UNC's cultural groups find ways to stay connected to their communities

The varied cultural and international organizations on UNC’s campus are predominantly student-led. With the transition to remote classes, leadership teams in these organizations are now finding ways to stay connected to their fellow student communities while handling unprecedented circumstances.

UNC Black Student Movement

Tamiya Troy is the incoming president of the UNC Black Student Movement, also known as BSM. She says this organization is making efforts to continue programming as normally as possible. 

“One thing we noticed pretty early on was that students wouldn't be as engaged in virtual events,” Troy said. “Simply because they have a bunch of classes they have to attend to and adjust to a different learning experience.”

Troy said the organization serves a body of over 450 student members.

“We have so many target areas and things we try to accomplish through our events,” Troy said. “Keeping that same variety of events and keeping that momentum going as we have these virtual events has been one conversation also.”

Troy said the executive team has close to 10 members, along with a large central committee.

“It was kind of unrealistic to expect those students to continue leading in the same manner and fashion that we were able to, with hosting a bunch of events during this crisis,” Troy said.

While it is to host a Zoom meeting with 450 people, Troy said the team is doing its best to keep everyone updated and offer its services.

“The biggest thing is making sure we’re balancing ourselves because we are a student-led organization, but also presenting ourselves available for our community members when they need us,” Troy said.

The organization had planned to have a ball, one of its largest events of the year, soon after the return from the regularly scheduled spring break.

“It was very heartbreaking to know we had to cancel that immediately,” Troy said.

BSM would normally host a royal court week, where two people from each class are elected to serve as royalty representatives and then have a week of service in the community on and off-campus.

“Mr. and Mrs. BSM, they're tasked with creating a service project focusing on whatever they want to focus on,” Troy said. "Their two projects this year were really amazing and we were really looking forward to being able to implement them in the community.”

Troy said the group will likely have two more events this semester to keep students encouraged, and they are also looking to host things over the summer. 

“It was upsetting that we weren't able to finish out the school year with a bang,” Troy said. “If we’re able to return in the fall we can host in-person events that are amazing and make up for lost time.”

UNC-CH German Club

Jessica Tufts is president of UNC-CH German Club, which has been able to continue its meetings via Zoom.

“We have tried to keep things as normal as we can and provide a break to let people speak German in a more casual setting and not stress about doing it for class,” Tufts said.

German Club usually meets once a week to do German language conversation hours and has been holding Zoom meetings to continue as normal. 

“For the most part we’ve just kept things casual with our weekly meetings,” Tufts said. “We don't want to stress anyone out with moving to online classes, quarantine and everything on top of finals.”

Tufts said the club is grateful to receive support through the German Language department.

“If something happens in the fall and we’re not able to do normal incoming freshmen activities, we’ll continue to advertise through our department in the school,” Tufts said.

The club had to cancel in-person cultural events and a movie night it had planned. Tufts said they will now be suggesting to their members things they can do over the summer such as movies to watch and resources to keep up with the German language.

Bengali Student Association

Fariha Rahman is a co-president and founder of the Bengali Student Association. 

“We’re trying to figure out how to still hold digital events that are meaningful for our general body and keep staying connected,” Rahman said.

The organization has now concluded its programming for the semester, but used Zoom calls to stay in touch with members. 

“We’ve just wrapped up the semester reflecting on what we’ve done and setting goals for next semester and plans for the summer to continue to grow our organization,” Rahman said.

Rahman said at their final meeting, the club celebrated its two senior members and thanked them for their part in getting the relatively new organization established and going. 

Carolina Indian Circle

Jamison Lowery is the president of Carolina Indian Circle, which has been finding ways to end the school year and celebrate its seniors virtually.

“When we all found out the news that we would not be returning to classes, it caught all of us off guard,” Lowery said.

Utilizing Zoom and group chats, Lowery said the circle's members are trying to maintain a sense of what a normal meeting would look, with one way being inviting guest speakers. 

“Even though we’re a small group, we try to make sure we retain our voice,” Lowery said. “We make sure people are still able to hear us and know what some of the native students on campus have to say."

Lowery said at their last meeting the executive team presented a highlight of pictures they took throughout the years, events hosted and superlatives for people in the group. 

“Some of the folks in the circle have done a special video for a senior that’s close to their heart,” Lowery said. “They talk about that person, their accomplishments and how wonderful they are.”

Lowery said he feels it is tough for seniors to miss out on graduation and normal ceremonies. 

“It’s a way to let our seniors know they're appreciated and people are thinking about them,” Lowery said.

arts@dailytarheel.com