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Game Room welcomes three programs due to restructuring
The Advocate
The MHCC Game Room beneath the College Center has undergone changes that will affect a variety of MHCC students, according to Transitions Program Coordinator Cynthia Dettman.
Three programs have been moved to the game room including the Transitions/Transciones program, TRIO SSS and the TRIO College First program. They will join the YESS and CASS/IALS programs already located in the Game Room.
Dettman said that what’s happening is a “restructuring of several departments, remodeling, moving staff and offices, eliminating positions and changes (in) the reporting structure. I am excited about the changes and very distressed about the process and the timing of this restructuring.”
Transitions/Tranciones program member and new MHCC student Elisha Bigback said, “Starting college is scary. Change right out the gate is crazy.” Bigback said the hardest part is being unsure about what’s going on.
Dettman said she had mixed emotions about the remodel.
“I’m very excited because we have six powerful programs with talented and experienced faculty and staff who are fiercely committed to serving marginalized student population,” Dettman said.
“Coming together as a community will help us provide better services to minority and low-income students. It will also help us provide a safe and welcoming environment for those students to develop leadership skills and to become a stronger voice for student needs. This change is going to create a wonderful synergy.
But, she added, “I’m distressed about three things. Staff and faculty were not consulted before these decisions were made, the changes were announced and implemented less than two weeks before the beginning of fall term with almost no logistical planning, (and) I think that it send the wrong message to minority communities to move most of the special programs serving students of color to an out-of-the-way basement location.
“My approach to this change is to quickly establish ourselves so we’re ready to provide high quality services to students starting the first week of the term,” Dettman said. “My hope is that our president will take the lead during fall term to engage staff and students in a dialogue so we can move to the next phase of the reorganization with more participation and collaboration.
“Ultimately, my vision is that the programs now in the Game Room will become a catalyst to launch a vibrant multi-cultural center in a more visible location on campus,” she said.
The Advocate reserves the right to not publish comments based on their appropriateness.