California State University, Bakersfield unveiled La Casita, a new Latinx cultural center, on campus Thursday morning, giving students, faculty and staff a dedicated space to gather on a campus where roughly 70% of the student body is Latino. The celebration drew students, faculty and staff together to mark the opening of a center years in the making for a demographic that makes up the clear majority of CSUB's population.
La Casita is the second cultural center on CSUB's campus, according to 23ABC News Bakersfield, which reported on Thursday's unveiling. The space features a lounge, art from across Latin America, study rooms and a play room for children whose parents attend CSUB, giving student-parents a place to bring their kids while they work or study.
Students Say a Physical Space Was Long Overdue
Students told the station that the lack of a physical gathering space had made it difficult for them to come together and celebrate their heritage on campus. Rigoberto Onofre Gutierrez said the new center creates opportunities for students to connect through culture, food and music, describing La Casita as a meeting ground, hangout space and resource for the community it serves.
The Associated Students, Inc. president said the Hispanic-Serving designation should carry real meaning for Latinx students, adding that those students should feel seen, supported and set up to succeed on campus. CSUB Vice President for Student Affairs Dwayne Cantrell said La Casita is intended for everyone on campus, not just Latino students, while organizers expect the center will make it easier for students broadly to find community.
What the Hispanic-Serving Designation Means for CSUB
CSUB has held federal Hispanic-Serving Institution status since 1998, as defined by the Higher Education Opportunity Act, according to the university's own Hispanic-Serving Institution page. That designation requires a baseline of 25% full-time-equivalent undergraduate enrollment and allows CSUB to apply for federal grants aimed at supporting student success, a pipeline that has already paid off in concrete ways: the university previously received a five-year, $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education aimed at transforming the campus experience for Hispanic students, according to CSUB News.
CSUB is far from alone in relying on that status. California has 167 Hispanic-Serving Institutions, including 21 of the state's 22 CSU campuses, according to EdSource. That same reporting found CSU campuses statewide had lost an estimated $43 million from cuts to HSI grant funding within the past year, and that CSUB itself did not hold its usual multiday orientation for community college transfer students ahead of the fall term for the first time in years, after the grant supporting that program was abruptly canceled, according to the program's director.
Other Campuses Are Building Similar Spaces
CSUB isn't the only CSU campus investing in a dedicated Latinx space this year. CSUN's Latinx Resource Center officially opened its doors to students in September, with an open house on the Chicano Lawn, according to the Daily Sundial. That center is slated to move into a new campus facility, the Matador Success and Inclusion Center, set to open next summer, with its current buildings expected to remain in use by three academic departments and programs afterward.
CSUB's own cultural center landscape includes the Dr. Thomas D. Wallace Black Student Success Center, which offers resources, support services and programs focused on academic excellence and cultural expression, according to the university. La Casita now joins that center as the campus's second dedicated cultural space, giving CSUB two distinct hubs built around the identities of specific student communities.
