What is a Multicultural Community?
A community is a group of people who share a common identity, experience or belief. In a multicultural community, students maintain, pass on, celebrate and share their unique way of life, language, traditions and cultural behavior.
At Sweet Briar, a formally-recognized Multicultural Community is a safe space for students with shared experiences to come together and celebrate each other, along with sharing their unique experiences with the Sweet Briar campus. Multicultural Communities welcome allies who are interested in supporting and encouraging the community’s goals.
What Communities are formally recognized at Sweet Briar? How can I get involved?
As of Spring 2023, the following Multicultural Communities are recognized at Sweet Briar:
- Black Student Alliance (BSA)
- Culture Club
- Delight
- GLOW (Gay, Lesbian and Whomever)
- Latinx
- Muslim(ah) Student Association (MSA)
I don’t see my community! How can I create a formally-recognized community?
We’re glad you’re here! We’ve outlined five steps towards establishing a formally-recognized Community:
If you are interested in forming a community that is not currently represented on campus, follow these steps:
- Contact the Multicultural Communities Council President expressing interest in forming a Multicultural Community. The President will respond and share the expectations and requirements for Multicultural Communities to review.
- If the requirements align with your vision for the proposed community, set a date for an interest meeting to see who in the student body would like to be part of the Community, if approved.
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Attend an Multicultural Communities Council meeting to share with the current communities about your proposed community.
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Host an interest meeting. If there’s interest, move on to step five.
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Submit the Multicultural Community Proposal form. Once submitted, the Multicultural Communities Council will review your proposal and vote to approve or deny the request to become a recognized community.
What is the role of the Multicultural Communities Council and who sits on the Council?
The Multicultural Communities Council (MCC) provides leadership, direction and guidance to formally-recognized communities established at Sweet Briar.
The Council, led by a president and an executive board, is composed of the executive boards of each Multicultural Community.
The president of the MCC is elected by their peers during the annual SGA elections, which take place in the spring.
After this election, the MCC hosts elections for its executive board.
I am a faculty or staff member and want to be an ally to the MCC. How can I do this?
Thank you for being an ally! We have a few recommendations:
- Multicultural Community Advisor interest form
- Attend Open Dialogues
- Attend Heritage Celebration Series events sponsored by Multicultural Communities
- Get to know your students and be intentional about asking about their involvement in Multicultural Communities
- Do you have something else in mind? Email diversity@sbc.edu.