Multicultural clubs provide diversity on campus

By: by Dino Ramos

Posted: 8/30/01

Texas A&M has a culture that may be viewed as a strange religion to many outsiders. The traditions that the student body considers a normal way of life are seen as odd to outsiders. Many traditions are carried out by organizations but multicultural organizations are overlooked many times. These organizations aim to spread awareness of their culture and promote diversity on campus.

Two popular events that promote cultural awareness and diversity are International Week (I-week), held by the Multicultural Services and the International Student Association and the Whoopstock Unity Festival. Both are held in the spring semester.

During I-week, an assortment of multicultural organizations put their culture on display to educate students about countries such as the Philippines, China, India and Bolivia. The festivities throughout the week include a wide array of cultural displays in the Memorial Student Center, an international buffet, a talent show and dress parade. The Chinese Student Association, the Vietnamese-American Student Association, the Indian Student Association and the Philippines’ Student Association (PHILSA) take part in I-Week. Many of the members see this as an opportunity to break the barriers between races and to make cultural events more mainstream at A&M.

“It’s kind of sad that events like I-week and Whoopstock are not heavily promoted like Midnight Yell and Muster are,” said Linh Nguyen, treasurer of PHILSA and junior biomedical sciences major. “Organizations like PHILSA work their best to educate and bring culture to A&M in hopes that these events will be on the same level as the traditional Aggie events are.”

The Whoopstock Unity Festival brings a carnival-type atmosphere to O.R. Simpson Drill Field where Aggies are given the opportunity to enjoy a day of culture. Cultural dances and songs are present. In addition to the entertainment, booths are set up around the field to serve different types of food and to provide even more cultural awareness.

“Whoopstock is a great event to promote diversity and teach people more about the different cultures that are around here at A&M,” said Fren-Mark Banes, a junior civil engineering major. “It’s great to see open-minded people come out to learn and have fun at the same time.”

These groups promote cultural awareness through brotherhood or sisterhood. Delta Xi Nu and Beta Xi Chi are two multicultural organizations that promote awareness through community service and various events. Both of these groups have members of different ethnic backgrounds. Little is known about many of these groups because of low publicity and therefore, have few members.

Chi Upsilon Sigma, a hispanic sorority and Delta Kappa Delta, an Indian sorority, are fairly new to A&M. Asian sorority Rho Delta Chi and Asian fraternity Beta Tau Omega are two organizations that are constantly growing and are slowly getting more recognition.

To embrace true diversity at A&M, one must learn to accept differences in race and in diversity of thought. These multicultural organizations on campus are trying to promote who they are and what their culture is all about.