On a campus where students of color comprise over one-quarter of the student body, Dartmouth reflects diversity through a growing collection of minority student organizations, most of which are open and available to the entire campus.
The visible diversity in the student body is part of the College's efforts to increase cultural interaction and expand the educational experience at Dartmouth.
This year, according to the Dartmouth Admissions Office, students of color make up 27.4 percent of the undergraduate student body: 6.2 percent are African-American students, 12 percent are Asian American, 6.3 percent are Latino/a students, and 2.9 percent are Native American. International students make up 5.3 percent of the student body, and represent 53 foreign countries.
The Afro-American Society, an organization designed for African Americans and people of the African diaspora, helps acclimate its members to Dartmouth, while raising awareness of the black experience within the Dartmouth community. It counts among its membership roughly 80 to 85 percent of the black community and holds meetings every other week.
Funded by the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, AAm supports a wide range of programming, such as the volunteer program, Dartmouth Alliance for Children of Color, the Ujima dance troupe, the Black Underground Theater and the "Black Praxis" literary magazine. Through an academic chair, they offer support for students in different areas, from maintaining academic excellence, to career and major advising.
The African and Caribbean Students' Organization caters to the concerns of African and Caribbean students at Dartmouth, and hopes to raise awareness regarding African and Caribbean issues.
La Alianza Latina offers support for Latino students, and strives to expose the Dartmouth community to Latino culture and issues. The organization runs panel discussions and community dinners, in addition to a variety of other activities.
Another Latino organization on campus, M.E.Ch.A., which stands for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan, is more specific to Chicano or Mexican American students.
Native American students at Dartmouth promotes Native American cultural awareness, and links its members to other campus organizations and other campuses. NAD hosts social and cultural events open to the entire college, and plans the Annual Dartmouth Pow Wow every Mother's Day Weekend, which strengthens the unity between the Native American community, the College and the surrounding Upper Valley community.
The Dartmouth Asian Organization is an Asian American student interest group that provides an open-minded community for Asian Americans at Dartmouth and forum for the meeting of new people. They hold events to bond upperclassmen and freshmen, such as pong tourneys and "McBowling", which includes dinner at McDonald's, followed by bowling.
Asian American cultural awareness events are also put on for the entire Dartmouth community. DAO holds a popular culture night every winter, collaborating with other groups such as the Dartmouth Chinese Culture Society and Milan. Last spring, DAO sponsored Serena Chang '05's presentation of her senior thesis on stereotypes, Asian women and Asian fetishes.
The Dartmouth Chinese Culture Society spreads Chinese culture awareness on campus. Its biggest event is the fall culture night, which in the past two years has been a reproduction of a genuine Chinese night market with a wide variety of foods and performances.
KASA, the Korean-American Student Association similarly organizes an annual Korean culture night, as well as a Korean film festival and a Big Sib/Little Sib program. The Dartmouth Japan Society sponsors activities such as Sushi Rolling Lessons. The Vietnamese Student Association celebrates Vietnamese culture with similar cultural events.
Milan is the blanket South Asian organization on campus. They are not exclusive, and count both East Asian Americans and African Americans amongst their membership. Last year, the group brought Dinesh D'Souza '83, a South Asian politician and senior advisor to President Reagan, for a lecture and ice cream social. In the fall, they collaborated with Shanti, the organization of students of Hindu faith at Dartmouth, to celebrate Diwali, a religious and cultural festival. Milan holds a culture show every spring, usually including dance, song and poetry offerings and short plays.
In the coming year, Milan hopes to increase its philanthropic efforts, in the spirit of the South Asian culture of charity.
Another Pan-Asian organization is Shamis, a relatively new group on campus that promotes awareness of Arab culture and Arab-American issues.
The newest of the Pan-Asian organizations is the Dartmouth Taiwanese Association. Founded last fall by two members of the Class of 2008 who felt that Taiwanese culture could not be represented by DAO or DCCS, they hosted Taiwanese movie nights and held a Taiwan awareness week that included a panel discussion, two lectures and a dinner.
They have sponsored guest speakers to analyze the differences between Taiwan and China, but do not claim a political agenda. For the upcoming year, they hope to bring in speakers who are of Taiwanese descent and have distinguished themselves professionally.
The International Student Association (ISA) is a representative group for international students, but is open to Americans with an interest in international culture.
Their main goal is to organize social and cultural events, including performances, international dinners and movie nights. It welcomes the most diverse membership of any minority student organization.
