With an extremely diverse student population, it is no wonder that Tompkins is home to a plethora of ethnic clubs. These clubs provide students with a place to bond over a common background and celebrate their shared cultures. Furthermore, by housing these clubs at Tompkins and being open to all students regardless of ethnicity, they bring exposure to the different cultures of the world. Junior Kanachi Weli of Nigerian descent is part of the African Students Association at Tompkins.

“African Students Association is an organization formed by African students in American high schools. They compete in showcases, which are talent shows where participants win prizes for best choreography to compilations of African music, and they help bring exposure to African culture,” said Weli.

Weli joined ASA because she thought the school is very diverse, with different ethnic groups like South Asian Students Club and South East Asian Association.

“There is a huge African population at Tompkins who have not met each other and the club is a great way for them to get to know other Africans with the same cultural backgrounds and learn about African countries,” said Weli.

They assign a member with a particular African country, and discuss it at the meetings held every other Wednesday. They learn about the country’s food, music and other facts that make that particular country unique.

“People should join ASA because it exposes them to African culture and allows them to participate in showcases,” said Weli.

Senior Akshat Jain is president of the South Asian Society. He enjoys being a leader in the club because of his rich heritage. Both of his parents immigrated from India, so he has a strong cultural background that he would like to share with the school.

“I want people to come to my club and really experience Indian culture. It is so vivid and beautiful that it is definitely worth sharing with everyone,” said Jain.

In South Asian Society, students meet monthly to discuss Indian culture, Bollywood pop culture, and other things popular within the Indian community, like cricket. However, Jain argues that the most appealing aspect of the club is something else entirely.

“My favorite thing about the club is definitely the amazing food we eat. Members bring stuff in to every meeting and we just eat good Indian snacks. There is no better way to end a long school day,” said Jain.

Clubs:

African Student Association

All Around the World Club

Filipino Club

Indian Cultural Society

Korean Club

South Asian Society

Muslim Students Association

World Culture Club