Collyn Robinson, Multimedia Managing Editor

The new cultural space for Middle Eastern and North African, or MENA, students will be located at 305 Crown St., Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis confirmed to the News.

Director of the Asian American Cultural Center Joliana Yee wrote that she and assistant director Sheraz Iqbal toured 305 Crown St. earlier this semester, along with the lead architect, to see the future home of the newly-announced MENA space. The “cultural suite” will be built over the summer on half of the first floor, according to Yee, who added that she arranged for a workshop on Friday, March 1 to solicit input from MENA students.

The lack of a MENA cultural center has long been a source of student frustration, with the new space coming after nearly six years of student organizing.The Asian American Cultural Center currently has a dedicated room for MENA students on its third floor, and, this year, the AACC sponsored the University’s first AACC-MENA peer liaisons.

“It is my goal to remain in communication with the architect and design team to ensure that the renovated space meets the needs and expectations of the MENA community within the parameters that have been approved by the University,” wrote Yee, who also an assistant dean of the College.

The latest development comes after University President Peter Salovey promised the creation of a “more plentiful and fully dedicated space” for MENA students in December. Salovey’s commitment was part of a larger message on the University’s actions to “enhance support” for students in the wake of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, including permanent security at the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale and the hiring of a second Muslim chaplain.

“In recent years, university leaders have discussed with MENA students their requests for additional space and recognition, and we are committed to work with them and to provide resources and guidance,” Salovey wrote in his “Against Hatred” message. 

In January, administrators told the News that the new MENA center would have its own dedicated peer liaisons, assistant director and physical space — distinct from the AACC — by the fall 2024 semester. 

Yale added a job posting on LinkedIn for assistant director of the “MENA Cultural Community” on Jan. 18. Responsibilities include liaising with facilities staff to maintain the current MENA space in the AACC and “provide guidance throughout the build out of the new space in 305 Crown,” and to work with the AACC director in “strategic planning, financial management, program assessment, and departmental reporting.” 

Lewis told the News in February that the MENA space will have a separate budget from the AACC with “substantial funding.” He said that the YCDO will use a survey to find out how many students would be engaged with the MENA center because the U.S. Census Bureau, which the Common Application uses, does not include a category for Middle Eastern and North African identity.

“In the case of some races, we get [racial demographic] information after students have been admitted from the Common App, but I think with MENA, because it’s a complex category and not exactly one of the categories in the census, we have to just ask people,” Lewis said.

Although the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action last summer, the University can still use self-reported racial identity data gathered after the application process.

Last April, University administration ordered student groups to vacate their previously assigned spaces at 305 Crown St. by the end of the year, citing “inequities” with the building hosting only 15 student groups out of hundreds on campus. At the time, Dean of Student Affairs Hannah Peck wrote to the groups that instead, each would receive a shelf in the 305 Crown storage room. 

This year, the Yale Herald and the Yale Record both have offices on the third floor of the building, and First Year Outdoor Orientation Trips — one of the Camp Yale orientation programs — also uses rooms on the first and second floors for storage.