Campus groups bolster awareness

Diversity on campus is staggering -- just about every ethnicity, religion and socioeconomic group seems to represented. In keeping with this trend, student organizations certainly reflect student diversity. Whether you are Hindu, African American or attempting to deal with your sexuality, there is a student group that is trying to establish a community and to address your unique issues.

Groups also work together to bring about awareness. An example of an event where groups of many cultures come together to celebrate is CultureFest. This event took place in mid-November and has been ocurring annually for the last 21 years. Students gather to perform and discuss issues of diversity.

Beyond CultureFest, there are events throughout the school year that are sponsored by various campus groups. For example, Awareness Days is hosted by DSAGA annually to discuss and promote gay rights.

Diwali Dhamaka, a Hindu celebration, draws crowds to the recreation center each fall. And the Black Student Union sponsors a month-long celebration during February for Black History Month.

Sophomore Chloe Huang, vice president of culture for the Chinese Student Association (CSA), said, "The purpose of the CSA is to promote and provide for the social and cultural needs of Chinese students attending Johns Hopkins University. Furthermore, CSA strives to promote community awareness of Asian issues."

She emphasized the group's desire to forge relationships with other student groups serving a similar purpose.

Huang said, "Everyone in CSA strives to bring new elements to Chinese culture by blending in with other cultural groups. For example, we've planned numerous events with other diversity groups, such as BSU (Black Student Union), SASH (South Asian Students and Hopkins), TASA (Taiwanese Student Association), just to list a few. CSA serves to not only promote awareness of the Chinese but also bring people together, regardless of age, sex or ethnicity. Instead of isolating ourselves, all of our members participate in other on campus groups, and we share our thoughts with others and vice versa. Chinese culture itself is molded by various groups of people, and CSA by nature seeks not to polarize but embrace everyone."

Senior Abha Gupta, president of the Hindu Student Council, said, "One of the things I like best about Hopkins is the diverse student body. As a member of the Interfaith Council, I have the opportunity to work directly with students of different cultures, faiths and backgrounds.  It is truly incredible how much we learn from each other at each of our meetings. While there is a lot of collaboration between student groups on campus, it would certainly be wonderful to see more of it." 

Huang shared this sentiment. She said, "There are indeed numerous diversity groups on this campus. I can come up with at least one student organization for every kind of culture I could think of. They do a good job raising awareness of and celebrating different cultures. However, I feel like there could be more interactions between groups. For example, I would really like to plan a CSA event in collaboration with OLE in the near future. I believe that if most, or better, all culture groups work together, we can bring on the utmost celebration of diversity at the Hopkins community."