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IU culture centers provide education, serve as welcoming space

By Christy Avery

averycm@iu.edu | @christym_avery

IU’s campus is home to six culture centers, inclusive spaces where students can get involved in and learn more about different cultures. These centers provide a second home to students, who can find community in a new environment. Visiting a culture center can provide your student with academic, spiritual, career and mental health resources, as well as a safe place to gather, study and participate in activities. The centers are a space to celebrate their heritage and culture at IU, a predominantly white institution. If you’re looking for a place your child can connect with others of the same culture or religion — or a place to learn about other cultures — these centers are a great place to start.

Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center supports the growth and success of Black students, faculty and staff. It provides academic and other resources to help students navigate college.

Programming at the NMBCC includes the Freshman Pinning Ceremony, which welcomes first-year students into IU, monthly Mid-Day House Parties to gather and check in with students, and Black History Month celebrations.

Asian Culture Center

Through advocacy, institutional resources and community outreach, the Asian Culture Center strives to promote understanding and acceptance of Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures and issues. The Asian Culture Center offers programs such as AAPI Heritage Month and Lunar New Year celebrations, Asian language learning, discussion programs and an Asian American Film Series. The center, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018, is located across from the Collins Living-Learning Center, near the corner of Tenth Street and Woodlawn Avenue.

Jewish Culture Center

A newer addition to campus, the Jewish Culture Center focuses on educating the IU community about Jewish culture and supporting Jewish students. The Center provides opportunities for Jewish students to develop leadership skills and connect with Judaism. It was launched in part as a way to combat antisemitism and create a welcoming space on campus.

Located in the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, the Jewish Culture Center puts on events and activities such as Shabbat dinner and services, community advocacy initiatives and travel abroad programs to Israel. Included in the Center are a kosher dining hall, a chapel, a library and learning center, and more.

First Nations Educational and Cultural Center

The First Nations Educational and Cultural Center supports Native American and Indigenous students at IU. Located on Eighth Street, the FNECC offers programs like Native American Heritage Month celebrations, Native film screenings, an annual Powwow and more. The FNECC promotes the “Indigenize Indiana” initiative, which amplifies the voices of Indigenous people and developed a land acknowledgement statement recognizing that IU was built upon land of the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi and Shawnee people.

La Casa/Latino Cultural Center

The La Casa/Latino Cultural Center serves Latino students on campus. La Casa offers a weekend Latino Retreat in the fall, puts on monthly Colectiva Dinners and celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month and Dia de los Muertos. La Casa is located on Seventh Street next to the LGBTQ+ Culture Center.

LGBTQ+ Culture Center

The LGBTQ+ Culture Center is a safe and welcoming environment dedicated to advocating for students of all genders and sexual orientations. The center, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019, provides counseling, free supplies for safe sex, free HIV/STI testing, an LGBTQ Library, a Gender Affirming Closet where students can access free clothing and more. There are also LGBTQ student groups where students can find community and resources for transitioning at IU. The LGBTQ+ Culture Center is located on Seventh Street across from Dunn Meadow and next to La Casa.

IDS FILE PHOTO BY ANNA BROWN Trees surround the IU La Casa Latino Cultural Center on Sept. 29, 2019, across from Dunn Meadow.

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Q&A: Mom discusses sending child to college

By Ethan Moore

ethmoore@iu.edu | @ethcmoore

My mom always said I was her little sidekick growing up. I never missed the chance to run errands or watch a cheesy rom-com with her. She loved to remind me of that when I was a bratty teenager, but we were still close when I went to college.

Even though IU is less than a two hour drive from home, the transition was still hard for her, as it is for any parent. Because she’s been through it, I asked her a few questions to help parents sending a child to college for the first time know what to expect.

What was the hardest part of dropping me off at IU?

I think the hardest part was that you and I were so close, and I knew I was losing my sidekick. That was always going to be the hardest thing. I knew I was going to miss you each and every day.

I worked in the school system where you went to high school, so even when you were at school and I was at work, we were still in the same location. That always gave me a sense of peace and I knew dropping you off I was not going to have that anymore. I wasn’t going to be able to know where you were, what you were doing or who you were with. That’s hard for a parent to let go.

What was the biggest adjustment you had to make after I left for school?

Getting used to not seeing you every single day and talking to you every day after school was really hard. I wanted to call you every single day, but knew that I couldn’t. I had to let you acclimate to a new journey in your life, so I had to fight against myself not to call you every day.

Ethan Moore, editor-in-chief of the Indiana Daily Student, poses for a photo with his mother, Christina Moore, before a graduation celebration May 29, 2020.

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How did the dynamic at home change without me?

Well, there was no more bickering between you and your brother, which was a sense of peace. But at the same time, the house was too quiet. It was just odd, not having you around to chat with, to joke with and to laugh with. It was a new adjustment.

What do you wish you would have known about the transition into college life?

That’s a really hard question, because you went to college during a pandemic. It was a very strange transition for us, because you left home to move into a single room with no roommate and to take online classes. I was worried about you making friends. I wish I knew how much harder of a transition it was going to be because of the pandemic compared to when we dropped your older brother off at IU a few years before that. I was more worried about your isolation and your mental health from not being around people.

What advice would you give to parents sending off their children to college for the first time?

Try to refrain from having to know where they are or calling them all the time. We raise our children to be independent, strong individuals and to spread their wings and fly, but it’s just a very hard thing to push them out of the nest to let them do that. Even though you raise your children to be independent, you’re never prepared for sending your child off. Trust the way that you raised your children. I knew that I had raised you the right way, and I just needed to trust you.

Answers have been edited for clarity.