Every year Pierce College hosts a student of Student Color Conference (SOCC) , which allows students to meet and share their cultural identities with one another. Although most people view this event as cultural unification, is the student of Color conference actually unifying or excluding students of different races?

The problem with designating a day or a weekend to different cultural identities is that it segregates other cultures from everyday life. It makes the point of in adverted racism even more blunt when students of different cultural backgrounds are asked to dress up and display their cultural outfits and or customs for ethnic fairs or conferences on one or two days out of the year.

These fairs and events give non-cultured Americans a small dose of other cultural backgrounds, but it doesn’t actually help integrate international cultural background into the melting pot of everyday American life. While most students are submerged in American culture there is no way for them to submerge Americans into their culture.

Let’s think about the SOCC in logistical terms. Pierce College sends students of Color away from the campus to partake in a weekend event for them to learn about their culture and when they come home, there isn’t an event for them to share what they’ve learned/ experienced with other people and cultures.

While Pierce College has a larger international student body than most community colleges, there are few opportunities for international students to share their customs with American students outside of their clubs and events such as SOCC.

It’s not to say that because the SOCC is a secluded event the college should abolish cultural programs, maybe there just needs to be more effort on the part of the students and staff to help assimilate other cultures into everyday American culture rather than asking people of other cultures to assimilate.

Every year Pierce College hosts a student of Student Color Conference (SOCC) , which allows students to meet and share their cultural identities with one another. Although most people view this event as cultural unification, is the student of Color conference actually unifying or excluding students of different races?

The problem with designating a day or a weekend to different cultural identities is that it segregates other cultures from everyday life. It makes the point of in adverted racism even more blunt when students of different cultural backgrounds are asked to dress up and display their cultural outfits and or customs for ethnic fairs or conferences on one or two days out of the year.

These fairs and events give non-cultured Americans a small dose of other cultural backgrounds, but it doesn’t actually help integrate international cultural background into the melting pot of everyday American life. While most students are submerged in American culture there is no way for them to submerge Americans into their culture.

Let’s think about the SOCC in logistical terms. Pierce College sends students of Color away from the campus to partake in a weekend event for them to learn about their culture and when they come home, there isn’t an event for them to share what they’ve learned/ experienced with other people and cultures.

While Pierce College has a larger international student body than most community colleges, there are few opportunities for international students to share their customs with American students outside of their clubs and events such as SOCC.

It’s not to say that because the SOCC is a secluded event the college should abolish cultural programs, maybe there just needs to be more effort on the part of the students and staff to help assimilate other cultures into everyday American cultu rather than asking people of other cultures to assimilate.