Alison Kuznitz ’15
EE Senior Opinions Editor
To say that the world is a diverse place is a major understatement. When you statistically break down the inhabitants of our planet into different facets, the various distinctions are absolutely tremendous. Overall, 7 billion people comprise our total population. When you break this down further, there are between 193 and 250 countries. Within these countries, between 6,000 and 7,000 languages are cumulatively spoken. Not to mention, there are 21 major religions. Once you wrap your head around these numbers, just begin to consider the staggering amount of cultures and related customs.
This is where the concept of cultural diversity comes into play. Cultural diversity is basically the idea of respecting and valuing everyone’s cultural identity along with sharing awareness and understanding. The Trumbull High School Cultural Diversity Club has ambitiously taken over this immense and vital challenge. Their duty to the school, according to club advisor Mrs. Sakakini is “to educate and celebrate.”
The club is truly invaluable to Trumbull High School since the school is such a “diverse” community. By being well educated and informed about cultural diversity, students are able to exhibit tolerance, have good manners, not be offensive, and seal the gap between people. Additionally, it is crucial to have a foundation of trust and understanding in order to work together, build camaraderie, and cooperate.
The significance of promoting cultural diversity is “to bring peace and harmony, coexistence, tolerance and…to discriminate less against others,” Mrs. Sakakini proudly states.
Besides unifying different cultures and eliminating barriers that stand in the way of this mission, the Cultural Diversity Club also participates in many fundraisers. This year, club members sold bells in “Bells for Sandy” to raise money for Hurricane Sandy and ribbons for Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the past, they have generated funds for natural disasters. For instance, they participated in “Hats for Haiti” and donated money to Japan for relief and aid.
Furthermore, other groups in THS who have goals similar to those of the Cultural Diversity Club should be recognized.
“I tip my hand to the foreign language department for promoting diversity,” says Mrs. Sakakini. Foreign language electives are designed not only to learn languages, but to educate students about culture as well. On a daily basis, students receive a dose of Spanish, French, Latin, or Italian heritage. Additionally, the world language department just recently held a variety of successful events, which coincided with World Language Week.
“The Truth About Hate” assembly is another example of how Trumbull High is helping to aid understanding and multiculturalism. If students are fully aware of where prejudice and discrimination stems from, the issue of bullying should be consequently lessened. It is all a matter of zeroing in stereotypes and allowing cultural diversity to prevent the rise of ignorance and bias.
Everyone should aspire to being knowledgeable about worldwide cultures and play a role in this global undertaking. In the Trumbull High community, students can certainly turn to the Cultural Diversity Club for guidance. Meetings are held after school on Wednesdays in A-11. Hopefully, students will commit to extending cultural diversity to the best of their ability. For starters, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development will be held on May 21. This day, declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations, emphasizes the protection of cultural diversity and dialogue between all civilizations.