Multicultural Lounge Opens in Campus Center

Published 01.20.2014

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Wildcat pawprints lead attendees to cake and other refreshments.Honoring the room's goal of sparking conversation, college employees mingle in the Multicultural Lounge. From left are Malinda C. Love, assistant director of student activities for diversity and cultural life; Elliott Strickland Jr., chief student affairs officer; Angela L. Frontz, mathematics instructional specialist at the Academic Success Center; and (seated at right) Matthew C. Helf, coordinator of residence life; and Crissy L. McGinness, director of dining services.Guinean masks from the National Geographic Society represent "looking backward while going forward" and "building community through listening."Games, some with a global focus, are designed to stimulate interaction.Among the handpicked decor, golden art glistens on the north wall. Penn College's Multicultural Lounge, main campus's newest gathering space, was officially opened with a reception from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday. Warmly furnished in Room 122 of the Bush Campus Center (home to the Student Government Association until the renovation of alternate space elsewhere in the building), the site accommodates both social and academic use. "It's about coming together and building community," said Malinda C. Love, assistant director of student activities for diversity and cultural life, noting there is no television or computer in the room. "We will host around-the-circle discussions to encourage conversation about 'hot topics' and will hold other events – a knitting circle, for instance – that will enable people to share their stories." Desk and counter space in the other half of the room will provide students with a comfortable and quiet place to do homework.