At Pitman High School, there are many clubs based on culture and heritage that a large number of students join. These clubs were created with the intention to encourage students to express and share their cultures with other students at school. Let’s take a look at some of the activities these clubs do.

To do this, I was able to get the opinions of two students, Dilreet Dhillon and Heret Kaur, who were willing to share how their view on cultural diversity has changed by joining the cultural clubs created at Pitman High School. 

What is your ethnicity and cultural background? What do you celebrate?

DIlreet: “I’m a Sikh born in the United States. My parents were born in Punjab, India. We celebrate many different holidays including Diwali, Holi etc. Holi is the festival of color celebrating the victory of good over evil.”

Heret: “I’m from northern India, in the state of Punjab. I belong to a Sikh household. In India there are many cultures, foods, religions everywhere. Recently Diwali just passed, which is when most Indians celebrate for different reasons. In the morning, they greet their elders and receive money. At night, they light up the small lights called diya’s and get together with their people and either pray or go to the temple. I find the most fun part of Diwali being the fireworks. At night the sky and homes light up with light decorations and fireworks. Then at the end my family releases a wish lantern. Overall, I think of India as its own mini world because of its diversity, some people look like they’re from Europe, some from Africa, some from east Asia. They might follow Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, etc.”

What club did you join?

Dilreet: “I joined the club SHSS.”

Heret: “I joined the Pan-Asian Heritage Society at Pitman High School.” 

As a member, what do you do in that club?

Dilreet: “As a member, I helped set up events, make posters, and bring awareness about this club to others.”

Heret: “As a member, I attended their enjoyable movie nights along with informative cultural nights.”

How did being in the club make you feel about your culture?

Dilreet: “By being in this club, I have felt more proud of my culture from learning and expressing it.”

Heret: “I felt comfortable and well represented in my culture especially when movies/presentations were made about my and other Asian cultures.”

What is your opinion on cultural representation at school?

Dilreet: “At our school, I feel that we definitely have room for improvement with cultural representation, but I do appreciate what we have.”

Heret: “I think Pitman does an amazing job trying to represent different cultures and religions by clubs such as Assyrian-American club, cultural diversity club, Sikh club, and PAHS.”

How does it compare to other schools you’ve attended in the past?

Dilreet: “This is the first school I have been at that has this club and talks about cultural things. I would be scared of talking about or showing even small parts of my culture to other students, but by being in the SHSS club, I’ve been more open to it”

Heret: “From my personal experience at other schools, cultures weren’t such a topic that they expanded on, other than some mini representation of countries there wasn’t much knowledge taught or a space where students can openly learn and talk about their cultures.”

These inclusive cultural clubs help students at Pitman help students express their culture at school and feel comfortable in their own heritage. Even if you’re not a part of these cultures, all students have the opportunity to learn about them through these clubs.