Intercultural Center celebrates past, present and future

Brandeis University News

Intercultural Center celebrates past, present and futurePhoto/Madeleine LopezThe Intercultural Center PUSH CommitteeBy Julian Cardillo ’14April 4, 2017For years, no one at Brandeis had the complete picture of how the Intercultural Center (ICC) came to be.But that changed last fall when ICC director Madeleine Lopez discovered that the center, an on-campus space where students of diverse cultures and backgrounds connect and learn from one another, is actually celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
“It’s been an interesting journey,” said Lopez. “I am trained as a historian and when I first stumbled across documents about how students created the ICC, I learned that we were supposed to be celebrating a 25-year anniversary this year.
“But I also found out the students’ original vision for the ICC,” Lopez added. “An array of culturally and ethnically diverse students finally saw the dream of an Intercultural Center realized. Their aim was to educate the Brandeis community about the cultures of people of color and to establish a central place on campus for all people to explore, share, and honor each others' cultural heritages."
In 1992, 31 students officially secured a space for the ICC in Swig Hall with support from faculty and the university administration, although efforts to build an intercultural center date farther back in Brandeis history. At the time of its founding, 11 clubs and organizations fit beneath the ICC umbrella, but five more have been added since that represent various cultures and traditions from around the globe.
The center officially opened its doors on March 4, 1992. A celebration took place that day themed, “A Vision Realized,” in recognition of the hard work done by the founding leaders, also known as the Push Committee, to secure a space for the ICC. Janice Johnson Dias ’94, now a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a community organizer, served as Brandeis Student Union President and ...

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