Intercultural Student Affairs

Mission Statement

Intercultural Student Affairs at Emerson centers humanity, compassion, and education at the forefront of everything we do. We honor, celebrate, and validate the narratives of marginalized voices, and in turn, support community-based advocacy, reflection, and action. In short, we want to create and hold space where people can be who they are.

Statement of Purpose

• Support and enhance the integration of all BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ (see LGBTQIA+ Student Services) students into the wider College community by maintaining the Cultural Center located at 172 Tremont Street, Room 406 - a place where you can convene, fellowship, and even rest; supporting all Intercultural Student Organizations; and planning diversity equity inclusion identity and social justice trainings and programs.
• Encourage students of color and LGBTQIA+ students to maximize their chances for successful academic and social development by becoming full participants in the curricular and extra-curricular activities of campus life.
• Engender and maintain an atmosphere where different ethnic and racial viewpoints are disseminated, understood, and respected.

Part of What We Do

• We honor the history of how we got here, and therefore we begin ceremonies acknowledging the native indigenous communities on whose land we inhabit - Honoring Native Land: Massachusetts Indigenous Peoples.
• Introduce ourselves with our pronouns - Choosing pronouns on Canvas
• Present speakers and panelists who have a variety of identities - especially those who have historically been silenced.
• Review the tenets of inclusive programming as we design and implement programs and events.
• We endeavor to cultivate a community in which we encourage active listening and the practice of accountability and forgiveness (by offering and accepting respectful critique(s)).