Curious about other cultures? Colorado Mesa University began a club that is purely about cross-cultural books. Opening up large discussion and a way for students to reach into other cultures.
At every end of the month, The Cultural Diversity Board (CDB) Book Club meets on the book exchange landing in Escalante Hall. For this month, their meeting will be on Monday, November 26 at 4pm. Since the CDB just started the book club this semester, the meeting on November 26 will be their third book club meeting ever.
The goal of the club is to promote open discussion and understanding of cross-cultural books and topics. Each of the six Alliances in the CDB have a ‘significant month’, during which they can choose a book that will be read. This November it is the Native American Student Alliance’s significant month, and thus their turn to pick a book. The coordinator of the NASA chose the book “Killers of the Flower moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI”, as it relates to the Native American Culture.
“At the meetings we strive to create an environment where students can openly speak their mind and assist each other with navigating their time here at CMU. People can speak freely about the book and how it relates to their life in general,” Donovan Harwell, director of communication for the CDB, said.
“However, you don’t necessarily need to have read the book to be able to add to the meeting. We have had attendees show up who didn’t read the book at all, but were still able to effectively contribute to the discussion,” Harwell said.
The meetings are not just meant for students.
“We encourage not only students, but also faculty and staff members to attend,” Harwell said, “It is incredibly beneficial to have a professor at these discussions, as they are often skilled facilitators. And often, faculty and staff members are very likely have real-world experience relating to the discussions.”
