my cultural org: we just want to stick to ourselves

College Life
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<p>I'm a third culture kid and I'm always trying to bring cultures together and resolve disconnects.</p>

<p>Maybe my kite was flying too high for my own good; I'm part of an umbrella pan-cultural organisation and also a TCK organisation and there everyone was receptive to the idea of building cross-ethnic ties and having more collaboration between cultural groups so they are not these clique-ish, closed groups but rather open groups who believe you can join a culture rather than be born into one.</p>

<p>Oh, irony of ironies when it comes to my own group (pertaining to my own birth country and the rest of my cultural identity that is not "mainstream American") -- at first I thought their isolatedness and lack of collaboration was due to you know, busy schedules and just ignorance of the pan-cultural initiatives going on around the school. Of course this is with me pestering the executive committee about it. </p>

<p>Then I hear it from the president's mouth: "We at the ExCo feel we want to just keep to ourselves this year... just have events for ourselves" and she cites some BS examples of "collaboration" done with other groups, on a scale so trivial they are not even symbolic. Meanwhile, other groups at school throw large cultural shows (centered at their culture) with support (from marketing to performance participation) and collaboration across many ethnic and cultural groups. Or even just small events where the collaboration is at least symbolically significant. It's not lack of resources that's stopping my group by any means. There are plenty of orgs willing to give a hand and reach out. It's like my countrymen are not interested in multicultural exchange. At all.</p>

<p>**** this. I hate my life. This hurts incredibly, and it feels like a dead end. What do I do?</p>

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<p>Cool story bro :)</p>

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<p>Well, just remember that a cultural org does not have to represent you as a member of a culture. You don’t have to join the Black Student’s Association (just to use an example) to be a black student, to celebrate that, to share your culture with others and learn about their cultures. No club can encompass your culture or how you express yourself. So I would suggest either not doing so many things with your specific org but rather doing things with the pan-cultural org, or else running for office in your org next year and changing your org policies from above. </p>

<p>Also, maybe reach out and find other like-mined students within your own organization. It’s possible that your president and executive board feel one way, but that’s not the way everyone feels.</p>