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The college experience: UGA students find community in cultural groups

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Dance, vocal and theatrical performances run throughout the evening. On Saturday, Feb. 12, 2023, the Asian American Student Association held their annual Lunar New Years event at Tate Grand Hall in Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Sidney Chansamone, @sid.chansa)

On the night of Saturday, Feb. 25, the streets of downtown Athens were packed. But it wasn’t for a football game, sorority parent’s weekend or even graduation. Thousands were filling the streets for the 29th annual University of Georgia India Night at The Classic Center.

The sold-out show was the university’s largest student-led cultural event with 2,000 attendees, according to the UGA Indian Cultural Exchange, who hosts the annual dance competition. The night is one of many showcases hosted by cultural organizations at UGA. This past weekend alone, the Filipino Student Association and the Pakistani Student Association hosted their respective culture nights with hundreds in attendance

Multicultural student organizations, like the ICX, FSA and PSA, make up a sizable but often overlooked part of UGA student life, which has become more diverse as student demographics have changed. From the Hispanic Student Association to the African Student Union, many students find a home in cultural groups, redefining their college experience.

“When you join organizations like [ICX], you realize how big and vast the community actually is,” Lekshmi Kumar, ICX president and a senior bioengineering major at UGA, said. “Communities are so much bigger than numbers. We're actually people. You can clearly see the power and the effects that multicultural organizations and students have on community life.”

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The UGA Hispanic Student Associated hosted its 30th annual Noche Latina, one of its biggest annual events attracting attendants of all backgrounds. (Photo/Dillon Edelson)

Finding community

It’s no secret that UGA, America’s birthplace of public higher education, is a predominantly white institution. According to Data USA, 68% of enrolled students in 2020 were white, 10% were Asian, 8% were Black or African American and 6% were Hispanic or Latino.

The 2021 U.S. census, meanwhile, estimates that around 59% of the state of Georgia’s population is white, 33% is Black or African American, 10% is Hispanic or Latino and nearly 5% is Asian. These disparities between enrollment and Georgia’s demographics reflect barriers to diversity in public higher education.

But diversity has increased over the years. There are dozens of organizations on campus, from the Korean Student Association to the Black Affairs Council, reflecting increased racial and cultural representation.

Jerry Velasquez is a sophomore at UGA and a political action chair for the HSA. He advocates for members’ political needs and educates members on political issues, and estimates that HSA has more than 200 active members, with 14 executive board members.

On March 18, Tate Grand Hall was packed with hundreds of attendees at the University of Georgia Filipino Student Association’s 18th annual Filipino Culture Night. The event was titled “Kapamilya,” meaning family in Tagalog and celebrated Filipino culture and the organization’s close-knit and diverse community through food, traditional and hip-hop dances, a ballad and a fashion show. (Video/Ty Young)

“I didn't feel a sense of community or home when I first came [to UGA]. I came from a very diverse high school,” Velasquez said. “When I came here, I had a culture shock. I came to the first meeting that HSA had and for the first time since getting into college felt like there are people that are just like me that I have a sense of connection to.”

For others, coming to UGA and finding a community in a cultural group is the first opportunity they have to find belonging in their cultural identity.

“Growing up, I was one of the only Vietnamese people in my school,” Sylvia Bui, a senior landscape architecture major and president of the Vietnamese Student Association, said. “I still felt a missing puzzle piece… I knew there was such a big Vietnamese community [at UGA]. I wanted to connect with them.”

Sophia Ige, vice president of the ASU, heard of the group in high school, when she first attended an Africa Night event. The junior economics major has been involved in the organization since her freshman year at UGA, helping plan outreach and Africa Week events and performing in ASU culture shows.

“The African community at the UGA campus is very prominent,” Ige said. “[ASU brings] different cultures of the diaspora together… You can come to this organization and feel at home.”

People dance at the annual Unity Ball hosted by the University of Georgia's Black Affairs Council at the Georgia Museum of Art on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. The event is thrown in celebration of Black culture and this year's theme was "the Mad Hatter's Ball." (Photo/Elizabeth Rymarev)

Similarly, Rinisha Ramprakash heard about opportunities for cultural expression at UGA while in high school. Now a sophomore at UGA majoring in astrophysics, she is a member of Amara, a classical Indian dance team on campus.

Although exposed to culture groups like ICX before she came to the university, Ramprakash had a perception that student life was not very diverse at UGA. But she quickly discovered that, although in the minority, students of color still have a large presence on campus.

“When I got involved myself, my perception [of UGA] did slightly change,” Ramprakash said. “There's a lot of culture that's being spread here at UGA, which I wouldn't have expected… culture is being taken seriously here.”

Ramprakash, who has been dancing since the age of four, said she has had more opportunities to perform and express her cultural identity at UGA than anywhere else.

“UGA has a lot of diversity, but it's not showcased, because we are a minority at the end of the day,” Bui said. “But I think the cultural clubs at UGA do a great job of advertising and also educating the general student body of what is… present on campus.”

Room to grow

Many students are drawn to UGA because of its robust network of sororities and fraternities that make up the university’s Greek life. The UGA Interfraternity Council reports that nearly 30% of UGA students are a member of a sorority or fraternity.

However, these organizations face barriers to entry, including high fees, exclusive social networks and a noticeable lack of diversity.

Kanika Patel is the director of diversity, equity and inclusion in her sorority at UGA, Delta Gamma, and a freshman international affairs major. Patel leads a committee to educate sorority members on cultural awareness, implicit bias and diversity in recruitment efforts.

“Greek life… is a big part of UGA,” Patel said. “It can get easy to get caught up within just Greek life.”

In recent years, Greek organizations have made an effort to address the lack of diversity. In 2020, the UGA Greek Life Office established a permanent DEI committee.

“Personally, it did scare me coming to Greek life and trying to recruit and rush because I was like, ‘Well, I'm a person of color, will I fit in?’” Patel said.

Patel found more diversity in her sorority than she expected, but thinks there is room for improvement.

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Third year University of Georgia students and members of the Eta Xi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Christel Vivor (left) and Lauryn Sanders pose in the Founder’s Memorial Garden at the University of Georgia on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, in Athens, Georgia. Eta Xi celebrated its 50th anniversary of establishment at the University of Georgia this past month. (Photo/Katie Tucker ktucker@randb.com)

“Right now, [Greek life] is not yet caught up to the 21st century. I think there is a lot more than we can do. However, I do like the direction it's going in, and I hope that everyone realizes that Greek life doesn't play into the stereotypes as much as I personally thought when I came in as a person of color,” Patel said.

Multicultural sororities and fraternities represent another side to Greek life, and have been a pillar of community for students of color on campus for decades. UGA’s Multicultural Greek Council seeks to promote “unity through diversity,” according to their website.

For example, Delta Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. is the first Asian-interest sorority at UGA, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first Greek organization established by Black college-educated women, celebrated half a century at UGA this year.

But for students who don’t find their community in Greek organizations, the Office of Multicultural Services and Programs seeks to make student life at UGA more inclusive.

MSP offers support through advice, leadership opportunities, resources, programming and advocacy to multicultural student groups. According to Kumar, MSP has overall been helpful to the ICX.

“It's great to know that they care this much about multicultural organizations,” Kumar said. “[However], when you are dealing with so many cultures, sometimes it's hard to relate to every single culture because there's only so much staff.”

Velasquez thinks that UGA can do a better job of promoting multicultural organizations and inclusive programs to high schoolers. He also believes having more Latino students in prominent roles on campus, like as orientation leaders, could help with representation and increase diversity.

“I feel like UGA still lacks diversity compared to other universities,” Velasquez said. “It's not a representation of all of Georgia… UGA needs to work and do initiatives to try to get more diversity here.”

The University of Georgia Vietnamese Student Association hosted "Night in Saigon," a student-organized show dedicated to promoting Vietnamese culture and heritage, on Jan. 21, 2023.

Education and expression in events

Almost every cultural student organization hosts an annual event to showcase their identity, talent and community.

The scale of these programs can be enormous, with hundreds gathering on campus. Tickets to the VSA’s 19th annual “Night in Saigon” event on Jan. 21 sold out in minutes, according to Linda Le, the executive director of the event.

Around 800 attendees came to the event, not just from UGA but from other universities and states. The performances included traditional dances and an originally written and produced skit. Many organizations seek to promote these events to those outside their own cultural identity.

The University of Georgia Vietnamese Student Association hosted "Night in Saigon," a student-organized show dedicated to promoting Vietnamese culture and heritage, and the Lunar New Year on Jan. 21, 2023

“HSA is not just for Hispanic people. It’s for people who are interested or want to learn more about the Hispanic community,” Velasquez said.

This exposure can be a chance to educate others about different cultures. For example, the Asian American Student Association Lunars show on Feb. 11 celebrated the Lunar New Year and featured a diverse program of Asian cultural performance, from traditional dances to a fashion show.

“[Multicultural events are] a good exposure to the different organizations and different cultures here at UGA,” Patel said. “I think, especially within Greek life, we can get stuck in this bubble.”

Cultural events also act as important opportunities for organization members to get involved and gain experience in college.

“I don't think I would be this eloquent and confident in answering questions and also applying for jobs without being part of leadership in VSA,” Bui said. “[Events] provide an opportunity for these student volunteers to be part of something that they've never been part of before.”

Many shows have dozens of directors and board members involved. At the “Night in Saigon,” more than 20 event directors and VSA executive board members were recognized. For UGA India Night, a board of 30 and a staff of 60 people from ICX worked to put on the event, according to Kumar.

“You begin to learn time management, begin to learn project management, and then also being on executive board, it's very hard for us to juggle everything,” Ige said. “It’s very hard but you also learn a lot of things.”

While organizing these cultural events for crowds of hundreds or even thousands may be daunting, these student groups have produced performances year after year to showcase their cultures and communities. Through their work, student life comes to incorporate identities that otherwise may be overlooked in the UGA student body.

“We live in a melting pot,” Ramprakash said. “Through multicultural organizations at UGA, all the students from different backgrounds get a chance to understand themselves and… get opportunities to showcase their culture and what they know about their origins.”