Lovett said.
Cultural Week was a week of events celebrating other cultures and educating students.
One of the week's biggest events, the Amazing Taste, was organized by Ball State Dining, the Rinker Center for International Programs and the Multicultural Center. The Amazing Taste took place in the L.A. Pittinger Student Center and offered foods from different places around the world, as well as entertainment such as belly dancing.
The Multicultural Center originated with a group of African-American students who advocated for a place to go to hold on to their culture at Ball State, a predominately Caucasian university, Lovett said.
Lovett said multicultural centers are important for all colleges because it makes the students feel that they have a home away from home.
"It's essential to our operation and our existence at Ball State," she said.
The Multicultural Center, which is located near the Student Center, has been around since the 1970s. Ball State offered for the organization to move into the Student Center. If there is something they need, Ball State provides it, Lovett said.
"The administration has never said no," Lovett said.
The students chose not to move to the center.
The Multicultural Center offers a lounge area with a television, a dining area, a kitchen, a meeting room, a computer and printer and the Malcolm X Library. Students can walk in and look around without being a part of the Multicultural Center, Lovett said.
The next big event for the center will be the Etiquette Dinner in the Student Center Forum Room. The event is sponsored by the Career Center, the Multicultural Center and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. It will be at 6 p.m. on November 30.
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