The Pow-Wow, the South-Asian students' culture night and the Dartmouth Asian Organization Harvest Festival all have one thing in common. They are all social and educational programming events hosted by campus cultural and minority groups for the entire Dartmouth community.
The Class of 2004 comes to Hanover with the largest number of foreign students in recent years, a total of 75 students, 17 more than the previous year. Overall measures of diversity are also high, with 23 percent of students coming from a variety of minority backgrounds.
Dartmouth provides a number of opportunities for students of color to socialize and get involved with minority groups on campus.
The Afro-American Society brings lecturers, professors, entertainers and political figures to Dartmouth, as well as hosts other activities to meet the cultural and social needs of black students.
The El Hajj Malik El Shabazz Center serves as a center for academic programming and intellectual inquiry, led by the African and African American Studies Department and the Shabazz Center Fellow.
Dinners, movies, speakers and informal get-togethers are just several of the Dartmouth Asian Organization's many activities. The organization serves to present Asian and Asian-American culture to the entire campus and provide social and intellectual interaction among Asian and Asian-American students.
The Dartmouth Asian Organization also hosts a two-hour long culture night every Winter term.
The Asian-American Acting Troupe, Asian Christian Fellowship and Asian Pacific American Issues Forum are just a few of the groups that DAO closely works with.
The Korean-American Student Association conducts a Korean film festival, an Intramural Sports program, an annual Korean culture night and a Big Sibling/Little Sibling Program. KASA functions both as a social organization and a medium to further increase the understanding of Korean culture at Dartmouth.
Milan, an organization working to unite students from the Indian subcontinent, sponsors events related to South Asia, such as a poetry reading and a Hood Museum Art Exhibit and hosts an annual cultural night.
Since 1993, the Dartmouth Chinese Society has hosted recreational and academic events each term, such as student-led discussions on Tibet and interactive cooking demonstrations.
An umbrella organization for campus Latino groups, La Alianza Latina works to unite people interested in Latino cultures and lends its support towards US-Latino students at Dartmouth. Guest speakers, movie nights and panels have been just a few of this group's many activities.
An annual Pow-wow in May is one of Native Americans at Dartmouth's largest activities in which Native American students have an opportunity to express their culture to the Dartmouth and Hanover communities. The organization hosts other social activities throughout the year.
The International Student's Association is an organization that hosts programming events for foreign students.
Dartmouth's commitment to diversity is not only reflected in the numerous cultural organizations, but also in the World Cultures Initiative.
Announced as part of the Board of Trustees Student Life Initiative decision earlier this year, the World Cultures Initiative "encourages our students to understand difference, to learn from each other, and to recognize their own responsibilities as citizens of the world." Although still in the planning stage, a committee will determine the formation and implementation of the Trustees' goal.
