Whatever happened to the Cultural societies?

Written by Zinzile Ncube

@_ziznye._

Photo by Vitaliy Lyubezhanin on Unsplash

There were times when if you walked past Tim Horton’s there would be an event or activity the Caribbean society would be organizing. Whatever happened to one of the most recognized multiculturally diverse societies in the school. Why is it that the minority organizations are often forgotten and neglected as the school years go by? Is it due to mismanagement, lack of support, or simply seasonal changes?

When we ask ourselves these questions, we begin to consider what we truly value in a school that is supposed to be diverse and welcoming. Is our main concern broadening our horizons or simply improving our resumes and volunteer work portfolios? When we neglect the cultural side, our holistic education is left wanting and at a disadvantage; hence why these societies are created in the first place, to offer a place for us to grow intellectually, culturally and financially. The issue doesn’t seem to lie with the students who prioritize the commercial clubs, but the university itself and ultimately the society we live in. We are encouraged to only do things that are financially beneficial and leave what is otherwise deemed a waste of time. This is how we end up forgetting about the Caribbean society barbecues and the Bangladeshi dinners that would otherwise draw huge numbers. It becomes difficult to solve a problem that lies outside of the students, but rather within our society. When we don’t support these committees, we begin to fail in our promise to produce global citizen graduates; instead our graduates leave these halls with only commerce and money acquisition on their minds.

It is difficult to blame a single institution for this, when the main culprit seems to be the fundamental structure of the society itself. An inability to appreciate and celebrate the arts and cultural aspects in an increasingly economically and logically centred society, blinds people to the power social aspects of their education, and entire lives, can have in their professional and financial growth. It is not only necessary to take a few arts electives in university but to immerse oneself in the lives of those other to oneself.