Multicultural Clubs Enhance Learning at USU
Multicultural clubs seek to enrich the cultural diversity at USU through sharing language and cultural practices at meetings and activities. They serve as avenues that preserve traditions for minorities while educating the rest of the campus population, said Chantear Song, president of the Asian American Student Council.
Currently there are more than 20 multicultural clubs at USU. They include both common clubs, like the French and German clubs, as well as more rare clubs, like the Friends of Nepal Club and Medical UNITY.
College learning extends beyond the classroom, and participation in student organizations offers great learning experiences otherwise unavailable, said Sarah Gordon, assistant French professor and adviser of the French Club.
“Going to French Club or other language clubs is like leaving Logan for a couple hours,” Gordon said.
Multicultural clubs combine all aspects of the college experience in one setting, Song said. She said their goal is to provide an environment for students that balances the academic, cultural and social dimensions of college life.
To fulfill the social aspect, the clubs provide a place to socialize. The Japan Club has a place to socialize in the Japanese Resource Center, located in the Animal Science building, Atsuko Neely said. Neely, lecturer of Japanese and adviser of the Japan Club, said the resource center has a small collection of Japanese books, mangas and movies.
All clubs offer activities throughout the school year. Gordon said the French Club has a noon conversation hour in the Hub at Café Ibis every Wednesday. Neely said the Japan Club holds monthly activities ranging from Movie Night and the Round Table Discussion to the Japanese Fall Festival. And Subash Shrestha, graduate in food science and director of the Friends of Nepal Club, said that club will host a Nepali cultural show and a Nepal food cookout soon.
Song said another activity coming up is the Annual Tip-Toe Into Asia Banquet in January, featuring belly and dragon dancers and homemade Asian food. Devin Rowley, director of the Japan Club, said next semester the Japan Club will take a ski trip and host an evening at an assisted living home.
Gordon said the French Club will be showing the film “Ratatouille” in French while eating the dish ratatouille in December.
All clubs extend membership to anyone interested in joining, regardless of race or national origin.
“The club is about celebrating and educating the public on Asian Americans, and we encourage people of all races to join,” Song said.
Rowley said membership in the Japan Club includes native speakers as well as those with no language training at all. Neely said all students are welcome if they are interested in something Japanese.
The French club also welcomes people in all degrees of language comprehension, Gordon said. She said the club has members from Canada and Africa, who speak fluent French, to beginners. “All are welcome, and you will learn some French phrases if you come to events,” Gordon said.
Some of the multicultural clubs focus on an entire nation’s language and culture, while others have a narrower focus.
Medical UNITY, a new club this semester, addresses the need for bilingualism in the medical field, said Chris Bowen, senior in biochemistry and biology. He said he saw the need while volunteering at Logan Region Hospital and created the club to deal with the problem. The vision of Medical UNITY is that students leave USU with an appreciation, love, and respect for the Latino culture that will aid them in their interactions and ability to better serve the Latino people in their future health profession endeavors, Bowen said.
Like other student clubs, there are no specific requirements to join Medical UNITY.
“We have students that are not even in pre-health programs, but are here to increase their vocabulary as interpreters in elementary schools and eventually interpret at hospitals,” Bowen said.
Song said multicultural clubs exist to serve students on campus, from the minorities to the whole student body.
“The student body population here at Utah State is dominantly Caucasian,” Song said. “As a minority on campus and in the community, it is easy to forget your traditions and culture and just assimilate into the mainstream culture. Without a club or a program that draws people together to preserve a culture, it can all start to disappear.”
In some cases, the clubs operate to ease the transition for foreign students, Rowley said. USU has a fair amount of Japanese exchange students, so the activities put on by the Japan Club help integrate and include the exchange students who otherwise may feel isolated and lost.
Friends of Nepal was established to provide Nepali students with assistance as well as share Nepal’s culture and social settings with the general public. Shrestha said Nepal is compromised of diverse ethnic groups.
“Each of them have a different language, culture, customs and traditions, yet they live in a perfect harmony,” Shrestha said. Shrestha said he also hopes his club can spurn interest in Nepal’s resources, like a variety of medicinal plants and herbs. Focusing on Nepal and what makes it distinct can help students explore these research opportunities in Nepal, he said.
Sharing one’s culture with others to enhance understanding and appreciation is a goal of every multicultural club.
Bowen said clubs can enrich the total scholastic experience of students at USU and are vital to provide a healthy understanding of the ever-growing multicultural nation.
Neely said, “It is my hope that language studies makes it possible to build deeper understanding of outside world through personal encounters and connections to the world.”
Having organizations that lessen ethnocentrism is important in this age of globalization, Song said.
“Without a cross-cultural understanding of one another, we create a wall of ignorance and thus open the door for prejudice and hate,” Song said.