Center for Diversity & Community gets new logo

Some University of South Dakota students may seek out the Center for Diversity & Community to gain a better understanding of various cultural identities, but over the summer the center got an identity of its own.

Now adorning one of the window panes outside of its entrance on the second floor of the Muenster University Center is an official logo aimed to inform students of the center’s location, as well as its mission and purpose.

The red mosaic logo is one of the last stepping stones for the center as it settles into its new location of about a year.

Lamont Sellers, director of the center, said the logo was a collaborative process and was influenced by a variety of things, but ultimately was inspired by students.

“Everybody comes with their own backgrounds, their own experiences and all of that,” Sellers said. “Individually, each piece has it’s beauty, but when you put all of those together in a mosaic they all have an even greater beauty working together.”

At the forefront of the logo is a mix of interlocking shapes, inspired by a small sculpture from West Africa that sits in the center’s lounge area. Commonly referred to as a unity sculpture, the carving of five interlocking figures is hand-crafted and carved from a single piece of wood. Sellers said the image in the logo is a representation of the sculpture from above.

“This represents unity … and it encapsulates what we’re really about,” he said. “There are other images out there that are associated with multicultural affairs (and) we thought about those traditional images, but this was one that we settled on that would work for us.”

Sellers is hoping the logo will draw more students to the center, as well as increase event and programming attendance.

Another way he hopes to accomplish those goals is by working with Lena Tran, the center’s new intercultural coordinator.

Tran, who was hired over the summer after graduating from USD in May, said she’s been working to inform and create interest among the USD community. Her main role as intercultural coordinator is to work with students and organizations directly for various needs they may have.

“I’ll really be working with different student organizations in doing programming around campus,” she said. “A big plus is that I graduated from here, so I do know a lot of students around campus.”

One of the center’s larger events coming up this month is the celebration of the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha. Also known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” the event will be held in the center Sept. 24.

“As a campus, we really have not embraced religious cultures on our campus,” Sellers said. “To be able to address some of the needs of our students here but also to learn was something that I decided that I wanted to bring to our campus.”

Sellers said this will be the center’s second “cultural celebration/cultural learning event,” having hosted a Passover Seder event this past spring.

Tran said whether students want to come to the center to spend time with friends, study or attend events like Eid al-Adha, she wants students “to engage” and have a place they feel welcome.

“It’s a great way to meet individuals because everyone has a personal story in life,” Tran said. “We all come from walks of life, and this center is here for you to share it. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

(Photo: Director of the Center for Diversity & Community Lamont Sellers, left, and Lena Tran, intercultural coordinator for the Center, discuss plans for upcoming meetings and events for the Center on Aug. 28. A new logo, seen in the background behind Tran, was designed for the Center over the summer which was partly inspired by an African unity sculpture, pictured above. Trent Opstedahl / The Volante)