Middle Eastern students at the University may soon find a stronger voice in the community, due to a previously unprecedented occurrence.
For the first time since its creation, the Minority Rights Coalition voted to invite a new member organization -- the Middle Eastern Leadership Council -- to join its league of minority University groups, provided that MELC establishes an executive board and strategic plan by April 1.
"As a perpetually underrepresented voice, our community considers this merger an exciting opportunity to finally address the specific concerns and issues central to the wellbeing of the Middle Eastern community at the University," said Nadine Natour , chair of the Middle Eastern Leadership Council.
In 2000, presidents of five minority organizations banded together at the L2K Leadership Conference to create the MRC. Since its creation, however, the number of participating groups has not grown.
The MRC is currently comprised of the Black Student Alliance, the Asian Student Union, the Queer Student Union, La Alianza Coalition of Hispanic/Latino Leaders and Feminism is for Everyone.
The chairs of these organizations voted last Wednesday to invite MELC to be the first non-founding organization able to participate in the MRC. In order to gain MRC membership, a minority organization must be "an umbrella organization," according to MRC Co-Chair Wyatt Fore, fostering coordination among other groups with similar interests.
An exception was made for MELC -- which is not an umbrella organization -- because there were not any umbrella organizations in the University's Middle Eastern community, Natour said.
Before MELC officially joins the MRC, though, Fore said MELC must establish framework to sustain itself.
"We need an executive committee to organize the community," Fore said. "We want to see that they have a plan so that [the organization] carries past this semester. We aren't deathly concerned. It's just a formal requirement."
According to Natour, her group's executive board is not yet solidified. She said, however, MELC has set its goals and missions.
"The Middle Eastern community seeks to improve the environment for current and incoming students who identify with the region and to prove that the Minority Rights Coalition is not exclusive and has made a novel decision that gives hope to other voices who feel they aren't currently heard," Natour said.
Fore said expansion of the MRC could result in benefits for all participants.
"Just participation in the MRC is a huge boost," Fore said. "You're competing for scarce resources and access to lines of communication. Being part of the MRC really helps. When we do all this educational training, it really helps to have the Middle Eastern voice there. It's an opportunity for educating each other and seeing the commonality between us."
Natour also agreed that there will be mutual benefits from MELC's participation in the MRC, provided that all goes as planned.
"We get to have the support of such respected organizations and communities, and they just have a lot of wisdom that we would like for them to share with us," Natour said. "I feel that a lot of our goals coincide with many of theirs."
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