Creating Space: How Berry Students Build Communities of Belonging

A college campus, in many ways, reflects the larger world: a society in which social hierarchies, cultural identities and power dynamics are all condensed into a smaller community. However, many students from marginalized backgrounds may find that the sense of belonging within them isn’t automatic.

“Coming to Berry meant stepping into a n

ew culture. I wanted that change, but I also knew what it meant to be at a mostly white school,” said Michelle Hamoui, the president of Orgullo, a student organization that celebrates Hispanic and Latino cultures. The club promotes awareness of Hispanic and Latinx culture through events and programs and seeks to build community through celebration, education and solidarity. “It’s hard sometimes to find a space where you truly feel safe being yourself. People might encourage you to speak up, but it doesn’t always feel natural when no one else shares your experience.”

She described the shift between her home community and her college community as overwhelming at times. At Berry College, a predominantly white institution (PWI), she experienced what it was like to be a minority for the first time. Her experience is not one o

f a kind. Luckily in an atmosphere that may foster feelings of isolation, minority-support groups exist to provide venues where students feel noticed, supported and connected. For some students, these organizations are more than just extracurricular activities; they are crucial to their sense of belonging.

“The Brotherhood is the only reason I’m at Berry College — the only reason why,” Quanah Martin, the president of Berry Brotherhood, said.

For Martin, joining the group was transformative: it has given him a strong sense of community, improved his confidence on campus and inspired him to take on leadership roles. Students of color who attend a PWI commonly encounter cultural isolation, unconscious bias and a lack of representation. It may be more difficult to feel a sense of purpose as a result of those experiences. The Brotherhood addresses these challenges by offering professional development workshops, mentorship networks and leadership opportunities for its members. Established to uplift men of color at Berry, Martin explains that the Brotherhood has grown into a vital support system.

“We also want to display excellence and leadership on campus, to push one another toward success,” he said.

To him, Berry Brotherhood is more than a student organization. It’s a space where he’s seen, uplifted, and empowered to do the same for others. Chloe Scholl, the president of the Asian American Pacific Islander Student Group (AAPI), explained how these student-led organizations are structured.

“There’s about seven of us, and we all fall under the umbrella of the Office of Belonging and Community Engagement,” she said. “Each club is different, but we’re all working toward the same goals of inclusion and support.”

The Office of Belonging and Community Engagement provides guidance and support to these groups, helping them organize events, build community and advocate for underrepresented students. While these clubs are vital to students, they face hidden challenges. Systemic oversights affecting their visibility and access continue to frustrate student leaders.

“We’re often left off the emails, they don’t put our events on the calendar, and we’re not included on the stall wall,” said Kris Williams, president of the Black Student Association (BSA).

BSA exists to foster a safe, judgment-free space where Black students and students of color can speak openly about the issues they face both on and off campus. The organization encourages connection, shared experience and mutual support, helping members find common ground and build community. Though after stepping into her leadership role, Williams was excluded from a few key communications that were essential to the club’s success. These gaps in outreach, she explained, made it harder to plan events, coordinate with campus offices, and feel recognized as part of the broader student community. She took the initiative to learn the systems on her own and recruited her friends to fill officer roles. As ironic as it may seem, the work they put in ensured that BSA was the solution, a self-created support system in the absence of broader institutional care. Students in the AAPI community added that even basic awareness from individuals who do not have much knowledge about these student organizations can be a challenge.

“If you went out and asked a random person what AAPI is, they’d probably be very confused and ask you, ‘What’s AAPI?’” Scholl said.

Because of the lack of recognition, member retention is also a challenge, many leaders of these groups said. “Towards the end of last semester, attendance was really low, sometimes only three or four people showed up,” said Lily Chapman, president of Empower, Berry’s women and gender studies club. “It can be discouraging to plan events when you don’t see much turnout.” A majority of the leaders consist of upperclassmen, and as they prepare for graduation, the worry that their club may not last intensifies. “I’m concerned there aren’t enough underclassmen to keep the club running after I graduate,” said Chapman.

This highlights a broader question about legacy: can the club sustain its mission and community once its current leaders have moved on? Emma Simmons, president of LISTEN, Berry’s LGBTQIA+ student organization, spoke to the issue as well.

President of Berry Brotherhood Quanah Martin speaking to Berry students and community.

“We have a very big surge at the beginning of the year… and then it kind of drops as time goes on,” she said. LISTEN provides a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students and allies, where members can be their authentic selves without fear of judgment. And, for many of these upperclassmen, the club they belong to is a community they have nurtured. The fear of its decline reflects the emotional significance of their investment. This pattern also highlights the pressure to make the club succeed. Without intentional mentorship, the enthusiasm and drive of upperclassmen may fade after graduation, leaving the club vulnerable to stagnation.

One of the ways the clubs have attempted to face this issue is with purposeful mentorship. “Our upperclassmen officers have kind of adopted the freshmen and sophomores,” Martin said. “So essentially, they are all our brothers.” This represents the initiative’s “big brother-little brother” concept, which emphasizes close, familial relationships across class years. Mentorship is a genuine and constant aspect that they hope to express.

In addition to structural challenges, many of these organizations face persistent misconceptions. These misunderstandings can distort their purpose, discourage participation and reinforce stereotypes about who belongs. Some clubs are known for hosting events with food, which can unintentionally lead to the perception that their purpose is purely social or transactional. Leaders from Orgullo and BSA expressed frustration with attendees who engage only for the free food, overlooking the deeper mission of education and community-building.

“The... challenge is making sure that people are staying engaged even if there's not a different incentive, such as food,” Hamoui said. She and her team are working on different methods to retain attendance, if not just for food. “There are people who come in, get food and then leave,” said Williams. “They don’t want to benefit from the education.”

This problem has led several of these student initiatives to work together. “We also partner with the other clubs under the Office of Belonging and Community Engagement to help build community and support our other minorities as well,” said Scholl. Through these partnerships, the organizations are able to pool resources, promote one another's events and foster a greater sense of unity among marginalized communities.  “Last semester [LISTEN] reached out to [Empower] and we did a joint meeting together... It was nice to do that together and have solidarity between the two groups,” Chapman said.

In a campus environment where visibility and understanding can be limited, working together helps them push back against isolation and build a more inclusive culture. In a campus environment where visibility and understanding can be limited, working together helps them push back against isolation and build a more inclusive culture. This collaboration allows them to challenge isolation and foster a more inclusive campus culture

Harmful perceptions and cultural discomfort are the root causes of some organizations’ persistent misconceptions. “There are a lot of things that Black people say that a lot of people aren’t comfortable with hearing,” said Williams. “I want BSA to be known as a safe place where you can express yourself the way you would at home. We’re not just loud and ghetto. I’m trying to fight the stereotypes... that’s not what I want people to think of when they look at us.”

In addition to misrepresenting the club’s mission, these presumptions perpetuate stigmas that students are actively attempting to eradicate. Williams stressed that the purpose of their events is to promote conversations that do not occur in other environments, not to fit into stereotypes. LISTEN faces similar challenges in how it’s perceived.

“We’re not recognized as a queer advocacy group. We’re more seen as a social club,” said Simmons. “There have been rumors going around that we have Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERFs) in our group,” she said. “We’ve tried to create a very safe space for everyone.” She emphasizes the point that the club is open to everyone. “Even within the LGBTQ community, there is internalized homophobia, internalized transphobia. We’re not just here for the outwardly queer people. We’re here for those who haven’t come out yet, who are afraid, who are still figuring out who they are. We won’t passively sit back and let bad things grow.”

Despite their inclusive missions, many of these clubs continue to battle misconceptions about who is welcome. Every organization emphasized that their spaces are open to all students, not just those who share the identity or background the club centers. Still, assumptions persist.

“A lot of people think you can’t join AAPI if you’re not Asian. And that’s not true,” said Scholls, president of the Asian American Pacific Islander Student Group. “We love allies too.”

It is a thread of commonality that many of the events are set up to express and educate others about their cultures. Despite each club’s specific focus, student leaders say they hope their organizations can encourage others to step outside their comfort zones, engage with new perspectives and build broader campus understanding.

“[Empower] welcomes everyone,” Chapman said. “It's not like an angry women's club. Most of the time, our weekly meetings are very, very chill. At the end of the day, it's really just a safe space for anyone on campus. And it's a community.”

When discussing events, Hamoui explains the beauty found in providing support to these groups.

“We had a speaker, her name is Dhamar [Verdel Aguirreshe], she is the president of Corazón Latino. She came to speak for Orgullo during a very tough time for immigrants, as far as in the political world. She gave out these little red cards that every immigrant should keep in handy... just stating their rights... And we gave those out to the students who participated in the events and gave them extras to hand out to their families or community.” Hamoui expressed her surprise, but also her pride, at realizing they could make even the tiniest difference in a household of immigrants who are really struggling.

Most of the leaders come from a time when they were seeking refuge for their differences from the majority. Chapman described the inspiration she found from the previous president of Empower.

“[Emma Moore] was such an encouragement. We want Empower to be for the new students coming in, to be the great thing that it was for us when we were freshmen. In a way, we just want to give back.”  “BSA not only helped me find a community of Black people that I can relate to, talk to, confide in, but it also gave me a space to have fun. And I don’t have to filter my words or act a different way,” Williams said.

These reflections emphasize how these communities serve as areas of identity, safety and fulfillment rather than just extracurricular activities.

“This is not just something that is a year-by-year thing. It’s something that I hope has a legacy that surpasses when we graduate,” Simmons said, reflecting on the future of LISTEN. These clubs have proven that meaningful change often begins with simple acts of care. And hopefully, these continue with the legacy they have provided.