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The Student Multicultural Advisory Committee (SMAC) is a

newly-founded student organization that aims to create awareness

about the international cultures and minority groups represented on

UNA’s campus.

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 “The purpose of the committee is to create dialogue about

diversity among students regardless of their culture, religion,

sexual orientation or race,” said Tammy Jacques, director of

student engagement. “They are going to be focusing on cultural

education, the arts, LGBT issues and racial discrimination

awareness.”

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 SMAC was started by Jacques and UNA student and sociology major

Allison Ray. The group currently has about 30 members. Interested

students were recruited through word-of-mouth, portal announcements

and fliers. The group is still in its foundation phase and is

currently developing its mission statement, public relations and

logo.

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 “They are still a young group that’s trying to get off the

ground,” said Jacques. “The students are in charge of developing

the vision, the group’s mission, and what they want the group to be

like.”

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 SMAC is planning several activities for next semester, including a

Martin Luther King Jr. walk in January, civil rights tours in

Birmingham or Selma in March and an art event called the

“clothesline project” in April.

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 “The goal of the ‘clothesline project’ is to educate the campus

about different types of discrimination that currently affect UNA

students,” said Ray. “Students can paint on T-shirts in different

colors that each represent a way in which they have been

discriminated against. We’re going to display the T-shirts around

campus, creating a clothesline effect.”

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 Ray wants the activities that SMAC is involved in to be highly

interactive because that will engage students more effectively than

lectures and the events will mean more to them. She hopes the group

will eventually reach out to all minorities, including members of

the gay and lesbian community and socioeconomic minorities.

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 SMAC hopes to be involved in the annual Global Culture Night in

April 2011. The event features music, dance performances, and

theatre by international students and other performers from the

community.

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 “I really want to encourage students to be a part of this

committee because I feel that this is a critical need if UNA wants

to grow as a university,” said Ray. “The need for student

organizations that deal with multiculturalism is there and this is

a great opportunity to push those issues to the forefront.”

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