TCU Intercultural Center offers a safe and welcoming space for students on campus

By Jaida Joyner, Staff Writer

Published Sep 23, 2023

Students interacting around the Reception Desk in the Intercultural Center. (Jaida Joyner/Staff Writer)

TCU’s Intercultural Center, ICC, is a connection hub for various students on campus. This building provides a safe space for expression and affinity with comfortable study lounges, free coffee, board games and much more. Located in the Brown-Lupton University Union, it’s a home away from home for many international, minority and commuter students to gather throughout the day. Marginalized students often find it harder to be connected to a predominately white institution, otherwise known as PWI. Nicole Espinoza, a junior strategic communications major and ICC desk assistant, said, “If I go to the library I feel intimidated, but when I come to the Intercultural Center I feel more comfortable because I feel a sense of community around me.” Various events are hosted in the ICC throughout the school year, allowing student organizations to unify and bring different cultures to TCU’s campus.

Intercultural Center’s connection and events board. (Jaida Joyner/TCU 360)

“We get to try a lot of cultural foods that I normally wouldn’t try on my own,” said Espinoza; she expressed extra love for the different cuisines she has been exposed to through the ICC. Some of the center values of the ICC are intellectual and social inclusion, empowerment through social justice and advocacy, intersectionality and more found on their website. Bailey Ratcliff, a junior accounting and finance major, ICC desk assistant and commuter, uses the space as a resource to ask questions and meet new people. “Since I’m a commuter I’ve lost that connection to campus, but the Intercultural Center feels like a dorm lobby because you can come in and recognize friendly faces,” she said. Celebrating diversity on campus is what brings many students to the Intercultural Center throughout the day. Ratcliff laughs, recollecting on how much time she actually spends in the ICC. “Although I work here three days out of the week I’m pretty much here the majority of the week,” she said. The Intercultural Center is a step in the right direction for TCU to grow at bringing in more diverse students onto its campus.