Intercultural Student Affairs

Mission Statement

Intercultural Student Affairs at Emerson exists to center and celebrate the voices and experiences of BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ communities, and those that support them. The Cultural Center was established to support Intercultural Student Organizations and to provide a space dedicated to advocacy, reflection, and transformative action. We are committed to fostering environments where historically marginalized identities can thrive, building a compassionate and inclusive community grounded in equity and education.

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)).