Members of BSC’s Cross Cultural Committee executive board attended the NACA Programming Board Institute in St. Louis on June 13-16. Gathered with student organizations from around the country, the students attended educational sessions and activities based on planning strong events and programs.

With new resources and insight, the Cross Cultural Committee (C3) plans to expand their range of programs in the upcoming year. Brandon Brown, the C3 advisor and assistant director of residence life, says the organization, founded in 2015, grew significantly the past year.

“We’re hoping for all of our different events to grow each year,” Brown says. “We want students to know what C3 is and what the different committees are. We’re giving each their own identity, but they still all fall under the main mission of C3.”

The organization is comprised of seven subcommittees that promote Hispanic, Asian, African-American, Middle Eastern, international, women’s, and LGBTQ+ history and culture through speakers, discussions, and celebrations. The team of six committees recently became seven with the Middle Eastern Cultural Events Committee. By separating it from the Asian Cultural Events Committee, C3 can bring more attention to Middle Eastern culture.

“We’re hoping to have more events celebrating the Middle East,” C3 Executive Director Tania Alvarez says.

Alvarez previously served as the Hispanic Heritage committee director, organizing the committee’s first Hispanic Food Festival. She hopes to develop and lead more events like it during her senior year.

“I tried to bring more ideas that encompass what Hispanic culture is other than Cinco de Mayo. We’ve gone deeper into these cultures to see what’s really important,” Alvarez says.

Some of C3’s goals for the upcoming year include hosting more discussion-based programs and events outside of a culture’s nationally recognized month. Alvarez also looks forward to the events that different committees within C3 will host together.

“There’s not a certain mold for all of these cultures. We’re pushing the committees to be inclusive with each other,” she says. “We can’t reduce a culture to one month. We need to be learning throughout the whole year.”

The goals and accomplishments of C3’s subcommittees are united under the organization’s mission of inclusivity. The organization’s goal for 2019-2020 is to have more BSC students take part in C3’s learning opportunities and strive to understand the importance of each committee.

“We want to make sure people know that they are at home and that they are represented. We want students to have that sense of connectedness,” Brown says.

Keep up with their events by following the Cross Cultural Committee on Instagram @bscc3.