Cultured Out

In a recent debate about the role of ethnic groups at Harvard, panelist Derrick N. Ashong '97 asked how many people in the audience were familiar with two cultures in addition to their own. He was prompting us to explore the events of campus ethnic organizations. But which culture could I say was my own? The Swiss culture of my relatives, the American culture I grew up in or my grandfather's Puerto Rican heritage? I am not familiar with each of these cultures although together they comprise my ethnicity. Do I have the responsibility to learn about all three of these cultures?

My race is Caucasian, but my ethnic heritage is a mix of Puerto Rican, Swiss, German and English. Should I join a club to learn about the ones with which I am least familiar? Should I learn about cultures that are not part of my ethnicity by attending, for example, Chinese Students Association meetings? Am I culturally deficient?

Before I came to Harvard I did not feel culturally deficient. While my parents did not ignore my ethnic heritage (my mother makes a delectable Swiss peach cake and we have carried on a tradition started by my great-grandfather of having "plum pudding parties"), they seemed more interested in making me aware of U.S. history and culture than any other one. I have lived in Massachusetts all my life, and I pride myself on my detailed knowledge of the American Revolution from many visits to monuments and museums. My parents and I listened to American music, visited American architectural landmarks and played in the great American outdoors.

I think I was raised the same way my parents were. I learned about America the beautiful, rather than Switzerland the neutral, England the weak or Puerto Rico the dependent. While my grandfather's years in the Civilian Conservation Corps and the American Air Force are still clear in his mind, his mother's tales of Puerto Rico have faded into memory.

How should I raise my children? Is it enough to extol the virtues of Thomas Jefferson, Willa Cather and Lou Reed? Or should I learn Spanish and make sure they do, too? Will they feel culturally deficient if all they know is America the brave? I feel pressured to take advantage of my opportunities at Harvard and learn about more ethnicities.

But in general, ethnic groups at Harvard have not approached the community in an effective manner. According to panelist Ravi K. Dixit '00, these organizations were originally formed because racial minorities felt alienated and discriminated against at Harvard. Their members must still feel this way. (I know I have some of these feelings as a woman. The busts of white men circling Annenberg make me feel as though I am not a part of Harvard's legacy.) I respect my friends who belong to racial or ethnic organizations but I do not want to join them because I cannot contribute to such cultural solidarity.

I do credit ethnic groups for spreading awareness of their cultures and promoting political agendas. But it is a dangerous pursuit. Last year I attended that Asian American Association's Food Fest. After we ate our food, a speaker addressed the Asian-American students in the room about their lack of power, their under-representation and their need for solidarity. I felt alienated. I'm sure that what the speaker said was true, but I paid $5 to eat Asian food, not to be told that the Asian-American students in the room should band together against the forces of the white establishment embodied by folks like myself. That was the last AAA event I attended.

I learned about an aspect of Indian culture earlier this fall. I visited the Sackler Museum exhibit on art from the Kotah. I went because I wanted to see art, to feast my eyes on color and beauty, not because I wanted to learn about Indian culture. But at the exhibit I managed to do both. The text accompanying each painting put the pictures in the context of Indian folklore, colonial history and regional geography. By touting cultural events as representative of a whole culture and people, ethnic groups run the risk that, for example, people who disliked one Latin Dance show will not attend a speech about the American Latino community.

One panelist asked, "How do we reach out to every student on campus?" Unfortunately, people like me who felt culturally fulfilled when they came to Harvard are not going to realize that they need to know about other cultures unless they are told. I probably won't go to an event that is pitched merely as a celebration of a particular culture. I'm really happy with the cultures I know about. But I will attend Ghungroo this year because I heard it was a great show, not in order to celebrate South Asian heritage. We all came here to be educated, and ethnic organizations have a tough role to play if they position themselves as being a necessary education in addition to classes.

When it comes to educating my children, I'm going to teach them about the art and culture that I find interesting. They will certainly read Dickens and eat Roquefort. They will also read a book with illustrations like those I saw in "Art from the Kotah." I will tell them about Grandpa's childhood in a New York City tenement. The other cultures they will learn about will depend upon their interests.

Barbara E. Martinez '00 is a Crimson editor and lives in Quincy House.