By: He-lin Park
Don’t look now, but those valuable experiences you were looking for, those important people you’ve been waiting to encounter, I think they just passed by.
Students at UNC know diversity, at least when it comes to the university’s numerous student organizations, which includes its 29 “cultural” groups on campus. The Pit is never silent, and at times it requires Herculean effort to wade through the sea of zealous event organizers and get to my next class.
I can’t help but wonder if their efforts are going to waste. How many students aren’t busy trying to find something familiar to latch onto and dare to go out on a limb on just a whim?
From facts and figures, UNC is a diverse school in many aspects, but seeing how prominent organizations such as Asian Student Association, Black Student Movement, and Carolina Hispanic Association remain mostly homogenous in terms of the members’ cultural backgrounds, it’s clear that without individual effort, not every student receives the diverse “Carolina Experience.”
The cliché holds true – college is a time to “find yourself.” But maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge ourselves. How we self-identify cannot be just a form of self-segregation.
The Sonja Haynes Stone Center provides an array of cultural programming throughout the year to spread knowledge of African and African-American diaspora cultures. The Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film is one such event that is held semi-annually. The films in the fall 2010 edition challenge viewers with the question, “Is Cultural Identity (Really Only) Racial Politics?”
The showing held on October 6th was composed of two short films. “Shy” gives a glimpse into the life of Lewis, an agoraphobic 12-year old whose only living relative recently passed. “Life on Earth” follows Lea’s path to self discovery as she ages out of the foster care system. Both characters’ futures were being crippled by their inability to take chances. Only when they cast away their inhibitions and self-segregating habits that rewarded only short-term comfort did the lives of the two turn for the better.
Go searching for what’s out there like these two teens who didn’t have a choice otherwise. If not you’ll never know if you could’ve been something else, something better.
All the makings of the greatest, even unimaginable relationships and experiences are laid at your feet here at Carolina but it’s your job to put everything together.
Note: Catch the last two films in this provoking lineup at 7pm on Thursday, November 11 and Tuesday, November 16.
