Originally proposed in 2023 by former Student Association President Nia Johnson ‘23, a mural honoring all the multicultural organizations on campus has been constructed.

After securing funding, getting University Union leadership to join the initiative and even drafting a design, the project was stalled. However, following four years of planning, the mural was officially unveiled at a ceremony on May 4, with remarks from those involved in the process.

In 2024, when running for vice president of multicultural affairs for the 2025-2026 school year, Jestina Tam, a senior majoring in biology, (3) ran her campaign with the completion of the mural as one of her primary goals. As VPMA, Tam felt a responsibility to address the disconnect between incoming students and the large multicultural community on campus.

“Prior to this mural, the only dedicated space that visibly celebrated the multicultural space was the third floor of UUW,” Tam wrote in an email. “A place that’s not accessible on campus tours and isn’t regularly frequented unless you’re a member of an org in that space. Despite the multicultural community at Binghamton making up over one-third of all charted clubs on this campus and creating over 50% of all the programming on campus, there was no space that loudly showcased them.”

“To have this mural in such a public space today shows how Binghamton cherishes our POC, queer, disabled, gender, and other identity-based communities,” she added. “It is important, now more than ever, to show that Binghamton is a place that students from all backgrounds, identities, and cultures can call home.” (1)

The work on the new mural began at the beginning of this academic year. SA President McKenzie Skrastins, a senior majoring in mathematics, (4) joined the initiative and recruited Nya Lee, a senior majoring in studio art, to design the mural. (5)

Over the next few weeks, various logos and designs were collected. The culmination of over 90 hours of work, the mural compiles logos and designs from over 100 chartered cultural organizations on campus. The mural, which Lee based on Gilberto Guzmán’s “Multicultural,” is located in the University Union Undergrounds. (2)

“Once I was assigned the project, my biggest goal with the final design was to make sure that every organization was represented appropriately, and to truly embrace the various different cultures that exist within the entire student body of Binghamton University,” Lee wrote in an email. “Representation is so incredibly important, and investing in our community through projects like this one only makes our campus stronger. The space of the mural was necessary for the project, as not only is it one of the most public-facing areas on campus, but prospective student tours will always pass by the mural. We want to not just make our current student body feel celebrated, but also our incoming students as well.” (2)

Spanning almost the entire wall under the stairwell, there is space purposely left on the right side for future additions, as new multicultural organizations continue to be founded and chartered on campus in the next few years. Tam also hopes that the open space can serve as a canvas displaying photos of previous events hosted by Binghamton’s multicultural organizations. (1)

“The goal of this mural is to loudly and proudly recognize the Binghamton multicultural community and its members,” Tam wrote. “This mural is a testament to the dedication, love, and pride the multicultural community pours into this campus each and every day.”