MSU’s 2020 Vision is not complete so long as it doesn’t specify for the construction of a free-standing multicultural center building.

On Wednesday, representatives from the Council of Racial Ethnic Students met with the MSU Board of Trustees to push for the center’s inclusion in the 2020 plan.

The 2020 Vision is the university’s master plan for campus building projects for the next 18 years. It was adopted by the board in December after being discussed for more than two years.

The current center, which opened in 1999, occupies 3,000 square feet in the basement of the Union.

The center’s small size has been criticized by the groups who operate out of it since it was first opened.

Several racial ethnic organizations are forced to hold meetings in larger residence hall rooms because the center’s space is inadequate.

MSU President M. Peter McPherson and trustees have agreed to review the groups’ concerns during the semester to determine if they are valid.

The trustees cited money as their greatest concern about the creation of a new free-standing multicultural structure.

The current Multicultural Center location was intended to be opened on a three-year trial basis.

Students who lobbied for its creation hoped the university would provide a 9,000 square-foot free-standing building.

While the 2020 Vision doesn’t specifically call for the building of a new multicultural center, it does lay out plans for a student activity center that would house study areas, computer labs and organization spaces.

We would hope university leaders strongly consider constructing a multicultural center either next to or adjacent to that activity center.

The activity center is expected to be a high-traffic campus are. A new multicultural center would best belong near that space so all students could find its services easily.

It is unfortunate many students are unaware of the current center’s virtually hidden location in a bathroomless corner of the Union.

The Union space was a beginning for this center, but by no means should it be a permanent home.

The racial ethnic groups deserve a more adequate facility to better serve students.

If the center is not big enough for the groups that use it now, there is no way there will be room in 20 years. It would be ridiculous for university officials to expect otherwise.

The Multicultural Center is not meant just to aid minority students -- it’s a benefit to every student on campus.

If it were to be built in a more central and larger space, perhaps more students could take advantages of the services it has to offer.

We hope the Board of Trustees sees the need for a free-standing multicultural center during the next semester of its reviews. The MSU community deserves no less.