Club Bangla @ Columbia is a student association of Bangladeshi students studying at the Columbia University of New York. Students are also included from West Bengal of India. The club was formed in 2002 to celebrate Bangla culture, tradition, language, heritage etc. in its original form or diaspora based. The prime aim of the Club Bangla @ Columbia is to increase awareness of Bangla language and culture at Columbia University as well as create a platform for issues affecting Bangladeshis and the South Asian community at large. The club strives to promote a more visible representation and better understanding of the Bangladeshi community on campus while contributing to Columbia’s myriad of student-led diversity initiatives. Facilitating cross-cultural, ethnic and religious dialogue by programming events with a varied range of student groups is also mission of Club Bangla. Members of the club explores Bangla heritage in a Western environment through various activities to better understand individual identities in a concrete and contextual sense.
Most of the club’s activities are open to all regardless of nationality, ethnicity, language, culture, race, religion, sexual orientation. All members of the club are volunteers.
Objectives of Club Bangla @ Columbia:
- To take major steps in increasing awareness on campus about the Bangla language and culture at Columbia University;
- To promote better understanding and have more visible representation of the Bangla community on the Columbia campuses;
- To cultivate a close frame of support for Columbia students and its affiliates of Bangladeshi background and interest;
- To help students of Bangladeshi origin understand Bangladeshi culture, history, social and psychology through various activities, etc.
The club organizes various events such as Boishakhi Mela (Bangla New Year), fashion show, henna night, pitha festival, seminar on Bangladeshi and South Asian political and cultural issues, etc.
Team
President: Sumya Akkas
Co-President: Fahmida Hussain
Co-President: Alema Begum
Senior Adviser: Tara Islam
Treasurer: Shumaisa Ahmed
Secretary: Afsana Akter
Media Executive: Rania Siddique