New director is welcome to Multicultural Affairs

Here at Vincennes University, there are several new faculty and staff members coming from different areas who specialize in their own fields at the university. A new staff member The Trailblazer interviewed was the director of Multicultural Affairs, Cortney Cross.

Cross talked about her role as director and her views on multiculturalism.

“Multiculturalism means more than just having the appearance of different types of people in one place, but having different types of people interdependent upon one another’s strengths while accepting the differences of others in order to make things happen for the welfare of others,” she said. “Multiculturalism is a picture of different types of people linking arms with one another and marching toward inclusion, diversity and acceptance of others, acknowledgment of biases and prejudice and moving towards action that uses the differences of others to bring about the good for all.”

Cross now works on campus as the voice for multicultural students. She puts together organizations and events for students of different backgrounds. A few organizations Cross helps oversee are Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB), Student African American Sisterhood (SAAS), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), VU Pride (LGBTQ), a multicultural modeling troupe, a gospel choir and a Latino student alliance.

When Cross was asked what made her take on the position, she mentioned the title alone is what drew her in.

“Interview answers came so naturally on my philosophy about multiculturalism and diversity, given the fact that it was something I was passionate about,” Cross said.

Cross stated that she is all about diversity and wants to teach others how to be diverse, especially at a community college.

Cross was asked about her goals for the campus, to which she stated confidently and sincerely, “I want to change the experience students get at a community college. I am willing to put in a lot of effort to impact students to want to come out and enjoy themselves.”

As her first campus wide event, Cross hosted an open mic night at the Jefferson Student Union on Oct. 3. About the outcome of this event, she had this to say.

“For me personally, I felt as if it was lit! I told myself that I would control what I can and let everything just flow,” said Cross.

She added that she strongly encourages all students from all backgrounds to come out to events and participate.

The SAAS kick off will be Oct. 25 in the Green Activities Center, where the founder will come in and explain the goals and mission for SAAS. This event starts at 4:30 p.m. and is open to all students who are interested.

The SAAB kick off was held on Oct. 23 in the Red Skelton Theater from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Similar to the SAAS kick off, the founder also came in and explained the goal, mission and reasoning behind SAAB.

Coming soon is also the Blazerfest, and Cross encourages all students to attend.