Articles

A Year in Review at the DMC

By Madeleine Cerone

May 2, 2023

You may not be familiar with the Days-Massolo Center, but here at the DMC we are making waves! The DMC, the cultural education center on campus, has had such an incredible impact on campus during this school year from 2022-2023, and here’s the proof. I am so excited to share how our mission values have been implemented, how the DMC has grown as a space for students over the course of this year, and some outlooks for a future at the  DMC.

Last year, the Days-Massolo Center celebrated its 10-year anniversary! The center started out as a space for marginalized student groups to feel at home and welcome within the campus environment. A proposal was developed by students asking for “a dynamic, vibrant home that would host speakers, events, workshops and much more,” (2022-2023 DMC Report). The hope was for a place where people, students, and faculty alike could come together to discuss communal, local, and societal issues in a way that would facilitate solutions. With our newly revised mission statement, the DMC has been successful in achieving these goals and creating a path for a future. Our mission statement of enhancing the academic, intellectual, social, cultural, and leadership dimensions of the Hamilton community was supported by programs like Cafecito, the Ana Macho concert, and a night with Angela Davis. Cafecito was held six times at the DMC where students and faculty discussed issues and conflicts related to Latinx, Disability Employment, Native American Heritage, and Black History. The Ana Macho concert was put into action by La Vanguardia, the Gender and Sexuality Union, and the DMC. This wonderful celebration of music, culture, and sexuality sparked incredibly empowering conversations surrounding the LGBTQIA+ experience. Finally, Angela Davis was brought to campus by the Black and Latinx Student Union, Center for Intersectional Feminism, Voices of Color Lecture Series and the DMC. Angela Davis curated an environment of wisdom, insight, and change surrounding the Black community, education, and prison systems. Along with our cluster organizations, the DMC has helped make a space for people of all different backgrounds to feel recognized and heard.

This year, the DMC supported and was utilized by at least 25% of the student population. This includes 102 weekly student organization meetings, 29 student-led programs, and 5 co-curricular faculty led events (22-23 DMC Report). As we continue to grow the center and our presence on campus, increasing these numbers is a huge goal of ours! The DMC team is doing all we can to spread the word about the versatility of our center; it’s a meeting place for student organizations, a professional space for presentations and promotional events, but it is also a second home. Many people do not realize that the DMC is more than an office space, or a venue for events. It is a place to study, to cook food, and to watch movies with your friends. In the coming years we hope to increase visibility of the Days-Massolo Center and share its resources with even more of Hamilton’s campus. 

Last but not least, the DMC switched from belonging to the Student Affairs division to belonging to a different, new division: The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion division. This new division is dedicated to improving diversity, implementing equity and supporting inclusion in every aspect of Hamilton’s campus. Events, student, faculty and staff will all play an important role in growing DEI work on campus through the DMC. We are so excited to see where the new support, staff, and budget will take the Days-Massolo Center as we settle into the DEI division. 

Finally, I want to thank all of you for reading this newsletter showing an interest in the DMC and our mission. Every second you spend reading these articles will help the campus learn more and more about the Days-Massolo Center, and grow our community. We can’t wait to see what next year brings!

Be on the lookout for a fully published DMC impact report!