As a member of the Taiwanese Cultural Organization on campus, I’ve frequently attended E-Board meetings and a variety of events at Acorns, a cultural house for students of Asian and Latinx descent. The atmosphere in the building is always lively and cheerful, and it often makes me wonder about the past generations of Wellesley students who have claimed it as another home for their community.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to learn about those students and the history of the formation of Wellesley’s various cultural houses. On April 3, I attended the book launch of a graphic novel, hosted by the Office of Intercultural Education, and written, illustrated, and edited by Wellesley community members Genaiya Stephens, Zaynab Selim, Angie Agbi, Marilla Malone and Avery Batsimm. The graphic novel, titled The Genesis of Wellesley’s Cultural Houses, explains the history behind the creation of Acorns, Harambe House and the Slater International Center as dedicated spaces for students of color and international students. As I was introduced to the students involved in the research, writing and art behind the graphic novel, I quickly realized how much work a project of this depth required. In addition to digging through Wellesley’s archives and sifting through almost 70 years of Wellesley’s past, the creation of this book required careful thought in order to paint a picture of Wellesley in its entirety, starting in the 1960s and beyond.
The book carries readers through the student activism of Harambe House’s founders — Ethos — and Acorns’ founders — including Wellesley College Asian Association (WCAA), Mezcla (a community for Latine students) and Wellesley Asian Alliance (WAA). In addition, the book describes how the Slater Student Organization created, transformed and expanded Slater as an organization that served as a resource for all international students, not just those of European descent.
Through protests and petitions, these students established the cultural houses that we know today, combating an all-too-familiar pushback by Wellesley’s administration that insisted on minimizing change and asserted that students were provided with everything they needed, regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds. The graphic novel revealed the not-so-subtle racism and segregation Black students faced in the 1960s, as well as Ethos’s determination to increase the enrollment of Black students and provide more resources for the Black community on campus. It skillfully traced the lengthy processes and actions that Asian American and Latine students underwent to acquire the support they lacked despite the College’s insistence that what they were looking for could be provided by Slater as well.
When I finished reading The Genesis of Wellesley’s Cultural Houses, I was surprised by how much of Wellesley’s history seemed to resonate with how I might describe Wellesley today. Ongoing battles with Wellesley administration, especially those that occurred during last year’s strike, remain a bitter point of contention between the student body and the institution they belong to — something deeply reminiscent of the historic struggles between Asian students and College administration. Before Acorns became a cultural house and Karen Shih became the Advisor to students of Asian descent, WCAA (now WAA) faced resistance from College administration to establish a permanent advisor for and a dedicated cultural space for Asian students. Despite these obstacles, the collective action on the part of students to create a more equitable and supportive Wellesley is strikingly similar to the student support and voices I heard during the WOAW-UAW strike last year. These similarities sparked a sense of camaraderie in me that I wouldn’t have felt if I hadn’t had the opportunity to attend this book launch and learn about Wellesley’s history.
The Genesis of Wellesley’s Cultural Houses beautifully explores Wellesley’s history in a raw and unapologetically real way. It doesn’t shy away from Wellesley’s more shameful history of racial discrimination, yet it also reminds us of the student unity and activism that is so integral to what it means to be a Wellesley student. I could not recommend more that every member of our community read this graphic novel. It’s a profound testament to the power of student voices, and in light of continued struggles between students and the administration, it is important to remember how much change we are capable of inspiring. For students who are interested in accessing a copy, there are some currently being held in the archives and in the library that can be checked out. This upcoming summer, OICE plans on releasing a digital edition of the graphic novel on their website, where students can also access it.
Contact the editors responsible for this article: Caitlin Donovan, Avery Finley
