Y’all, we have four powerhouse cultural centers on campus that serve as places where students can explore their own identities and find community. AND – as a bonus – each of these cultural centers (which are super tight-knit because ~intersectionality~) have a powerhouse director backing them up.
To let you in on the details, the following are the cultural centers on campus: Disability Cultural Center (DCC); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center; Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA); and the Slutzker Center for International Services (SCIS).
To learn more about these directors, we asked them who their favorite superhero is and why. Which, in case you didn’t know, has EVERYTHING to do with identity*.
1. Diane Wiener, DCC
My favorite superhero is Spider-Man, a working class hero from Queens, in New York City. Before being bitten by a radioactive spider, and since, Peter Parker (Spider-Man) was and remains an everyday person, a science nerd, and a geek. Marvel’s famous tagline, “With great power comes great responsibility,” is the adage by which he lives his life. Depending upon which multiverse version and which story arc one highlights, prefers, or even knows about (there are so many, after all!), Peter learned this adage from his Uncle Ben (who, with his wife, Peter’s Aunt May, raised orphaned Peter), during one of their last conversations. Ben died tragically, due to violent actions about which Peter for years felt partly responsible, having not intervened in a situation when he might have been able to have foiled a thief who in a moment of impulsivity later killed Ben. Spidey is down-to-earth, honors his friends, is socially awkward, and loves games, while he takes oppression quite seriously — and seeks to undermine it, at every turn.
2. khristian kemp-delisser, LGBT Resource Center
Black Panther is my favorite superhero. His role as a warrior king makes him unique among superheros and a role model for Black youth of how to wield individual power while being rooted in service to one’s community.
3. George Athanas, SCIS
Donatello, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As a member of a team of four his ability to work well with others and to always be looking out for the good of the whole through a combined effort and collegial nature is something I value and ascribe to. Often portrayed as an inventor I admire his ability to creatively tackle challenges head on and strive for creative and original solutions. Lastly, and potentially most importantly, he looks great wearing purple, an attribute I aspire to achieve in the next iteration of my own personal wardrobe.
4. Dr. James Duah-Agyeman, OMA
My favorite superhero is a cocoa farmer and a kente cloth weaver from a small village in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, West Africa – my father. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to grow up with him like my nine siblings did. At the age of three, my parents chose to send me off to live with my uncle to fulfill a promise she had made to him when they were growing up. “I’ll give you one of my children to raise as your own when I get married.” This was a common practice; so there was nothing unusual about it when I was sent away to a different village, about a hundred miles away from my parents. The problem was that, out of fear that I might not return to live with him (my uncle) and his wife, I was prevented from visiting my parents until I was twelve/thirteen years old. During this period, I saw my aunt as my mother, and I created a fictitious image of a warrior to be my father. For ten years, I would dream of him saving me from danger in the forest, pulling me out of the river to save me from drowning, and hugging/embracing me to welcome me into his presence assuring me that I belonged and I mattered. Oh, how I treasured his laughter and sense of humor! When we saw each other again after almost ten years, I saw him more as my real life superhero than my dad. Everybody in the village called him “ATEES,” a nickname he had picked for himself. I asked him what that stood for, and he answered, “Nyansa nko ara.” Translation, “Nothing but wisdom. Don’t underestimate the power of common sense.” His words of wisdom never disappointed.
Interested in learning more about these folks? Stop by one of the cultural centers! Or participate in one of a TON of events, programs or celebrations. Happening right now on are , Disability Awareness and Acceptance Month, and . We recommend the superhero question as an ice breaker, but I suppose that’s up to you. Also, while you’re at it, visiting a cultural center is a challenge on the new ‘Cuse Challenge mobile app. BAM! Engaging with new people, accessing a new environment and working your way to prizes!!
* Superheroes are intrinsically tied to identity from the alter egos of DC to the discriminated mutants of Marvel. Even the original Superman is the creation of the children of Jewish immigrants, who used him as a vehicle to express their identities and beliefs. From the canonically hearing impaired Clint Barton to the modern Poster-children series exploring LGBTQ+ experiences, our superheroes tell our stories.
Contributing Writer: Erin Elliott, ’18 S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences