Office of Multicultural Programs Announces Change In Department Name

The new logo of the FIU office of Social Justice and Inclusion, former office of Multicultural Programs and Services.

Jesse Fraga/Asst. News Director

FIU’s Office of Multicultural Programs and Services (MPAS) introduced the spring semester with a new name, the Office of Social Justice and Inclusion (OSJI).

In addition to the change in department name, the Women’s Center will now run under the OSJI, rather than as a separate entity of the university. This was announced in a social media statement on Thursday, Jan. 7 effective immediately.

The Instagram post highlights the office’s goals to “empower social change, advocate for diversity and inclusion, educate for justice and equity, and act with empathy and impact.”

Screenshot image from @fiu_osji social media post

While their mission remains the same, Anthony DeSantis, director of OSJI, said the team had been discussing for months how to better represent the department, addressing modern-day issues.

He added that the entire team has been in support of this decision.

After listening to students’ concerns regarding limits of the word multicultural, DeSantis found many of them didn’t know or understand what MPAS was.

“Unless you’re an MPAS scholar or you’ve gone to one of our programs and services, you know what MPAS means,” he said. “But now, it really accurately represents what we’re doing.”

LGBTQA Initiatives is one of the many programs offered by the OSJI.

Abrianna Jean-Baptiste is a social media assistant for LGBTQA Initiatives and junior double-majoring in sociology and women’s and gender studies.

“I like [the name]… I feel like it aligns itself more with their goals, rather than the word multicultural,” said Baptiste. “When I think of social justice, I think of validating all people that haven’t been given justice to begin with.”

DeSantis felt that MPAS was not fully representative of the programs in place. “It’s kind of similar to LGBTQA [Initiatives], so LGBTQA [Initiatives] is an area within our office… now the Women’s Center is [also] a unit within our office,” he said.

Nashira Williams, director of the Women’s Center, was in full support of the office’s new collaboration with OSJI.

“Our ability to reach more students, partner with amazing faculty, staff and student organizations, and engage others in intersectional feminist approaches through the concerted efforts of OSJI is aspirational,” said Williams.

Besides the Women’s Center, the OSJI will offer the same programs as before including the Male Mentoring Initiative, Social Justice Badge Program, MLK Celebration, programs on demand, tutoring services and scholarships.

DeSantis emphasized that the new name leaves room for more opportunities within the office, rather than only multicultural matters.

“The goal of this is to branch out… to really not just serve the populations that we’ve served, but to better serve the entire campus,” said DeSantis.

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