Students share insights at book club meetings

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Every Tuesday the Multicultural Book Club members meet to discuss a special book they can interpret and relate to their own personal and cultural experiences.

“Cultural aspects of the human experience are the books we try to focus on,” said Alicia Aroche, an associate director of the university’s Career Center who for two years has served as the club’s facilitator.

Every Tuesday the Multicultural Book Club members meet to discuss a special book they can interpret and relate to their own personal and cultural experiences.

“Cultural aspects of the human experience are the books we try to focus on,” said Alicia Aroche, an associate director of the university’s Career Center who for two years has served as the club’s facilitator.

“Usually my first question (is) ‘So what did you think about that chapter,'” she said. “And then down to specifics as far as what happened … or can they think of a situation they (have) been in or they can relate to. That usually brings up some really good stories.”

This semester the group focused on, “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” by Julia Alvarez, who mentioned arranged marriages in her book. Thus, a club member shared her personal thoughts about arranged marriages with the group.

“When we discuss the book, we don’t just discuss the book. We discuss our own experiences,” said Renee Knepper, a first-year-psychology major who attends most meetings. “We have people from all different cultures, all different types of experiences.”

Aroche said she, too, benefits from the perspectives of the book-club members.

“Personally it makes me appreciate the book even more and learn more from it than in isolation. And it makes me more aware outside the book club in interacting with people,” she said.

Julianne Stirrup, a senior majoring in Spanish, who recently attended her first meeting of the club said she went because it just seemed like it would be something fun to do.

“I was looking online at the calendar of events and it came up,” she said.

Her expectations for her first book-club meeting?

“I guess to meet a few new people.”

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