To make more office space in the student center, the multicultural lounge has been closed and repurposed by student development. The room now is just another office.

Cynthia Cummings, special events coordinator, said, “Nobody ever really used the multicultural lounge, so it was turned into office space for student development.”

Another reason for repurposing the lounge, according to Cummings, is the entire Clark Student Center functions as a multicultural area.

“The whole student center is a multicultural area if you think about it. The university planning board, the Black Student Union, and the Caribbean Students Organization all hold events in the student center,” Cummings said. “It is also a place for students of all cultures to mingle, so we don’t really need the lounge.”

Phillip Mundine, mass communication senior, has been aware of the lounge for years but never used it. He said he had never heard of it being used by anyone and that it might as well be office space to prevent it from being just an empty room.

“I had no idea we had a multicultural lounge,” said Francisco Martinez, criminal justice sophomore. “Even though the whole student center serves the same purpose, I like the idea of having a designated area for students of different backgrounds to get together, and I wish I knew about it.”

Cummings said there is no plan to open a new multicultural lounge in the student center or elsewhere.