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The Office of Multicultural Affairs at South Dakota State University develops campus initiatives that demonstrate the valued practices and philosophy of multiculturalism within the university community. Programs and activities developed by the office promote high achievement among the increasing number of minority students at the university. The office enhances and complements the university's mission by broadening social, cultural, educational, and recreational experiences of students. The Office of Multicultural Affairs offers support to students of color, implements multicultural programming, coordinates the National Student Exchange and the Minority Peer Mentor programs, and assists in the recruitment of students of color.
The Minority Student Orientation is another program associated with the Office of Multicultural Affairs. This program is for new ethnic minorities (African American, Asian American, American Indian, or Latino) students attending South Dakota State University. This program gives students the opportunity to establish friendships and meet the people who will be there throughout their college education.
Cultural Organizations associated with this office include the African Students' Association, Bangladesh Students' Organization, Chinese Students Association, Indian Students' Association, International Relations Club, Arabian Club, Black Student Alliance, Japanese Students' Association, Islamic Cultural Club, Malaysian Students' Association and the Native American Club. Archives related to these and other student organizations are filed under: UA 35 Student Organizations.
The Minority Peer Mentor Program is intended to help ethnic minority students make a successful academic and social transition to life at South Dakota State University and the community of Brookings, S.D. The program is designed to support the students' academic progress and social adjustment to the SDSU environment by utilizing university offices, departments, faculty, staff, programs and student organization to provide assistance, encouragement and practical experiences.
The purpose of this program is to assist the University in maintaining a consistent minority enrollment with a focus on retention and graduation by providing students with a support system that is based on a one-to-one interactive relationship between upper-class students and ethnic minority freshmen students.
The goal of the program is to develop intellectual curiosity, teach academic and time management skills, discuss cultural issues, and address personal and interpersonal concerns.
The role of a peer mentor is to act as peer advisors to their mentees. They discuss issues, concerns, and/or difficulties their mentee is experiencing. Mentors will be responsible for establishing supportive relationships with participating freshmen. They provide resource information and referrals to various campus resources. Mentors serve as role models to incoming freshmen by maintaining high academic standards.