The Third World Center will likely have a new name as early as September 2014, said Mary Almandrez, director of the Third World Center and assistant dean of the College.
The name change was recommended in a program review, which combined results of both a March self-study by the center’s staff members and a report from external consultants specializing in racial diversity and social justice.
Almandrez cited both the program review and results from a fall 2012 poll conducted by the Undergraduate Council of Students as the driving motivators for potentially changing the name. About 46 percent of the student body said the name should be changed, 38 percent expressed no opinion and 16 percent said it should stay the same, according to the poll.
“The majority of people both internal and external favor a name change,” Almandrez said. “Our goals in this process are to preserve the center’s history, honor its legacy, be forward thinking and address the needs of the students today.”
Currently, Brown is the only Ivy League university to have a Third World Center. In 2002, Princeton renamed its Third World Center to the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, according to the university website.
Almandrez said no potential names have been determined so far, but any name including the word “multicultural” has been ruled out, noting that students have approached her opposing the use of the term in the center’s name.
“No matter what we choose for the name — it could be the most radical, it could be the most edgy, the most black, whatever — we’re not going to get 100 percent of people happy,” Almandrez said. “What I can guarantee, though, is not your happiness (with the name) but that your voice is valued, and that we want it as part of the discussion.”
The TWC has had the same name since its founding in 1976. According to the center’s website, the term “Third World” “is not to be confused with the economic definition of the term used commonly in our society today, but understood as a term that celebrates diverse cultures.”
Today, the TWC is arguably among the most influential institutions on campus. It coordinates the Third World Transition Program, the University’s largest pre-orientation program, with about 200 participants each year. The center also coordinates the Minority Peer Counseling program, which is in its 40th year. In the UCS poll data, about 94 percent of students stated they had heard of the MPC program, making it the most known TWC program surveyed.
“The naming process is about more than just one person,” said Shane Lloyd MPH’11, who helps coordinate TWTP and serves as assistant director for first-year and sophomore programs at the TWC. “Whatever the community thinks the name should be, I think that should be what it is.”
Almandrez said the TWC will consider the recent name change at Princeton and look to emulate other “great centers” from the Ivy League and New England as it moves forward.
Though a plurality of students support the name change, the idea has met some controversy. The March review stated the UCS polling “elicited emotional responses from (TWC) staffers.”
“There are people saying, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing trying to change the name,’ and there are people saying, ‘Why haven’t we changed the name sooner?’ Almandrez said. “The name change is likely going to happen because that was recommended by the consultants, and the community said that.”
Many students said they are ambivalent or oppose a potential name change.
“I don’t care if they change the name or not,” said Isaac Lima ’16. “I’m from Brazil, which you might consider a Third World country, but I don’t mind the name.”
“They shouldn’t change the name,” said Jessica Kenny ’17. “I can see how people might be offended given the term’s Cold War origins, but the name isn’t meant to be offensive. Once people know what it means, it’s all right.”
The TWC is meant to “serve as a source of support for American minorities and international students,” and to “build a sense of community and University ownership among incoming students,” according to its website.
Almandrez said a strategic planning committee to chart out the center’s future, will be formed by October.
“We have to ask ourselves, ‘What would we like the center to look like in 37 years?’” Lloyd said.
Almandrez said she hopes the center will become more involved with institutional diversity, while Lloyd said he looks forward to “strengthening our community partnerships with the larger Providence community.”
The center’s name was just one of six recommendations to come out of the self-study. Others included “rebranding the center to highlight scholarly experiences,” “developing reciprocal partnerships” with other groups on campus and preserving and honoring the TWC’s history, according to the report.
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