It’s no secret that the students at Asbury University are passionate about making change in our very diverse world. As an institution that prides itself on academic excellence and spiritual vitality, starting here and impacting the world is one of our core values.
Sophomore Julian Lalanne is one of Asbury’s minority culture students who is a member of several intercultural groups on campus. Although he has met other Haitian students in groups like the Black Student Alliance and the International Student Alliance, he felt like there was not a group that explicitly celebrated Afro-Latino culture.
As a result, Lalanne, along with junior Rodney Jean, decided to start the Caribbean Student Alliance as a means of exposing Asbury to Caribbean culture.
“We started it because we felt like there was a lack of representation at Asbury for Caribbean and African cultures,” said Lalanne.
Many of Asbury’s students have expressed that there was a need for a group like CSA. Sophomore Carter Hammond spent several years in the Caribbean as a missionary kid.
“It is important that, as a diverse campus, we have representation,” he said.
CSA is different from other intercultural groups on campus because it does not require members to be of any specific ethnicity or cultural background to become a member.
“Everyone is invited,” said Lalanne.
It is also different from the other intercultural groups because they are not funded by the Office of Intercultural Affairs but rather by Vice President of Student Intercultural Programs Seth Kinyua’s initiative on the executive cabinet.
CSA plans on hosting speakers and events like the Caribbean Food Festival that welcomes students to experience traditional foods, music and dancing.
Sophomore and CSA Treasurer Willens Alcime stated that CSA has a collectivist mindset when it comes to its objective. As a group that is open for everyone to join, they place more importance on inclusivity and allowing all people to experience their culture.
“Knowing that there are different types of black cultures within the black community is just going to bring a different side of culture to Asbury that they haven’t seen before,” said Lalanne.
If you are interested in joining CSA, you can send an email to julian.lalanne@asbury.edu
