HCC has a lot of opportunites in education as well as involvement. From what I've gathered in 2 short semesters is that the existing organizations don't necessarily explore any avenues to bring all kinds of people together. And in a culture and climate where our differences often inhibit us from reaching our full potential and create barriers between eachother, I find it of the utmost importance to do something about it.
With that being said I am attempting to start a club/group at our campus called STAMP (Students Teaching And Modeling Peace). With the club I intend on creating an atmosphere of awareness on campus, as well as an opportunity for further cross-cultural engagement. For as we know, culture is a way of life, and at this campus there are many walks of life and/or lifestyles that are represented here at HCC. So, with an opportunity for those varied paths to interact in controlled settings and environments, it can be a wonderful benefit to student success as we build bridges of understanding with one another.
Being that STAMP will be a new club at HCC, it is not limited soley to my interpretation of what the club/group will be about. Any new input or ideas on how the core values behind the group's development is welcomed. There is a core basis of workshops, activities, community service opportunites, etc. that I have to start with, but again its only a base template. One of the main focuses of the group/club under the vision of building those bridges of understanding, is to engage in those tough social issues that end up being those very barriers that plague our communites. Social issues such as sexism, racism, classism, agesim, heterosexism, and many others. And with this club through education, and advocacy among other things we as students can help create an environment and community where not only do people feel we are safe, but we can be more open to learn and to engage with eachother in that learning.
So for those of you that are interested in the idea and concept of 'increasing the peace' or 'dismantling discrimination' or any of the other cliche' things that are said about efforts trying to make the world a better place, this would definitely be an opportunity for you. And for those of you who might not think and/or believe so the dialogues and content provided through this group would still be benefital. STAMP is for anyone, from anywhere thats a student at Brandon HCC. And as individuals who are studying the realm of social behavior and how we engage one another, I invite my fellow sociolgy students to help me pioneer this group. As you would send mail with a stamp, STAMP is an effort to send that message out to the community that there are students who care about bringing people together, understanding eachother, helping eachother, and ultimately creating a world where we all feel we can be the best of who we are because we are comfortable with one another. 
---Taurean Wong
