French Club receives approval
University of Indianapolis students established a French Club last semester after years of attempting to create the club. Rules and regulations blocked their ability to establish themselves as a club until this semester. Treasurer freshman James Milligan played a vital role in the process of establishing the new club. Milligan said that the process was fairly easy, but time-consuming.
“The main thing about the application process is coming up with a club that does not intersect with anything another club does,” he said. “If it [the proposal] bears any resemblance to any other club, or they [the committee] think there is any reason that it would not be a good idea to have that club on campus, they just toss it out.”
Milligan said that getting the club underway not only provides those interested in French culture and language a place to hang out, but also benefits the campus community.
“It’s really going to be just kind of a hang out thing for people who are interested in French,” Milligan said.
Chair of the Department of Modern Language Amy Sekhar said that one of her hopes for the club is to spread the importance of French culture across campus.
“The overarching goal of this club is not only to promote French culture but to also foster the exchange of cultures and their values,” Sekhar said. “I believe that learning about another culture can teach a lot about one’s own culture. And I think French culture is particularly strong in this regard because French and American cultures intersect and clash in very interesting ways, offering opportunities for challenging our worldviews and understanding why we [Americans] and they [French] do the things we do.”
Sekhar said the French Club would become a place where students could experience this type of exchange, whether or not they speak the language.
Milligan believes that in the future, the French Club in the future will be able to provide more education and help with the language to those who need it. According to Milligan, the club also would be able to establish many events that are involved with the French culture that anyone could enjoy.
Sekhar also said the club will be taking learning experiences off campus to better understand French culture.
“There is also a very large Alliance Française in Chicago [an association whose goal is the promotion of Franco-American friendship], which has announced the list of activities for their 12th annual Festival de la Francophonie,” Sekhar said “One of the first activities we would like to plan is a trip into Chicago to participate is some of the events. There is also an Alliance Française in Indianapolis, and we will, of course, participate in some of their events.”
Sekhar emphasized that their biggest hope for the future was to get the entire campus involved with the club.
“Probably the biggest hope for the club, and a long-term goal, is to establish a French film festival at UIndy through the “Tournées Festival” grant offered through the French American Cultural Exchange,” Sekhar said.
Milligan encourages involvement and says anyone is welcome to join. He encourages anybody with any interest in French culture or language to join and help celebrate it.
“I think everyone has curiosity about cultures beyond their own, whether because they find them attractive or a bit strange,” Milligan said. “But the only way to begin to understand is to open yourself to the strangeness and learn to embrace it.”
