Don’t be fooled by the headline, as someone who lives in the new multicultural houses, specifically the Indigenous House, I am beyond grateful for the opportunity. Yet, like with any new thing, project, or opportunity, there have been bumps in the road and a period of learning.
Living with people of the same cultural background as me, and yet diverse in terms of life story so that one may learn from one another, is both beautiful and one of the most impactful experiences in my life. My roommate is learning Ojibwe, the language of her tribe. Though I am from the Cherokee Nation and Ojibwe is not my language, I learn with her because it both supports her journey in connecting with her people and connects me to other people in my house from different Native backgrounds. We have a shared perspective in so many ways, yet can learn so much more from each other’s differences.
I believe that this is a shared experience in other multicultural houses: “With me being fully African American, and a lot of my housemates being of true African descent we are able to teach each other things about our cultures that you don’t get from living within a dorm,” Jaden Coleman ’27 stated when asked about the importance of living in Freedom House, the house for those of African descent. Learning—learning about ourselves, about our culture, about others in our community—is what makes living in a multicultural house so important, and is the gift that keeps on giving to those who have the opportunity to do so.
I take every opportunity I can to connect with my housemates because even though you can always know you have a community, one quickly learns that everyone’s life is just as busy as yours, but on a different schedule. “The day-to-day life with my community is pretty distant. [JUMP] We’re all on opposite schedules so I rarely see anybody. Events around campus and within our organization/house help keep us updated about our lives and plans,” Mariah Valenzuela ’27 said when asked about the day-to-day life of living in the Indigenous House. It is part of the learning curve of living with your community, finding time to truly sit down with one another and nurturing the relationships you have with one another.
On the more physical level of living in the newest residential facilities on campus, there has been both frustration and gratitude. We have large rooms, large showers, a brand new kitchen, and a living room with plenty of natural light through the large windows we have. All of these spaces we share with very few people. As far as living situations on a college level, I believe all multicultural house students are grateful. Yet, with new facilities, there are bound to be issues. Multiple houses had broken dryers, non-functional stoves, and plumbing issues and with all of these things being brand new, it took a lot longer for them to be fixed than other dorms who have problems like these being fixed down to an “exact science.” In my house, we didn’t have a dryer for almost three weeks and no stove for almost two. It was hard, considering most of us had to go to dorms to cook or do laundry since we relied on those facilities, but we also were able to rely on each other as a multicultural house community to get through it together.
In the end, I feel honored to have this opportunity as well as the responsibility. My community is accessible, and all I have to do is walk a few steps and knock on a door for support, advice, or a profound conversation. I get to share my culture with everyone on campus through multicultural house programming and have a voice on campus about diversity, representation, and cultural participation. I get to have support not only from my cultural community, but other ones who are my neighbors. The multicultural center and houses are something I get to explore and expand for those who come after me. I think Coleman said it best, “Being the first person to live in the house almost feels legendary because I know generations of Carleton students will come behind me to live in that house and enjoy it as much as I do.”