There is always something that an educational institution can do to change aspects of the community’s life. Here, some believe that clubs or other organizations on campus can do more to promote cultural awareness.
However, I would like to ask those people: What more can we do?
Many campus groups do their best to promote cultural awareness by hosting various events dedicated to the endeavor, but if there is little to no attendance at these events, that sends a clear signal about the commitment of a vast segment of the ENC student population to the promotion of cultural awareness on campus.
Robert Benjamin, the Associate Dean of Multicultural Affairs, has been at ENC for nearly eighteen years. He is constantly hosting events and his office is always open. His presence on this campus is a way for students who feel like there is a lack of cultural awareness to talk about those concerns.
Not only is Robert Benjamin’s presence hard to miss on campus, there is another organization at ENC that works to promote cultural awareness. African, Latino, Asian, and Native American, or ALANA, is a club on campus that promotes cultural awareness. Members of ALANA vary from year to year reflecting the changing interests of students in being involved with the group.
Even for individuals who did not participate in previous ALANA events, new leaders might introduce many exciting and educational opportunities; yet if no one attends, there is no way for the group to have the opportunity to succeed and thrive.
Students can’t complain about a lack of cultural awareness on campus if they are not seeking to be informed about many of these issues by the institutions already put in place at ENC. Instead of asking for new ways to promote cultural awareness, students should learn to appreciate what is already there, and seek to learn all they can from the organizations that are wanting and waiting to educate and raise awareness about other cultures.