After many prior attempts, discussions and deliberations, administrators and the student leaders of the Third World Center are in committee to change the name of the University's multicultural center.
"This is not the first year that we have addressed the name change," TWC director Heddye Ducree said. Former Dean of Student Life Janina Montero unsuccessfully attempted to change the name five years ago.
After a series of surveys, forums and meetings with Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan and Ducree, the TWC decided to move forward with the name change.
While the possible names remain confidential, an e-mail sent to MAAs in January listed three names that are being considered: The Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, The Carl A. Fields Center for Enlightenment and Equality and The Liberation Center.
Carl Fields was the first African-American administrator at Princeton in 1964.
Students, prospective students, parents and alumni believe the current name is confusing and outdated, while others believe it only perpetuates isolationism.
"Right now it as viewed as a place for everybody who is other," Black Student Union officer Alicia Prince '05 said. "It should be a meeting ground for people who want to be exposed to cultures. A name change would mean better publicity for the center and build the morale of the people who are there. Everyone hates the name."
TWC chair Nada Elbuluk '04 has been collaborating with Deignan regarding the process of the name change.
"I would like the TWC to be viewed as an inclusive organization in which everyone feels comfortable," Elbuluk said.
The Third World Center was named in 1971 after an organization of minority students called the Third World Coalition. The coalition, consisting of approximately 200 Native-American, Hispanic, African-American, Asian and some white students, hosted a sit-in in Firestone Library to rally against the University's indifferent policy regarding the resources available to disadvantaged students.
"The group was reprimanded for violating the University's policy on protest," Ducree said. "However, the University did re-evaluate its treatment of minority students."
Ducree explained that from that point, the University provided a center for minority life on campus by converting the Osborne Field House, a dining hall for football players, into the Third World Center — a place for minority students to relate to one another on a cultural and social level.
Given the struggle involved in its inception, the TWC maintains a significant legacy that alumni and administrators do not want to leave behind, despite students' complaints.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding on this campus about what the TWC does," Prince said. "I hope that with time, people will keep an open mind and come to the TWC and some of its events, because it has a lot to offer the community."
Prince also said the TWC's location prevents it from being inclusive and accessible.
Deignan said the discussion over the center's name illuminates problems in history of African Americans and other minorities.
"The name challenges the broader Princeton community to educate and remind itself about the history of racial and ethnic minorities in our country and at the University," she said.
The governance board of the center has been debating these issues. Community feedback has also been considered.
The board will convene later this month to pass its recommendations to President Tilghman and the board of trustees.
Ducree and Deignan said they are unsure of how long it will take for the center's governance board to present a list of names to the administration.
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