Brown and White Vol. 133 no. 10

              The Brown and White Vol. 133 No. 10
Tuesday, October 10, 2017 ‘All the Lehigh News First’
Dahlia Hylton aims to break down barriers
Photo courtesy of Dahlia Hylton
Dahlia Hylton is the new director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Before her work at Lehigh, Hylton served as the director of the
Intercultural Center and Multicultural Student Programs at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.
By KATIE MORRIS
Special to the B&W
Dahlia Hylton is a firm believ-er
in the philosophy of paying it
forward.
Throughout her life, people
encouraged her to take advantage
of every opportunity that came
her way and she believes these
people have guided her profes-sional
endeavors.
Today, Hylton serves as the
new director of Lehigh’s Office
of Multicultural Affairs, where
she is a part of an initiative on
campus that works to provide a
welcoming and supportive envi-ronment
for students, faculty and
staff.
“I would really love to help
Lehigh understand the impor-tance
of eradicating any type of
bias depending on whatever type
of social identity that you may
hold,” she said.
Breaking down bias has become
an increasingly prevalent con-cept
with recent events in the
United States, like responses to
the white supremacy march in
Charlottesville and the poten-tial
repeal of Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals. These inci-dents
have raised questions at
universities across the country
about their role in supporting
marginalized members of their
communities.
As a preliminary step in com-bating
bias, Lehigh established
the Office for Diversity, Inclusion
and Equity in February 2017
and appointed Donald Outing as
director.
“It’s about empowerment and
empowerment from the stand-point
of creating opportunities to
learn, to broaden our awareness
of others, to help us unlearn intol-erant
behaviors so it’s not the
work of this office, it’s the work
of this university,” Outing said.
“And that’s really what I want
people to understand — our office
is about doing the work of the
institution.”
See HYLTON Page 4
New housing facility will be largest in Lehigh history
Photo courtesy of Brent Stringfellow
A 400-student housing facility is being built as a part of Lehigh’s Path to Prominence expansion. The facility will be located on Brodhead
Avenue.
By SAMANTHA SILVERMAN
Associate News Editor
Under its Path to Prominence
expansion, Lehigh plans to build
SouthSide Commons, a new
400-student housing facility.
Located on Brodhead Avenue
across from Broughal Middle
School, the housing facility will
be the largest in Lehigh’s history.
The building will also be the first
apartment-style housing alterna-tive
offered off campus. University
architect Brent Stringfellow said
most apartments will consist of
four bedrooms, two bathrooms,
a living room and a kitchen.
Stringfellow said spaces will be
carved out for informal gatherings
and could be used for studying
and recreational activity.
“The plan is not to alter that
balance (between on-campus and
off-campus housing) — it is to
provide a different set of options,”
Stringfellow said.
Lori Friedman, the director
of media relations, wrote in an
email that SouthSide Commons
will serve as a bridge between
traditional on-campus living
and off-campus living in South
Bethlehem.
The location will put students
at the edge of Lehigh’s campus,
making travelling to class and
off-campus staples more accessi-ble.
The residential facility will be
available to juniors, seniors and
graduate students.
“There is no large apart-ment
buildings really for people
who want to live off campus,”
Stringfellow said. “You usually
have to go to a house. We see
(this) as just another option for
students as they start to grow out
of the traditional dorms into more
independent living.”
Stringfellow said because the
apartments are located in South
Bethlehem and affiliated with
Lehigh but are not Lehigh dorms,
See PATH Page 4