By Jaida Dent
Covered in an array of flags from several different countries, music radiated out of the Gold Room of the Student Center. Tables were adorned in colors and imagery representative of each club and their cultures. As the music bounced from Soca to Afrobeats to Reggaeton, students entered the room with excitement of what the event would hold.
To kick off Brooklyn College’s Diversity week, the Office of Student Activities, Involvement & Leadership (S.A.I.L), hosted “Cultural Experience” on Monday, Sept. 9. This event brought together the many cultural organizations and fraternities on campus to showcase the many identities that exist within the student body.
The event holds deep importance for these clubs because it gives them the opportunity to show that BC has so much to offer in terms of diversity and spaces for the students. In 2022, BC was ranked highly for its ethnic diversity in the U.S. News & World Report. To club leaders, it was especially important to be a part of the celebration to show solidarity within their communities.
“We made sure that we came as a club to stand up for our club and show out for our club, because there’s a lot of African students within this campus, especially from all around the continent,” Yerema Keita, president of the African Student Union (ASU), told The Vanguard. “And we thought it was best to show out for our people and make sure that they know that they are heard, they are seen, and there’s a safe space for them.”
Along with inviting cultural clubs to the event, many fraternities were there including Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Incorporated, a Latino-based fraternity with over 140 chapters in the United States. Their attendance at the event helped reinforce the assortment of opportunities and communities that are a part of BC.
“I think this event is a representation of not only cultures in the general sense, but the culture of this campus […] Being given this space to once again just show who we are to the campus and promote ourselves, I’m definitely grateful for it on behalf of our organization,” said Carlos Ortiz, member of the Sigma Lambda Beta.
The event brought together the attendees through music and dancing. The Caribbean Student Union (CSU) taught the students the choreography to the song “Drift” by Teejay and played Bachata, a traditional music genre from the Dominican Republic, for everyone to dance to. Performances on steel pans and Djembe, a type of African drums, provided a lively beat that had everyone on the dancefloor.
To leaders of the Black Student Union (BSU), community is an ever-important value, and they aim to create spaces where other students can feel comfortable and welcome.
“Black Student Union is a place of unity. It brings a lot of students together, especially people of color. We are a very tight community. We like to keep our people close. And help and reach out to the community, especially since a lot of students, especially incoming students, they’re new. They might be a little lost. It’s a nice, chill place for all ethnicities, despite our name, to come and just mingle,” said Marcus Malivert, club connector for BSU.
Other clubs emphasized that it was an opportunity to learn about different cultures they might not otherwise have the opportunity to.
“I think it’s super important for us to not be blinded and to learn about each other’s cultures, learn about our similarities rather than our differences and I think that’s super important. I think being here to promote our culture and share that with Brooklyn College is amazing,” said Abigail Khanis, president of Hillel Club.
The event showcased the liveliness and joy that exists at Brooklyn College through these organizations. It also showed how connected the clubs are by being able to gather in one space and celebrate what each culture brings to the table.
“People might come and go,” said Ortiz. “But that core foundation, that unity is still in place with what orgs we have today on campus.”