Inclusion center closes permanently

 On July 1, the Inclusion Center located on Utah State’s Logan campus closed its doors for reorganization. Before closure, the Inclusion Center held a town hall open for all students and was attended both in person in the Inclusion Center and via Zoom on June 8. The town hall was about the closing, the logistics behind the closure and the effects of the closure on many of the clubs and student organizations associated with it. 

 The Inclusion Center was a place where students could go to hang out and study and where the professional development of clubs and student organizations occurred.  

 Its closure and reorganization was brought about by the new Utah law, H.B. 261 Equal Opportunity Initiatives, which was signed into law on Jan. 30 2024 and took effect July 1. 

Not long after the passing of H.B. 261, the Utah State Board of Education released an updated policy for both schools and institutions of higher education 

In it, the law states, “This bill prohibits an institution of higher education, the public education system, and a governmental employer from taking certain actions and engaging in discriminatory practices.” 

The theory behind the new law is that equal opportunities will be created for everyone, and it argues that centers and organizations that cater to minorities are prioritizing those students over others. 

Many within the USU community, especially those in connection with clubs that were under the Inclusion Center such as USU’s Black Student Union and the Queer Students Alliance, question how genuine the intent is.  

“The law kind of comes into play with this misinformed idea that places like the Inclusion Center, like cultural centers, like things that maybe seem to cater towards marginalized students, are, like, prioritizing those students over others,” said Yash Rivera,  a student pursuing their bachelors’ degree at Utah State. “When really, those services are open to all students, and they benefit the campus as a whole.”  

While many of the clubs and organizations within the Inclusion Center catered more specifically to underrepresented identities such as the LGBTQ community, they were open to all, and membership within these organizations didn’t require members to be a part of that specific group. 

A general shape of how the reorganization would look was stated in an email that President Cantwell sent out to the student body on June 18.  

Multiple topics and changes were talked of in the email, including the appointment of Dr. Laurens H. Smith to oversee a range of various university affairs It was also explicit in regards to the closing of the inclusion center. 

“Student clubs previously housed in the Inclusion Center will be moved to Student Involvement and Leadership where they will be supported and operated consistent with the USUSA clubs and organizations’ policies and procedures,” the email stated. 

Student support services that were offered under the Inclusion Center will now be under the direction of central student support services, such as the CARE Team and Academic Belonging and Learning Excellence. 

A new center for the study of community will be created, where community building, cultural celebrations and education can occur. This will all be directed by the executive vice president Paul Barr. 

The new policy released by the State Board of Education is that student organizations must either be cultural centers or student support centers, not both. 

For this reason, cultural centers like the Latinx Cultural Center will remain but are being reviewed to determine if they will be student support centers or remain cultural centers. 

For clubs and organizations that are switching to student support, is an issue.

“For my acknowledgement,” said Jade Velazquez, USUSA clubs and organizations executive director, “it is not the biggest team, and so now having to extend it to a larger audience, to all of the student body — it would put a lot of pressure on them.” 

Velazquez predicts that expansion of such services might be required. 

As many of these clubs are moved to USUSA, they will have the ability to request up to $500 from the Executive Leadership Board, but this won’t be enough to cover larger events that are planned, such as Queer Prom. 

What the funds can be used for is limited, as this funding can not be used for food or decorations. Other sources of funding would include sponsorships from outside the university or fundraising more frequently. 

While many of these clubs do not give out identity-based scholarships, many do help students find identity-based scholarships outside of USU. Many of these clubs give scholarships out for student leadership positions.  

Attendees and clubs raised concerns about not having the funding needed to grant leadership- based scholarships, especially for those in underrepresented communities. 

“These students from these underrepresented communities wanting to go to college — that percentage could go down,”  Velazquez said. 

Other concerns were raised, such as safety.  

“Bills like these encourage violence against students who belong to marginalized communities. It kind of paints this picture that because this space doesn’t exist, there’s less protection of these students, so just dealing more with unsafe situations, feeling more unsafe on campus, that they don’t have safe places to go,” Rivera said.  

Rivera highlighted an increased feeling of isolation among students who could previously count on the Inclusion Center for connections and now no longer have access to that sense of community.  

Allyship, the support of people that don’t belong to minority groups, could also become harder. Trainings on allyship can no longer be done by members of the faculty. 

H.B. 261 focused on faculty-led trainings for topics of allyship. While faculty can still assist at many of these clubs, they are to be voluntary only.  

At the town hall, many complaints and logistics of the closure were discussed. 

Cantwell’s email and the tone it took was one target. 

“Change is inevitable, and at Utah State University, we’re ready to embrace it,” Cantwell wrote. “We’re committed to making USU an even better place for everyone, and this transition will help us achieve that goal.”  

 Those at the town hall felt the email ignored the frustration that students in these clubs, as well as the communities the clubs speak on behalf of, have about the changes. Multiple people described the tone in their view as “toxically positive.”