Heritage clubs give students a place at Penn

by Arielle Kane | Friday, September 19, 2008 at 1:00 am

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The Scandinavian population at Penn isn't huge. Nor is there overwhelming Polish or Vietnamese representation in the Penn student body.

Even so, these are just a few of the growing number of heritages at the forefront of student clubs on campus.

Such denominations can be a significant part of students' lives and one that many choose to explore or celebrate within a club structure.

"I grew up in a very rural town where there weren't many Korean people," said College senior Bryan Ko, whose parents are from Korea. "I wanted to learn a little bit more about [the] culture."

He joined the Korean Students Association his freshman year and is now its co-president.

Other clubs attract members who simply have an interest in a particular region, whether they studied abroad there or have other close links.

EuroPenn, founded in 2006 and a mainstay on the Penn social circuit, was founded on such principals.

"We want Europeans to feel at home, but at the same time we want to spread European culture" said College senior Calypso Montouchet, secretary and one of the founding members of EuroPenn.

Likewise, Jenn Phuong, a senior in the College and president of the Vietnamese Student Association, is ethnically Chinese, but her father was born and raised in Vietnam.

The club, according to Phuong, has only two members who are from Vietnam. Most other members were either born or raised in the United States.

Students who can't find a place to express cultural interests often start their own clubs. College sophomore Nicholas Theuerkauf is currently forming the Penn German Society, a club he founded as a freshman at New York University before transferring to Penn.

"I was surprised there was nothing student-run" he said, adding there's been a lot of interest so far. "People like to go to fun things that are subsidized, so why not?"

The Penn Scandinavian Society began in much the same way in January of last year, according to College sophomore and club president Tuua Ruutiainen, who was born in Finland but raised in the States.

"It's not so common to have a Scandinavian society, so people are always really excited to find it," she said, adding that about 30 percent of club members are simply interested in northern Europe.

These groups often see outreach as part of their mission.

"We are trying to fight the image that you have to be European to join the club," said Montouchet as an example.

Not all students feel comfortable joining in, however, in clubs geared to their, or anyone else's culture.

"I went to a couple of South Asian Society events, but.it was too insular," saiProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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Wharton and Engineering sophomore Abhiraj Modi, whose parents are from Bombay. He added that he wanted to make friends based on more than just a shared culture.

Even so, these clubs exist both to bring students of similar backgrounds and interests together and to disseminate that which they are so proud of.

"We want other people to have the same feeling of discovery, excitement and belonging when they attend a EuroPenn event," said Montouchet.

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