Students shouldn’t let stereotypes affect their decision to attend clubs

Sharee Roman, Photographer|September 27, 2017

Melissa Nie

Every year MSA has to reinforce the idea that everyone is welcome. It’s time to change that.

Support plays a big role in our community from having academic accommodations to clubs and affinity groups. While affinity groups function as a safe space for a specific group of people, alliances are open to everybody who cares about advocacy for a gender or race, yet there seems to be an underlying idea that some identity clubs are not open to everybody.

A student’s attendance at an alliance club should not be affected by stereotyping. Yet, that is not what the facts suggest. For example, allies who join Gender and Sexuality Alliance are often people who are assumed to be LGBTQ.

As junior Zoe Hermer-Cisek said, “A lot of people think that only LGBTQ people are in GSA and that it is some kind of affinity group. That’s just not the case. A lot of LGBTQ people are attracted to GSA because it is about their rights, but it is certainly not a rule or even implied that you have to be to join.”

Although the Muslim Student Alliance doesn’t have as many stereotypes as GSA surrounding the club, MSA has about the same number of allies as GSA does. According to Naomi Wilson, secretary of MSA, about 35 to 40% of participants are Muslim allies.

Furthermore, Karen Dye, Director of Intercultural Life, said “Over the years I would guess anywhere from a quarter to a third of students who participate in Intercultural Club each year are white.”

The trend is obvious. Alliance groups are created for members of that specific community. Clubs are created for every student interested in a topic. Students shouldn’t allow stereotypes or assumptions to prevent them from attending clubs. If one is interested in learning or taking a stance on a specific topic, find a club and go for it. That’s what clubs are for.