OSU hopes to keep up with changing population

Long-time colleague of the Division of Student Affairs heads new diversity unit

By: Aleks Cherednichenko

Posted: 10/3/07

"My mother has light eyes, they're not brown like mine," said Sandy Tsuneyoshi, the newly appointed director of Intercultural Student Services. The percentage of the U.S. population identifying themselves as more than one race has increased in recent years.

According to the national Census, in 2000 approximately 6.8 million Americans identified themselves with two or more races.

"If you think about the world, people have more than one identity," Tsuneyoshi said. A shift in the U.S. demographic is one of the reasons behind the creation of the ISS department, which incorporates Asian Pacific Cultural Center, Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center, Centro Cultural Cesar Chavez, Native American Longhouse, Women's Center and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Services.

The ISS, part of the Division of Student Affairs, formed as part of the realignment taking place across the university campus last year. "We identified different areas of focus and how to align resources to create clarity for students," said Larry Roper, vice provost of student affairs.

In the past, the six cultural centers worked in different departments on campus. Last year they were asked to find a way to work together.

"We asked what would be of the greatest benefit to students, and the idea of ISS came to mind," Roper said.

"All of us here have worked really hard to provide services which help students be more successful," Tsuneyoshi said. Tsuneyoshi hopes that ISS will help minority students succeed in college. "We want our kids to graduate, we want them to feel welcomed," she said.

Through ISS, Tsuneyoshi hopes to continue and develop education programs for faculty and staff.

"We want to increase their intercultural knowledge, because let's face it, many people have multiple identities," she said. "These students don't want to be labeled under one race, - they identify with many."

ISS will be funded through OSU's general fund, a budget which is separate from student fees.

Roper thinks that this newly realigned organization will allow the university to think about the subject of race differently and honor multiple identities.

"This will put focus on identifying intersections of student identities," he said. "We can begin to understand how multifaceted race is."

Tsuneyoshi said that students should not be concerned about this change.

"We're still here to give high quality service like we always did. The world isn't black and white anymore, it's changing and we're trying to keep up," Tsuneyoshi said. "We want OSU to be a welcoming environment for multicultural students."

In addition to her new director position, Tsuneyoshi will still hold her position as coordinator of the Asian Pacific American Office.

"All of this is very encouraging," Roper said.