BY ERICA MILOSH

The Caribbean Club has gained tremendous popularity among Nichols College students since it launched last year. This multicultural group is fun and welcoming, and it strives to educate everyone on campus about other ethnicities and backgrounds.

Club President Fallonne Fanfan `18, a finance and accounting double major from Sudbury, Mass., is excited about its expansion and direction. She explained how the club is reaching out toward new cultures and has become more of an ALANA society (African, Latino, American, Native American, and Asian ethnicities). In other words, all walks of life are welcome to join and share their stories about their backgrounds. At a small school like Nichols, it’s important to celebrate our heritages and educate one another on what makes us who we are. Fallonne wants people to understand how our backgrounds influence our character; why people talk, dance, act, and cook the way they do.

Earlier in the semester, the Caribbean Club held a lawn festival that included food and music from many cultures. We can expect more events like this—and even bigger things from the club down the line. Fallonne discussed the possibility of organizing mission trips to struggling countries such as Haiti and Peru. Not only would it be appealing to students whose heritage hails from ALANA ethnicities, but it would also be an exciting volunteer experience for all students. In keeping with the Nichols business mindset, there would be chances to network with businesses based out of such countries.

The Caribbean Club now boasts approximately 60 members—many of whom registered at the College’s recent Student Activities and Club Fair—and continues to increase in diversity. Understanding various heritages is just one more way the Nichols community can expand the horizons of our students.

BY JORDAN D’AURIO

Here on the Hill, staff and faculty are constantly looking for students’ feedback to shape the campus to the wants and needs of students as much as possible.

Just a couple of weeks ago, administration from departments such as Admissions and Residence Life visited each residence hall and chatted with many students, letting students’ voices be heard about anything they wanted to talk about. Concerns varied from wanting certain events back on campus to wanting the campus shuttle to be available more often. Staff members took our suggestions into serious consideration–and some of them are already in the process of being implemented.

When I was in the middle of my college search, I went on many campus tours to get a feel for what each school was all about. No college compared to the feeling I experienced when I stepped on the Nichols College campus. Within minutes of first visiting Nichols, I got that homey, comfortable feel that everyone looks for when moving away from his or her parents for the first time. What’s even better about Nichols is that feeling has never gone away because of actions of the staff and faculty. In my opinion, you won’t find this kind of attention or comfort elsewhere.

One of Nichols’ priorities is to let students’ voices be heard. After administration made their rounds to the residence halls to collect as much feedback as possible, they scheduled yet another meeting to ask the students how they would like to see that feedback taken into action and changed. It’s clear that Nichols really wants to benefit the students now and in the future, which is something I will always admire about Nichols College.

Nichols truly does care.