A bigger, more visible Multicultural Resource Center would lead to a more diverse student body at Kansas University.

That was the consensus of about 45 students who gathered Tuesday night at the current center to discuss a proposal for a new building. The center now is housed in a temporary facility near the Military Science Building.

“You have to have something that makes them want to be here,” said Mark Dupree, a Kansas City, Kan., junior. “There’s nothing here that tells me that.”

Jonathan Ng, student body president, called the meeting as part of a Student Senate effort for a new Multicultural Resource Center. He has proposed building it on the north side of the Kansas Union, though other options – including the former University Relations building east of the union – also were discussed Tuesday.

Santos Nunez, the center’s director, says the current building – which doesn’t have central heat or air conditioning – limits her staff’s options. Many of the center’s programs, which stress sensitivity in race, religion, sexual orientation and other areas, are conducted in other locations.

Renita Norman, a Topeka sophomore, said the Multicultural Resource Center wasn’t big enough for the Black Student Union to stage its meetings there.

“Our organization has outgrown this space,” she said. “We’re blessed to have so many members. We want to use it, but we can’t.”

Several students also noted that a more centralized location would allow students to stop by the Multicultural Resource Center on the way to class.

Ng says he plans to compile comments from the meeting and present a formal proposal to David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, and other KU officials.