On Sept. 15, the office in Shepherd Union that housed the KWCR Wildcat Radio was cleared out to make space for the expansion of the Center of Diversity and Unity. The plan is to expand space to make another cultural center aside from the Center for Multicultural Excellence, according to Adrienne Andrews, Vice President for Equity, Diversity and inclusion and the Chief Diversity Officer.

With a final eviction date of Sept. 16, KWCR was given a week’s notice to pack their bags. Regardless of conversations about the space change starting during the spring semester of 2021, KWCR claims they were not informed about the final decision until Sept. 9.

The radio station’s new space is a fraction of the size of their previous office, leaving KWCR’s staff disappointed.

“I think that I was a little disheartened that the process wasn’t as transparent, collaborative, as I had hoped that it might be,” Nathan Rodriguez, KWCR faculty adviser, said. “It also seemed as though perhaps more rushed than it needed to be, but at the same time I understand that folks want to get projects moving.”

Due to the late posting, the moving process was rushed and boxes are still in the process of being opened.

“It is disappointing to see students who worked hard for the radio station to be given such short notice to pack and move,” Anne Bialowas, KWCR employee, said. “Moving is stressful, and starting the semester in this way is unfortunate. We knew there was going to be renovations, however, we always asked if we had to pack and it was also communicated that, ‘No, we did not.’ Also, we had to find a place to store everything, which was also not communicated to us.”

Both Rodriguez and Bialowas felt that there could have been measures taken to prevent such a rushed process.

“We also had to find a place to store everything, which was also not communicated to us,” Bialowas said.

KWCR has since moved their space into two smaller rooms. The KWCR booth will continue to be in the same area as before.

“I think that there were some opportunities for all the interested parties to come away with a better usage of the space, and I’m not quite sure that all those avenues were explored as fully as they could have been,” Rodriguez said.

Editors note:

This article has been updated to correct the purpose of the expansion space.