Hampshire College

A number of multicultural student groups are based in the Cultural Center, where they hold student group meetings and events. These student groups make up the coalition of SOURCE.

SOURCE GROUPS
SOURCE has developed and grown over the years into an umbrella coalition of nine student groups that support international students and students of color at Hampshire College. To contact the groups, please email: source@hampshire.edu

*  DIG
DIG! is an affinity group that aims to create safe spaces for people who identify as indigenous. It is also a space for personal/cultural expression and enrichment of our members and the Hampshire community in general. Its goals also include affecting administration for active student and faculty recruitment, and promoting consistent faculty support to ensure indigenous students are respected in and outside the classroom while pursuing their educations. The definition of "indigenous" for DIG! are those groups whose homelands have been colonized, but use their cultures as a form of resistance. It is important to remember although that DIG! is also the only space for those students from North America, the group also welcomes all who look to confront and understand these particular issues, conflicts, and histories.(more information: https://hampedia.org/wiki/DIG)

* FISH
Forum of International Students at Hampshire supports students representing a range of nationalities.

* James Baldwin Scholars
The James Baldwin Scholars Group is for students who participated in the James Baldwin Scholarship program during their first year at Hampshire. It is designed to provide the incoming first-year Baldwins with the academic, social, and cultural support as they go through the transitional year from high school to college. Simultaneously, it provides mutual support to returning Baldwin Scholars who may experience a sense of isolation on campus. The James Baldwin alums, who have continued their education at Hampshire and often serve as leaders in the community, contribute to the group through arranging various activities and events and serving as mentors and role models. Through these actions the group helps create a supportive environment, reinforcing a sense of belonging to its members.

Video of the James Baldwin Scholars/SOURCE Brunch, October 2008.

*  Mixed Heritage
Mixed Heritage focuses on expanding the resources, education, and visibility of mixed identified peoples on Hampshire campus. The group aims to educate and explore assumptions and perceptions about intersectional and mixed identities that create complexities in our communities. Mixed Heritage primarily functions to provide and sustain a space for community building, as well as discussion about mixed identities, heritages, and races. As a SOURCE group, its weekly meetings are open to students who identify as students of color, international students, transracially adopted students, and students who identify with multiple cultures and identities both national and ethnic.

*  PASA
PASA (Pan-Asian Student Alliance) is a space for the full expression of Pan-Asian voices. The group is, first and foremost, a supportive and safe space. This is also a forum to acknowledge the diversity within the Pan-Asian community, and address the range of issues concerning such differences. PASA approaches its group endeavors in a grassroots tradition, and strives to challenge inequality, privilege, and oppression. PASA is a place where students can come together to connect to the larger experiences that come with being Asian on a domestic or international level. PASA's initiatives reflect the ever-changing need of its community(s). PASA also values the relationships that its communities have with other communities of color and international communities. PASA's visions will be accomplished through education, empowerment, and action.

*  QIPOC
QIPOC (Queer International and People of Color) is a safe and accountable space for the LGBTQueer community of color/international at Hampshire College and in the Five Colleges. The group recognizes that its identities as People of Color/International Students and our Queer selves are inseparable from one another, and the group seeks to raise awareness of this truth on campus and within the Five Colleges. The group will primarily be a supportive space in which to dialogue with one another, provide a comfortable space, and build community.

*  Raices
An organization for students who are interested in Latino culture and heritage and are concern with Latino issues: sexism, homophobia, passing, racism, and classism within Latino communities. RAICES strives to promote the identity and unity of Hampshire College’s Latino students through intellectual, cultural, academic, and social growth and to increase their visibility and involvement in campus and community activities.

*  Sisters
SISTERS celebrates polyculturalism. It is a support group to which women of color and international women come to share experiences, common and different, and use this as a premise for gaining strength, confidence, and a sense of community. SISTERS supports issues of social justice and advocates and organizes around issues of gender, intersectional identity, race, and structural oppression.

*  Umoja
UMOJA is an organization that serves and is run by students of African descent. UMOJA is the only student group devoted solely to the interests of Black students. Its mission is threefold: to establish a support network among black students; to promote social events open to the entire Hampshire community and the four surrounding area colleges, as well as exclusive events for members; and to encourage, through fundraising, and collaborations with the Admissions Office, aggressive recruitment of minority students. UMOJA provides a forum for students of the African Diaspora to discuss issues concerning people of color in general and Black people specifically, on this campus and beyond.

SOURCE groups have regularly scheduled meetings at the cultural center and organize numerous events and activities throughout the year. For information about how to get involved with a specific SOURCE group, email SOURCE: source@hampshire.edu. To contact all the SOURCE groups' student leaders, email sourcesigners@lists.hampshire.edu.

Affiliated SOURCE Groups
In recent years there have been created affiliated student groups who help support the experiences and needs of students of color and international students. These groups will often participate in activities of SOURCE. The following groups have been active in the recent past on campus:

*  AWAMOH (African Women and Men of Hampshire)

SOURCE GROUPS COORDINATORS
There are SOURCE Groups Coordinators (SGC's) who work at the cultural center to help coordinate the gathering of the SOURCE groups and to help foster collaboration and communication between the SOURCE groups. These coordinators also assist each group with any programmatic help they may need.

The SOURCE groups coordinators organize SOURCE community meetings on a regular basis each semester. These are excellent opportunities for students of color and international students to meet other students and build community, to share needs and concerns, and to solve problems together.

A SOURCE groups coordinator also serves on Community Council, the campus governance body, as a liaison to SOURCE.

 
BEING INVOLVED IN SOURCE
There are many institutional, social, and cultural barriers and experiences that are shared among students of color and international students. The student of color and international populations at Hampshire College generally constitute a small percentage of the student body. It is for these reasons that SOURCE exists. Students create a critical mass through SOURCE to provide the needed support for students’ needs and to facilitate change.

Not every student of color or international student may feel the need to become involved in SOURCE or its groups each semester. Each student’s level of participation varies. The one thing that is constant is that SOURCE and its groups are always there whenever a student of color or international student needs them.
 

THE LEBRON-WIGGINS-PRAN CULTURAL CENTER
The Cultural Center works closely with SOURCE. The Cultural Center director serves as the advisor to the SOURCE groups. Staff members at the center are available to help the groups with any questions they may have regarding programming, co-sponsoring events, other campus offices and groups, problem-solving, or anything else. The center provides mailboxes for the SOURCE groups as well as file cabinet space, and houses many historical documents for each group as well as SOURCE documents.