The International Community Students Club Is More Than Just a Cultural Melting Pot - Essay Example

An Ethnography Report A CLUB’S PURPOSE AND SUPPORT Writing an ethnography report seemed quite a challenging task at first, but my fascination for people with different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds urged me on to take up the task at hand. Strangers are often full of surprises, and meeting people who belong to a different culture altogether is almost-always intriguing and fun. The first challenge that I had to face in order to complete my task was to find the appropriate location where I could conduct my research. It had to be the kind of place where I could get in touch with people from different ethnicities in a setting that they are used to, a place they frequented most. Attending Queens College has been greatly helpful in my quest, as it had all that I wanted. Here, I chose the International Community Students Club, recognized for the Students Exchange Programs it conducts. I wanted to study its purpose and the kind of support it provides for its members. Since I am an immigrant myself, I was comfortable with the idea of researching a club that dealt with international students, and it gave me an opportunity to get as close as I can to people with different cultures, in a setting that I desired. Before I go any further, I would like to share my personal perceptions about clubs. Clubs, societies and support groups are a great way for like-minded people to come together in order to pursue a common goal. The whole idea of doing something you like with many others who share the same feelings is very appealing. As Klein puts it, "What better way to stay connected, active and focused than to unwind with peers who enjoy fun and common interests?" The club I chose for my report is unique, in a way different to most other clubs. It is truly a “melting pot” of sorts, representing different countries, philosophies, customs, cultures and much more, where people simply bond with and support each another. They have a lot in common, starting from the fact that they are all strangers in a new country. It is my personal belief that exchange students and children of immigrants strive harder than the native students do, in order to achieve even more. They are more self-driven, determined to achieve goal(s) set and expected by their peers, and desire to make everyone in their native country proud. They wish to please everyone in their community, their parents and relatives. These students try to be exceptional in academics and have a commitment towards fulfilling the obligations they have towards others and themselves. Their financial backgrounds also play a pivotal role in shaping their behavior and objectives. The high cost of living and studying in foreign countries often molds the mind-set and lifestyle of students and their parents. For immigrant students, financial hardships can be laborious and stressful in all aspects of their lives, and they turn towards loans, scholarships and sponsors. “A number of students have merely toned down spending habits that had been fed by boom times back home” (Archibold). This has put these students in a precarious predicament. This, to a great extent, explains the urge that always lurks in their minds to achieve their goals. My earlier experience with another student’s club (the Caribbean Student Club) had been a very beneficial one. I bonded with others with whom it was easier for me to relate to. The notion that we are all in this together gave me a certain comfort. Each club has a purpose, and serves a special function for the welfare of its members at large. My endeavor is to find out if this is a reasonable statement and if the Queens College International Community Students Club is true to its value. Commentary # 1 The reason for the existence of a club is to provide a connection, making a network of people with similar motives. The purpose of this excerpt is to explain just that. Soon after a class discussion at noon, on Thursday, March 24 (12:25 pm to be precise), I headed over to the office of the International Student’s Club located in the Student Union building. I had to walk briskly, owing to the bad weather, with rain and cold wind beating on me. I wondered if I would be able to find anyone at the office because of the inclement weather. I remember gazing at the red, bold letters on the signboard identifying the building. Hurrying down the open staircase leading to the bookstore, I paused to look around for a while. The bad weather made me uneasy, yet I managed to gather the will to make it through. I asked a young man passing by, who I presumed to be from the Orient, for directions leading to the club. He pointed towards the left, gesturing with his entire body, and said, “Over there”. I quickly glanced in the direction he indicated. The office was to the left, with the door wide open. At the left side of the office was a short white bulletin board with an announcement that read, ‘Job Search Strategies for International Students, Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011, Location: Kiely 250. Time: 12:15 - 1:30pm. *Refreshments will be served.’ I proceeded slowly and apprehensively towards the open door, and knocked on the grayish molding at the center of the glass door. While still in the doorway, I turned towards the first person I could spot in the room. It was a short, stout young Indian lady with a light complexion. She wore glasses, and her hair was combed back neatly. With a warm and welcoming smile, she directed herself towards me. Glancing around quickly, I smiled back at her, acknowledging the presence of two other girls in the office. One of them sat on a stool, eating from a silver dish, the white fork approaching her mouth while she rocked to the music playing from a system right next to her. The other girl who was standing at the desk to the left of the room turned around, acknowledging my smile. I looked around, soaking in the details of the tiny room. It was a well-kept and clean room, but seemed to have books all around. There were two desks aligned at the perimeter. At the centre were other desks with books placed both above and below. Two books were open with pens at their center. The desks to the left side also had books stacked upward in a milk cart and even under it. On the right hand at a right angle sat a computer monitor with two chairs placed under the long desk. On the wall above was an array of flags pasted in a circle, symbolic of the purpose of the club. Behind the open door was a coat stand with a white sweater with navy-blue print on it. I introduced myself to the girls at the office, explaining the purpose of my visit. They all continued smiling and said, “Oh, that’s nice”, which seemed to be somewhat in unison. The young lady to my right stretched her right hand forward, saying, “My name is Priti and I am the President of the club”. I shook her hands and took out my notebook, asking her to spell out her name for me. I still couldn’t grasp her name, and seeing my difficulty, she took my book and wrote it down for me. I wanted to make sure that she had no problem with me hanging around in the club and observing what’s going on. I asked her if she minded me making frequent visits there, and asking questions occasionally. She didn’t seem to mind at all, and said very reassuringly, “Sure, come on in any time. It’s ok”. She then introduced me to the young lady who was eating. It turned out that she was the Vice President of the club, and seemed to be of Indian descent. Since her mouth was full with food, she just smiled and nodded her head. I suddenly sensed that I was interrupting their routine and asking their leave, I said, “Thank you and I’ll see you next week”. Priti then turned towards me, redirecting her whole body in my direction and said, “You’re welcome. Come in any time”. “Have a good day”, I replied. Her accent seemed very familiar to me, and I couldn’t help asking hastily, “What country are you from?” “Trinidad”, she replied in a singing tone, reminiscent of the place she’s from. I nodded and told her that I am from Jamaica. While I was having this little dialogue with Priti, the two other girls were having a quiet conversation among themselves. The Vice President was swaying back and forth on an office chair with a grayish cushion, as she ate. The other girl was standing, rocking her upper body to the music beats playing in the background. I assume that the music was Sosa, a Caribbean form of music with which I was pretty familiar. On finding out that I was from Jamaica, Priti smiled even more and nodded, saying, “Oh yea, all right, that’s good!” I smiled back appreciatively. Walking out of the tiny room, I couldn’t stop smiling in myself, with a feeling of contentment and fulfillment. I felt that I made a connection that day, a re-assuring connection. I guess this is one of the purposes of a club, and confirms the statement that I set out to prove in this excerpt. I remember the bewilderment, anxiety and apprehension that I felt earlier, while entering the room, and calling it ‘nervousness’ would be a gross understatement! But then, as I left the office room, I felt relaxed, rejuvenated and ready to take on my future tasks with an enhanced vigor. My mind surged with thoughts, plans, and ideas on what I could do. I then made mental plan to learn more about this particular club, starting with an online research, followed by attending the upcoming workshop that I read about on the bulletin board, prior to entering the office. Commentary # 2 In this excerpt, I wish to share the observations I made during the workshop I attended as part of my club study. The workshop was on ‘Job Search Strategies for International Students’. I was particularly interested in attending this workshop, as it would get me closer to knowing how the club worked. This was the best way I could see how its members connected with it, and find out whether the club has been successful in its purpose. The day of the workshop, I waited anxiously for it to start. My anxiety grew further as the event brought back past memories, of my experiences back in the 80s. I recalled how tensed, puzzled and uncomfortable I always felt while facing interviews. These ambiguous feelings were because I wasn’t confident enough and was worried if my accent would hamper my chances of getting the job that I wanted. My stuttering made the situation even worse. In my desperation to get a job at that time, I applied for a job that I didn’t qualify for. This aggravated my anxiety even further. Recovering from my flashback and the painful memories it brought back, I looked around the hall (Kiely Hall Rm 250) that was the venue of the event. It was Wednesday, March 30, at about 12:15-1:30 pm. I had never attended such an event before, and it took quite some time for me to assimilate the surroundings. While entering the building, I had noticed some students of various ethnic groups walking ahead briskly, with urgency (in a matter of importance). I followed the crowd and noticed that some of those students were heading outside. It never occurred to me that this was club. Upon reaching the room where the seminar was to take place, I noticed that some students were already waiting outside. As soon as the door opened, the students rushed in to take their seats in the large lecture room. This somewhat puzzled me, as they seemed anxious and restless. The workshop started and the presenters introduced themselves, stating the purpose of the workshop. The intention was to educate students on job search strategies and help them in preparing their resumes, with the help of samples. An attendance sheet was passed on, where the students were requested to write down their e-mail addresses. The presenters were two females (one Oriental and the other white European), who used Power Point for the presentation. Pizza and soda were served as refreshments. While some students ate and drank, others sat quietly. The audience consisted mostly of Orientals and a few white Europeans, who sat attentively. Many were taking down notes while listening to the presentation. I was in awe on seeing how attentive the audience was, especially the Orientals. Nothing seemed to be taken for granted. They rarely turned to look at the person beside or behind them. The students, who entered late, quietly took a seat and seemed hesitant to go on to the left side of the room for refreshment. I inferred from this behavior that they were more concerned in learning the procedure for seeking professional employment that refreshments seemed unimportant. My focus turned momentarily from the presenters and the audience to a young man, probably of Oriental descent, who had just arrived and sat in front of me. I was in the second row, second seat in the middle section of the room. This young man, who was medium built, wearing glasses hastily sat down, then got up, and placed his black backpack on the adjacent chair. He looked around, scanning the room, peering over to the left where the refreshments were. He looked on steadily for about 30 seconds, then turned quickly and glanced at me with a blank facial expression. He then stood up again moving sideways to the aisle, bent his head and walked behind the presenter in the front towards the refreshments. I stared at him, puzzled, because all the other late comers had started taking notes, not him. He seemed to be hungry. He turned his body sideways, facing the front, making an eye contact with the presenter. He stood there at the table for long, took out a white plate and held it in his right hand. He opened the white pizza pie box, took out one slice, and took a large bite of it. He continued eating, taking another slice out of the pizza box and placing it on the white plate, while chewing gingerly. Still looking at the presenter, he quickly reached for a red cup, put it next to the pizza on the plate and turned the lid of the bottle of Sprite soda. He seemed to be in a rush, hurriedly pouring the soda into the cup, bent his head and walked back to the seat in front of me. He placed the plate and cup on the seat next to his backpack, still chewing as if he was lost in his own world. He seemed to realize that I was observing him only when he turned around to search his bag for his pen and book to take notes. I shook my head quickly and turned my attention back to the presenter, who was saying, “Everyone needs to have a resume and it must be your own.” After quite a long time, the students were still focused on the presentation; some still taking notes intensively. As the presenter showed the bull-points on making a resume, the students reacted in an unexpected unison exclaiming, “Ummm” after the presenter’s statement, “An employer only has 30 seconds to look at your resume”. A quick and incomprehensible conversation was set off in the audience. I couldn’t make out what everyone was talking about as I could only hear them whispering. An Oriental young lady who was sitting in the same row to the far right of me snickered on hearing the statement. The event seemed to be quite a serious matter all of a sudden! The presenter continued the presentation, saying, “All resumes must have a cover letter. The Cover letter and resume must have the same headings, font, the styles should look the same”. She reiterated some key points like, “no spelling, no grammar mistakes-have a professional proofread your resume”. “If you can do 85% of the job, you can apply for the job”. “Preference is not and does not mean that all is not wanted”. The presenter then asked the audience, “Are there any questions”? A few hands went up throughout the room, but a Caucasian young lady quickly spoke while raising her hand, “I did my resume already, but I’ve moved, my address is different, now what do I do?” Before the presenter began to answer her question, I packed and left the hall. Walking out quietly, I reflected on my experience. While setting out for a job search, most of us are afraid of the unknown, yet we know that it is inevitable. The students here are in a similar predicament as I was, when I had set out for a job in desperate times. This workshop might have proved valuable to the student attendees, and I must add that the club was truly successful in achieving the end it had resolved for. Commentary #3 This excerpt is based on an interview that I had conducted to gain further insight on the club’s functioning and on how it provides support to its members. On May 3rd at about 12:45, I arrived at the International Community Club and found the president of the club, Priti, alone in the office room. This seemed a little weird, as a president is usually accompanied by others in the office. After standing, observing, and listening to the sound of laughter and pop music echoing from elsewhere in the building, Priti walked out holding a scotch tape and a strip of paper representing a country’s flag. She smiled and greeted me. I reciprocated kindly, asking what she was up to. She gestured towards the paper flag in her hand saying, “Putting these". She proceeded to place each miniature paper flag around the perimeter of the grey door. I realized that I could seize this moment to interview her. This was a moment I desperately longed for. I asked her if she was willing to put up with my questions, and she just smiled and said, “I don’t mind”. A male student who was passing by caught our attention. He was an Oriental young man, with weird and colorful 'parrot like hair'. Our eyes fixed on him, simultaneously, with a shocked look. I snickered slightly and proceeded to ask Priti my first question. “How are the members gathered?" I enquired. She replied, “There are members of all countries in the club. They are identified by the International Scholar office in room 327, up stairs, and gathered at two points during the year, in September and in February. It is essential that this happens because of admission." I assumed that members are placed based on information gathered during admission. I asked further, “Who plans the events?” Priti said, “The planning of the events is done by the Executive Board”. The executive board is a committee of all club members who collaborate and work based on their club member’s needs. I then asked, “How does one become a part of the executive board?” Priti said,“One has to be a very active member in the club”. She continued explaining further without my next question, as if she knew what I would ask next. She explained that club day is a day set aside for members to participate in club representation. “All the clubs get together in Student Union or Quad and display club and club events”. She seemed to be charged up with enthusiasm, explaining animatedly about the club's formation, function and purpose. “Students are allowed to visit the club. International Students can join other cultural clubs. This club can get loud with music”, she said in an excited tone. “Really?", I said, with a slight hint of enthusiasm mixed with excitement, wondering what kind of loud music do these kind of clubs play. “Oh yes, they get together and sing cultural songs”, replied Priti. I certainly thought about a different kind of music being loud, maybe pop or RMB! I further enquired, “Which group takes advantage of the events?” “All the students take advantage of the events”, answered. There are representatives of each country involved in the club. The allotted club time makes it possible for this event these kind of events to be conducted. I asked, “What about employment”? She answered, “This mainly for the seniors and juniors. Sometime it is based on their VISA. International Students who have FI or JI visas are very interested in events such as employment workshops; we also do green card lottery and deal with immigration issues." Priti assumed that I know the process because of our initial meeting, which I do. "Go to the office of International Students," continued Priti, "room 327, to get further information and find out who determines the placements for these students. Get a brochure they have them up there”. The office of international students is a key resource for the club due to the administration process. This office receives all foreign applications and determines placements at the two points, as Priti mentioned earlier. I thanked her for her cordial and pleasant treatment, and for taking out the time to speak to me. I followed her advice and went to room 327. I requested a brochure, but the receptionist directed me to check online. All general information about International Students is accessible online. I left with a surge of interest to do just that. As I reflect on this interview, I can see that interconnection, purposefulness and support are enforced by this club. It surely requires collaboration and collective planning to establish the large scale events that it conducts. These events are tailored to fit the students’ needs. One can easily realize the in-depth and visionary aspect shown in the craftsmanship of the club’s existence. To conclude: Before engaging in writing down this report, I had my own perceptions about this unique club and its vast diversity of immigrants. On a closer look, I found that it is more than just a cultural 'melting pot'. In order to maintain the integrity of the club, it is essential for the members to be tolerant of one another and exist in harmony in spite of the extremely different cultural backgrounds. Member's needs are of topmost priority for such clubs. Through this report, I wished to exemplify how that is done. It requires a proactive team of students and college personnel to realize these goals. I would like to add out of my own humble opinion that the International Community Students Club has been pivotal in addressing student's issues and is more of a necessity in every college in this era of Globalization. Works Cited Archibold, Randal C. “Economic Troubles Back Home Squeeze Asian Students in U.S.”. New York Times. New York Times, February 1998. Web. 22 May 2011. < http://www.nytimes.com/1998/ 02/08/world/economic-troubles-back-home-squeeze-asian-students-in-us.html> Klein, Elizabeth. “The importance and relevance of school clubs”. Helium.com. Educational Philosophy, February 2009. 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