Multicultural Club Celebrates Unity at FCHS

New ideas seem to be fluttering through the halls this year, with one such idea being a new club focused on promoting and celebrating different races and cultures at the school. Choir teacher Horace Scruggs started the club in order to “help our students gain greater knowledge and appreciation for the many cultures that make up our school.” The club began in the fall semester and currently has around 20 members, although anyone can participate.

The goal of the Multicultural Club is to allow everyone at the school to learn more about minorities represented at FCHS. Senior Dylan Spencer thinks the club is important because it educates him about different people and the way they live their lives. An FCHS exchange student from Ukraine, Vladyslava Skakunova, believes the club is important because “people shouldn’t close [themselves] from new information.” Besides being Ukrainian, she is also Mongolian and French. She is living in America with another exchange student, Zuzanna Lausz, who is Polish. Joining the club has allowed them to understand American culture better and gain new friends.

During club time, which meets every other Tuesday on during Fluco Focus, members share experiences, such as when people did not use correct terms to address them, or used stereotypical phrases that offended them. For example, Mariam Majuto, a tenth grader from South Africa, said she does not like “when people see me and be like, ‘Wakanda Forever.’” She also dislikes when they use the phrase “Kunta Kinte,” a name of a character who was a slave in America. (Majuto was born in Congo.) Other phrases like calling Latinos or Hispanics “Mexicans” when they are not from Mexico is something club members said they’ve found offensive.  

In order to educate students and make them aware of these offensive terms, the club is planning on doing a multicultural fair showcasing different cultures with food, music, and stories. “I want to do the showcase to share my Trinidadian mother’s favorite childhood dishes with my friends,” said junior Kelise Thomas. They also hope to do a showcase for the exchange students in order to share their cultures with Fluvanna.

The club’s next upcoming event is the Black History Month choir program on Feb. 28.  If you’re interested in learning more about different cultures, see Mr. Scruggs in Room 1517.