On Aug. 20, Milwaukee Area Technical College announced it would rename its Office of Multicultural Services in order to comply with guidance from the administration of Donald Trump.
The college also eliminated the positions of four staff who worked directly with students.
Community members clap and cheer in support of Floyd C. Griffin III, who lost his job in the former Office of Multicultural Services, after speaking during public comment of a board meeting at the Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown campus in Milwaukee on Aug. 26.
And that decision hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“It is not about jobs being cut, it’s about relationships, trust and the safety net that kept so many students from falling through the crack,” alumni Yeng Tha Vue, who goes by Cloud, told the MATC District Board on Aug. 26.
Vue is among dozens of people who attended the public meeting in protest.
The four eliminated positions were for multicultural student services specialists, focused on supporting African American, American Indian, Hispanic and Asian American students.
One more student services specialist, for international students, didn’t lose their job.
Federal guidance released in February prohibits “race-conscious practices,” or job duties that “provide services exclusively to students based on race or ethnicity.”
MATC has repeatedly pointed to that guidance, and threats over potential funding cuts or investigation, as the basis for its changes in the multicultural office.
Attendance at the public meeting Aug. 26 overflowed the regular board meeting room. Students, faculty and other employees were directed to an overflow space in a nearby auditorium to watch the meeting on livestream.
“Our commitment and focus is on supporting each and every one of our students, providing them with the resources they need to succeed. We are equally committed to supporting our affected employees during this transition,” MATC said via a spokesperson, Darryll Fortune, on Aug. 26.
Annabel Chavez, who lost her position at the former Office of Multicultural Services, hugs family and community members after attending a board meeting in protest of the decision, at the Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown campus, in Milwaukee on Aug. 26.
Union representing staff whose jobs were eliminated
Floyd C. Griffin III is among the four staff who lost his job. Speaking to board members, he asked why he and his colleagues weren’t reclassified, or reassigned to other jobs.
“We were given less than 15 minutes to choose between two last days: the day of notification, or Sept. 18,” he said.
Griffin and his three colleagues are being encouraged to apply for two new positions in the former multicultural office, or for other open jobs.
The AFT Local 212 is representing the four staff, said president Lisa Conley in an interview Aug. 26. The union is looking into whether their employee rights, as stated in the employee handbook, were violated.
Current and former staff, faculty, students and community members gather in protest of the elimination of jobs in the Office of Multicultural Services, now called the Office of Community Impact, during a board meeting at the Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown campus in Milwaukee on Aug. 26.
Former students say multicultural office has been essential
The Aug. 20 notification to employees about restructuring in the multicultural office did not specify that four jobs were being eliminated.
But that information quickly spread through the college and online.
Vue, the alumni, said he found out by scrolling LinkedIn. Then, as a former member of student government, people started messaging him.
“I had a phone call with a good friend, and they told me they felt scared that this is happening,” Vue said in an interview.
Vue said he understands the college is under pressure to align itself with the federal guidance. But he still wants staff to keep their jobs. It was a student support specialist in the multicultural office who helped recruit him to MATC in the first place, he said.
MATC has renamed other positions in order to comply with federal guidance. The manager of multicultural services became the manager of community impact, and the vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion became vice president of student engagement and community impact, according to the college.
Kelly Logan, a 2005 MATC alumni, said during public comment he drove from Wisconsin Dells to speak at the meeting. His mother worked at the college as a counselor supporting Native American students, he said.
“I never would have never made it, I’d probably just be a statistic right now, if it weren’t for that (multicultural) center,” he said.
An online petition calling for reinstatement of the four employees had over 1,270 signatures as of 10 p.m. Aug. 26.
“For countless students and staff — of ALL races, cultures, countries of origin, and backgrounds — it was more than a department. It was a safe haven, a community, and a place where people felt seen,” Walter Lanier, former head of the MATC multicultural office, wrote on LinkedIn.
Again, concerns raised over environment for employees of color
Floyd C. Griffin III, right, whose position at the former Office of Multicultural Services has been eliminated in response to Trump policies, speaks during public comment of a board meeting at the Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown campus in Milwaukee on Aug. 26.
Speaking before the board, Griffin said he needed to share a something that’s hard to admit.
“Many of the leaders driving this decision are themselves leaders of color. This is not just about race in the simplistic sense, it is about a culture of fear and retaliation that’s overtaken this institution,” he said.
The school has parted ways with several administrators of color in recent years, and dealt with internal allegations of poor employee treatment, reporting by the Journal Sentinel shows.
“Eliminating multicultural specialists here does not just undermine the department, it undermines the trust of our entire community,” Griffin said.
More: Despite efforts, MATC employees say college has struggled to tackle discrimination on campus
Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dozens protest MATC’s decision to cut jobs in former multicultural office