Eastern Club expands to include emphasis on India
Mark Hensch
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: News
Freshman Margaret Mueller brought a taste of India to Hillsdale College when she started this fall.
Raised on a steady diet of Bollywood films, Hindu myths and Indian cuisine, the Milwaukee, Wis., native entered Hillsdale missing home. Upon discovering the college's Eastern Club, she seized the opportunity to bring her background onto campus. The result is the Indian committee, a subset of the club focusing on all aspects of the subcontinent.
"Eastern Club is designed to focus on all the cultures of the East," Mueller said. "This is an important component of that."
Attending this year's inaugural Eastern Club meeting, Mueller said President Maddie Merritt, a junior, asked members if an added emphasis on India would please them. Finding a hunger for Indian culture, the group sought someone capable of getting an Indian committee started. In-spired by the group's desire for progress, Mueller said she helped formed the committee given India's increasing prominence in global affairs.
"India is a quickly developing country," she said. "It is going to be increasingly important in the world scheme."
Mueller said weekly committee meetings are now scheduled for 7 p.m. every Wednesday in the same venue. Including Mueller, five people have attended the meetings so far.
Merritt said Mueller's know-how about India was integral in getting the committee started. Upon hearing Mueller's proposal, Merritt said she and the three other club officers unanimously voted for the committee's creation.
"The people who come to us have a battle plan for their committees," Merritt said. "[Mueller] really gave us a full picture of what she wants to do."
Mueller said future plans for the committee include cooking Indian dishes, watching Bollywood movies and discussing Indian pop culture. Historical, religious and linguistic discussions are also planned, she added.
Merritt said the Indian committee is the latest in a long line of extensions from the Eastern Club. She said it joins the Japanese committee, the Russian committee and an Asian film committee.
Junior Kennedy Meier, the Eastern Club treasurer, said the committee system allows the Eastern Club to fulfill its purpose by discussing more and more sections of Eastern culture.
"The goal of this club is to serve people interested in all things Eastern," he said. "We had to build the expandability from the start. The East is about as broad as it gets."
Merritt said she remains confident the Indian committee will appease students looking for insight into Indian culture. She said she hopes it grows over time, expanding as much as the other facets of Eastern Club have.
"I hope it flourishes like all the other committees," she said.
Raised on a steady diet of Bollywood films, Hindu myths and Indian cuisine, the Milwaukee, Wis., native entered Hillsdale missing home. Upon discovering the college's Eastern Club, she seized the opportunity to bring her background onto campus. The result is the Indian committee, a subset of the club focusing on all aspects of the subcontinent.
"Eastern Club is designed to focus on all the cultures of the East," Mueller said. "This is an important component of that."
Attending this year's inaugural Eastern Club meeting, Mueller said President Maddie Merritt, a junior, asked members if an added emphasis on India would please them. Finding a hunger for Indian culture, the group sought someone capable of getting an Indian committee started. In-spired by the group's desire for progress, Mueller said she helped formed the committee given India's increasing prominence in global affairs.
"India is a quickly developing country," she said. "It is going to be increasingly important in the world scheme."
Mueller said weekly committee meetings are now scheduled for 7 p.m. every Wednesday in the same venue. Including Mueller, five people have attended the meetings so far.
Merritt said Mueller's know-how about India was integral in getting the committee started. Upon hearing Mueller's proposal, Merritt said she and the three other club officers unanimously voted for the committee's creation.
"The people who come to us have a battle plan for their committees," Merritt said. "[Mueller] really gave us a full picture of what she wants to do."
Mueller said future plans for the committee include cooking Indian dishes, watching Bollywood movies and discussing Indian pop culture. Historical, religious and linguistic discussions are also planned, she added.
Merritt said the Indian committee is the latest in a long line of extensions from the Eastern Club. She said it joins the Japanese committee, the Russian committee and an Asian film committee.
Junior Kennedy Meier, the Eastern Club treasurer, said the committee system allows the Eastern Club to fulfill its purpose by discussing more and more sections of Eastern culture.
"The goal of this club is to serve people interested in all things Eastern," he said. "We had to build the expandability from the start. The East is about as broad as it gets."
Merritt said she remains confident the Indian committee will appease students looking for insight into Indian culture. She said she hopes it grows over time, expanding as much as the other facets of Eastern Club have.
"I hope it flourishes like all the other committees," she said.
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