Although the African-American Cultural Center and the Women’s Center have been a part of the University for years, this semester they are celebrating moving into new facilities that put them at an advantage compared to other schools across the Southeastern Conference.
The AACC, on Raphael Semmes Road, boasts an outdoor courtyard, a 100-seat multi-purpose room with full audio-visual equipment and drop down projector screen, a library that houses historical records of civil rights at the University and computer labs available for student use.
The Women’s Center, located next door, offers many of the same features with the exception of an outdoor courtyard, and its library carries books and information on women instead of African-Americans.
Summer Steib, director of the Women’s Center, said the University’s facilities and resources for minorities and women compare favorably to other institutions.
“We looked at different women’s centers across the country and really focused on our peers in the SEC,” said Steib. “I think that now that we have two free-standing centers it puts us in elite company on the national scene.”
Steib and her team at the Women’s Center researched other facilities at peer Universities and found that what is offered here at the University compares well.
Many schools had resource centers for women, but some, including Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi State, did not.
Steib spent time researching what other universities offer and found schools in the SEC have centers, but they are not necessarily freestanding structures, which is where the University now stands out above others.
The Women’s Center and AACC operate under the Office of Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach, but Steib said the University is taking positive steps to stand out among its peers.
“A lot of people just have rooms in their union,” Steib said. “We have dedicated centers that set us apart.”
Steib said although the centers are a sign that diversity is important to the University, there is still a lot that the Women’s Center can do to improve the University.
“Right now Louisiana is ranked dead last for womens issues,” Steib said. “There is so much we need to do.”
The Women’s Center is only one of the diversity centers at the University — the AACC sets the University even further apart from others.
Many universities in the South, including Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Florida, do not have a center for African-American students.
LaKeitha Poole, coordinator of the AACC, said that having a dedicated building makes a difference when reaching out to students and getting them involved.
“Having a center that is open and free standing lets us have students in the space and it helps them get involved in student organizations,” Poole said. “Having a cultural center lets others know that diversity is valued at the University.”
While detractors might say that a dedicated center is too much, Poole said the center is indispensable to the students at the University.
“It enhances the cultural, academic and social components that make up LSU,” Poole said. “For LSU as a flagship University to have a dedicated center, that means a lot.”
As students come and discover the Women’s Center and AACC, Steib said it is important to know that the centers are not exclusive to any group.
“Most of all, I want people to know that these centers are here and the resources are available to any student,” Steib said. “Nobody should think these are exclusive, they are here to promote diversity and serve students.”