Celebrating and Sharing Culture

Students at Grinnell come from every state and more than 60 countries and bring varied geographic, ethnic, racial, religious, and socioeconomic experiences to our community.

Although our backgrounds are varied and many, the result is a tight-knit community of diverse individuals with shared goals of supporting diversity, equity, and an inclusive learning environment; building cultural awareness; and encouraging dialogue across our differences to shape how we learn and work together.

While the College has created offices and administrative positions dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion, the responsibility to examine, expand, and share our cultures and beliefs is one shared by every member of our community.

To that end, the Chinese Student Association (CSA) was founded in 2014 by several Chinese students who felt compelled to create a student organization to represent the Chinese student population at Grinnell.

“As a group we serve all of the Chinese students on campus and work to cultivate diversity and inclusion at Grinnell by holding various cultural events throughout the year,” says Sherry Ding ’25, a sociology major from Chengdu, China.

The organization holds two annual events — the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala and the Chinese New Year Gala. These events provide an opportunity for Chinese students to celebrate these important festivals and to share their beliefs and culture with others.

“We aim to facilitate Chinese students’ experience at Grinnell and also to promote understanding of Chinese culture within Grinnell community,” says Ding. “We also want to prevent the marginalization of Chinese and other international students at Grinnell.

“Every Chinese student who has participated in the cultural events held by the CSA feels a sense of belonging and say that their cultures and identities as Chinese students are respected on campus.” She adds. “Other students have told us our efforts have helped them learn more about Chinese traditions and customs and to become more interested in and intrigued by Chinese culture.”