A New and Improved Home for the Multicultural Center

From Left: President Julie Sullivan, Kenneth Park ’25, Denae Rivera ’25, and Shá Duncan Smith. Photo by Nina Glick

After two years of asking for expansions to the Shapell Lounge, which houses the Multicultural Center, renovations have finally been completed, and it is now open to all students. The MCC held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in celebration of the new Shapell Lounge and to welcome home the 16 cultural clubs on April 8. 

“We fought for a bigger space and to see all the changes, this was a collective effort from the entire community of years,” Tanvi Syed ’24, the former Multicultural Center director, said. “It’s so incredible to see this entire space come to life.”

Newly added changes include a bathroom, a kitchen and more private meeting rooms. Past and current leaders had asked for these additions to have the center meet more basic needs of the students frequenting Shapell Lounge. Both Denae Rivera ’25 and Kenneth Park ’25, director and associate director of the MCC, are more than pleased with the completed results.

“Literally everything that we’ve been asking for the last couple of years has finally appeared,” said Park. “It’s just really nice to be in the space again.”

Several students attended the ceremony, excited to view the new space and to watch the directors, along with Santa Clara University President Julie Sullivan, cut the ribbon and celebrate the center’s new and improved home. 

“The space is absolutely beautiful, it turned out even better than I could have imagined,” Sullivan said. “But what’s more important is what it represents, and it represents a space that says we are committed to the diversity and the tapestry that makes up this university.”

For many students of color at Santa Clara University, the center has historically been a space to feel represented and to identify with other students. Not only is this event a celebration of a changed space, but a celebration of going back to a haven for diversity on campus. 

“We want them to have a home where they can unite around our common values as a university of justice, of fairness, of creating a better world for all,” Sullivan said. “That’s our Jesuit mission, and that’s what we’re about here, so I couldn’t be more excited about today.”

Students were already loving the new space and could not wait to make it their own, quickly going inside to grab some food and admire the added kitchen and even the bathroom.

“It’s just so much more modern and more open, and I feel like especially with the sunroof, it looks so pretty,” said Tanisha Shah ’26, co-chair of South Asian cultural club Intandesh. “Definitely more friendly and an open environment.”

Just as the center’s directors intended with the changes, students feel more of a sense of community in the Shapell Lounge, eager to see the space filled with friends. 

Sanaa Ahmed ’26, the public relations manager of Intandesh, said, “I really like it, it’s gonna be really good for community building and just having the MCC together all in one big space.”

Students are looking forward to adding life back into the Shapell lounge in the upcoming months.

“All the clubs are excited to be back in here for the rest of the quarter, and next year they’ll be excited to experience the space again,” Rivera said. She was personally excited to see all the students coming back into the Shapell Lounge and to hear it once again filled with loud chatter and laughter. She acknowledged the overall space was empty of decorations but wasn’t too worried about it.

“Give it that MCC love and the community that we have, and it’ll start looking like our home again,” Rivera said. “We’re having club meetings, everything is back to normal just as it should be.”

President Sullivan emphasized the importance of the Multicultural Center for students of color. 

“We want our community to know that’s not how we are going to be here,” Sullivan said. “We want this to be a home of love, compassion, affirmation for every single person, and we want them to feel it all the time here and this is a commitment to that.”