VALPARAISO | Mohandas Gandhi's charge to "be the change you want to see in the world" and Martin Luther King, Jr's, warning against "the appalling silence of the good people" were touchstones Wednesday in the dedication of a multicultural center at Valparaiso University.
The Gandhi-King Center for Diversity and Global Engagement will house VU's Office of Multicultural Programs and Office of International Programs. It will provide services, educational programs and support to students of color and international students in Harre Union.
Addressing an audience drawn from both campus and city, Mayor Jon Costas said his recent trade trip to China and Japan brought home to him the interconnectedness of the world.
The world also needed heroes like the assassinated leaders honored by the dedication, Costas said. Gandhi and King continue to be guiding lights and their vision hasn't died, he said.
At the same time, the two were task masters as they remind the world to strive for what is right, noble and true, Costas said. That message was timeless, he said.
VU history professor Alan Bloom said the center represented part of a larger vision for the city as a more welcoming community.
The university's former MLK Center was razed earlier this year after a fire damaged the building.
VU President Mark Heckler said that fire and another act of vandalism showed that not everyone had entered a post-racial era. Wednesday's ceremony was testimony to the university's refusal to be silent in the face of hatred, he said.
Heckler challenged the audience not to let the center become "the place where diversity happens" or international concerns happen. The concerns of the center must happen broadly across the whole campus, he said.
The international programs office serves the needs of international students and directs VU's study abroad programs.
The Office of Multicultural Programs offers programs promoting multicultural education, leadership and service. It also supports student organizations including the Asian American Association, Latinos in Valparaiso for Excellence and the Black Student Organization.
