The Multicultural Student Action Committee is thinking of ways to give majority and minority students a common ground to get to know each other and build relationships.
“The purpose of MSAC is to promote cross-cultural interaction,” Joseph Paul, a junior and president of MSAC, said. “You don’t have to be an international student; you don’t have to be a multicultural student.”
Paul said the committee wants to bring people together who are interested in other cultures, and to create greater interest in the wider Harding community.
Butch Gardner, the club’s sponsor and director of career services on campus and club sponsor, noted that the club benefits exchange and minority students by giving such students a common ground to connect with others.
“Research has shown that those students that are engaged and involved on campus are more likely to persist,” Gardner said. “So MSAC is a way that we can help students of other cultures become engaged.”
Laura Hatley, sophomore and vice president of MSAC, said many students hold misconceptions some hold about the club.
“I think a lot of people just see it as a league for minority groups,” Hatley said. “And a lot of people think, ‘Well, they should just assimilate and everybody get along.’ But I think they’re missing out on the idea of community, because (the events) are not just for minority groups, but for everybody to come and be together.”
Junior Stephanie Inabnet said that though her involvement with the club is fairly new, MSAC has helped her become better friends with people she already knew and has also helped her as well as get to know some students from abroad. Inabnet said she also hopes that she can help exchange students feel more welcome in America through MSAC.
In previous semesters, MSAC has traveled to a Japanese drum concert, a Russian ballet hosted by the University of Central Arkansas, a Chinese acrobat performance and cultural art museums. They have also hosted shows for Black History month, in addition to its yearly events.
This semester, MSAC will be hosting a multilingual devotional toward the end of March as well as its annual Unity Banquet in late April. Exact dates have not been set. Paul said he encourages those who are interested in MSAC to join its Facebook page: Harding MSAC.
