The Record

Notice, share culture

By: Mai Chong Xiong

Dear Editor,

“How do you define “culture?” This was one of the several questions about culture I received in an e-mail from a student working on a service-learning project. I did not have a perfect answer, but I knew culture affects how people live, act and interpret the world around them.

The next question asked if the cultures on our campuses were “crossing?” I hesitated, because I have not seen much of it. This is apparent in how we, the students, associate only with those we are most comfortable with in a similar culture.

It is not unusual that we tend to associate more with people similar to us but, when we do that, we are not encouraging an environment where it is comfortable to talk about different cultures and we fail to realize that each of us have our own cultures.

We are continually encouraged to study abroad to experience culture, but are not encouraged to focus on exploring our own cultures and share it with others. Granted, the study abroad programs force us to experience different cultures, but we forget each individual has a dynamic and distinct culture already present in our community.

Failing to acknowledge culture is a significant problem in our community because many of us do not think about the dominant Minnesota-nice culture, which allows us to be nice to everyone and treat them how we want to be treated.

However, that does not necessarily mean we are fostering cultural awareness and appreciation. We minimize the differences that are present on campus and we treat others as we would like to be treated, rather than trying to understand how they want to be treated.

Instead of only seeing the differences and similarities between cultures, I want us to challenge ourselves further by acknowledging our own culture, realizing its impact and embracing or changing it.

So, next time you meet someone new, greet the person with a smile but do not assume heorshewantstobetreatedas you would want to be treated. Instead, take the time to ask, “Who are you?”

Mai Chong Xiong (CSB junior)

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