Hadicha Abduvalieva, ha154@uakron.edu
What is culture? The University of Kansas refers to "culture" as a group or community which share common experiences that shift the way they see the world, their values, and their beliefs. These groups of people can be from the same race, nationality, ethnicity, class, or religion. A culture can change as people change, the environment changes, or as cultures are exposed to one another. A person may be a part of multiple cultures, commonly people that are immigrants who hold the traditions from their homeland and adjust to a new lifestyle of the place they moved.
To foster empathy and understanding, it’s important to explore and learn about the cultures around you. As you learn, you can see that despite the different ways many people may live their lives, we all are connected on the basis of our humanity. Opening your mind to various communities allows us to gain a better perception of individual experiences, which can bring more acceptance and dissolve racial and ethnic barriers. It’s also important to explore the cultures you are a part of and/or connected to. It can be the one in which you were raised, the heritage that is tied to you ethnically through generations of people, or the culture of the current place in which you live.
AECHS is a very diverse school with students that come from all over the world. That is why, in celebration of our students, the Cultural Awareness Club will be holding it’s second ever Culture Fair at STEM High School on March 22, 2024. Each student involved has their own motivations, purpose, and hopes to achieve with their part in the fair.
Riley Wang wants to let students know what real Chinese food tastes like and finds sharing traditions, such as ethnic food, to be valuable. Chelsea Steel wants to address the misconceptions in African American culture and examine it’s similarities and differences to African culture. Merina Biswa, a Nepali student, wants to show more about her people through her dance and express its beauty. Riley Ackerman, a student of Hungarian heritage, hopes to educate others about her background and history, as well as foster an understanding between different cultures. Bielessann Ahmad, a Palestinian student, finds that now is an extremely important time to focus on and bring awareness to the Palestinian people and the on-going genocide in Gaza, along with their endangered culture.
Alina Tamang, one of the founders of the club and a current senior, says it’s her “dream come true” to be able to have a fair at our school to share the different parts of our identity, to spread awareness, to educate, and bring the student body together. This year, she hopes to be able to perform one final time before she graduates. She and many of these participants understand the significance of being able to celebrate identity proudly in school, and that acknowledging and learning about multiple lifestyles allows mankind to grow together.