Culture Clubs On Campus Showcase Their Identity To BC

Boston College isn't just a J.Crew magazine – a mass of Irish Catholic boys in polos and girls in khaki skirts, wandering through the hallways of Gasson. And with the 30-year anniversary of the AHANA acronym, a phrase coined right here at BC, being celebrated this year, this fact should be more evident than ever. Though founded out of a need for Irish Catholic boys to be admitted into a university at a time when other universities looked down on these immigrant scholars, BC now opens its doors to students of any race, religion, and cultural background who show interest in our school. And with over 30 different cultural clubs and organizations present on campus, our students have spoken. BC has a place for everyone.
Yvette Ramirez, director of public relations for the Organization of Latin American Affairs (OLAA) and A&S '12, joined the organization in her freshmen year in order to share her Hispanic culture with students at BC. "I went to their first general meeting and liked the atmosphere," Ramirez said. "It felt like a home away from home."
Many students of varying cultural backgrounds have found the same sort of belonging in clubs representing their respective heritages. Jackie Do, culture chair of the Vietnamese Students' Association (VSA) and A&S '12, shares this mentality. "Initially it wasn't my intent to actually become involved and connected through a culture club [at BC]. However, I'm so glad I am able to be a part of VSA because they make me feel like I have a second family up here, since I'm so far away from home," she said.
Beyond creating bonds with other members of the BC community, students have found ways to express their culture and share important aspects of that background with the rest of the University through culture organizations. "I am able to share my appreciation for Vietnamese culture and express my ethnicity to others," Do said. "I am so in love with my culture that I have attempted to share my appreciation with students at BC."
Members of these organizations not only attempt to share their passion for their cultures, but to educate other students and faculty members about these passions and ideals. "I feel proud to be part of a culture club because I am able to educate the students of Boston College about many cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean," says Ramirez. "Especially since OLAA represents every Latin American country, I feel as if it is our duty to educate students that within every Latin American culture they are all different, from the food they eat to the way they speak."
"At the same time," Ramirez continues, "what ties every Latin American country [together] is the importance of family, unity, and progression."
One unique way in which BC's various culture organizations attempt to teach the community about different cultures is through performances put on throughout the year. From competitive troupes to no-experience-necessary get togethers, the culture clubs on campus look to share their passion for music, dancing, and performance with those who are unfamiliar with the traditions of these different ethnicities.
"We simply have members of the Hawaii club who participate in learning Hawaiian dances (hula & Tahitian) with no audition or previous dance experience necessary," says Lauren Weiss, Hawaii Club lau coordinator and A&S ‘12.
Some groups, however, take a more intense approach to the performance aspect of their organization, practicing multiple hours per day in order to participate in some of BC's biggest performance competitions of the year. "Ever since I returned to campus from Christmas break, I have been dancing at least six to seven hours a day for practices and choreographing," said Ariel Durgana, show co-coordinator for the South Asian Students Association (SASA) and LSOE ‘12.
"Teaching the dances so far has been extraordinarily fun because we got so many people that aren't normally in SASA participating in the dances. It's really refreshing to see that the BC community doesn't just think that the SASA culture show is just for South Asians, because it certainly isn't." Durgana continued, pointing out a key feature in the goals and feelings of many other groups as well.
Mary Brinkopf, co-culture chair of the Japan Club and A&S ‘11, realized early on that culture clubs are not restrictive to students with backgrounds of the cultures that they celebrate. "I am not Asian at all," says Brinkopf."But I was intrigued by Japanese culture and language. At BC, I have taken two years of Japanese."
Brinkopf is a perfect example of these organizations' main goals of educating the community and bringing people of all backgrounds together through the celebration of every individual's culture. "Through our events and meetings, we wish to create a tighter bond with the Asian community here at BC in order to promote the goals of Asian Caucus and the Asian American community," Brinkopf said.
With numerous individual culture shows in the works for the spring, as well as many culture performance groups' participation in campus-wide events', such as the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) Showdown on March 27 and the 12th Annual Boston College Arts Festival from April 29-May 1, there are numerous opportunities to catch a glimpse of the different cultures represented here at BC.