How are cultural and heritage celebrations imperative on RIT’s campus? | September 2018
In every culture, people gather to celebrate accomplishments or community milestones, but the culture in the US has seen a shift to the individual. Despite how important individual accomplishments are, ultimately, reflect the collective success of community. Today, we have an opportunity to experience the evolution of celebrations, mixed heritages and blended traditions. Creating an opportunity to discover the rich history of each culture, the importance of traditions, and how we can work together to grow as people in this world, our community.
“It’s our responsibility to create a campus climate that is inclusive. I want RIT to feel like a home away home for our students. We should have events that can be both fun, educational and offer an opportunity to have us grow and extend our global lens,” said Stephanie Paredes, assistant director for multicultural programming with the Multicultural Center for Academic Success (MCAS). “RIT welcomes these cultural and heritage celebrations as part of the fabric of our campus. We are proactive about creating the setting where conversations and teachable moments are part of our RIT spirit.” Paredes added.
RIT builds an environment where celebrating different cultures, traditions or beliefs is part of the cultural norms on our campus. Where our campus community is mindful to reflect and embody our institutional values and continue to embrace difference. Affirming people for who they are, understand their identities, and learn about the origin of their traditions. We are able to create an environment that is inclusive, yet empowering for each individual. All of these community values are important, but they must be emulated with respect, as it will allow us to see the beauty in our traditions and cultural differences.
To learn more about cultural or heritage celebrations, visit: Library of Congress: Commemorative Observations