Photo by Xinran Li ‘23
The Language & Culture Commons, previously the Language Resource Center, announced a name change to better reflect its commitment to culture.
By Sophie Soloway ’23
Global Editor
At the start of spring semester, the College announced that the campus resource once known as the Language Resource Center, located in Ciruti, would be renamed as the Language and Culture Commons via an ‘MHC This Week’ email. Though this name change has been in motion for years, its recent retitling signals the Commons’ commitment to cultural and linguistic education.
“The LRC/LCC has always been a space where people from different backgrounds are welcome to share their languages and cultures and to learn about new ones. This new name better reflects the Language & Culture Common’s mission and atmosphere,” the January announcement said.
According to Jean Janecki, the director of the LCC, the idea was originally conceived in 2017 as a means of better reflecting the Commons’ initiatives and values, which have long centered the importance of language and cultural education across disciplines.
Aya Sakonju ’22, an LCC student consultant, noted that much of the name-changing process was highly collaborative.
“The name change was voted on by students who visit Ciruti. We had a whiteboard up during the fall semester of 2021 and many people were drawn to capturing the equal importance of language and culture,” Sakonju said. “We had conversations together as staff before winter break and it was decided that we would officially change the name to Language & Culture Commons. It was a gradual process, but we began to revise the logo and anything written with its original name.”
Janecki noted that, though the title change may take some getting used to, the priorities and values of the Commons itself have not markedly changed. “In a sense, our focus isn’t changing because we’ve always been about language and culture. So it’s [more about] really having the name reflect who we are and what we do,” Janecki said.
Sakonju echoed this sentiment, stating, “Language and culture can’t be mutually exclusive because in order to truly speak a language, you also have to understand the culture. While we provide and encourage various language learning platforms, as consultants many of our goals have been to foster a deeper appreciation for languages, whether it’s our native tongue or one we are learning at school. In order to do so, we try to come up with fun ways to get the school involved through events we host which also integrate cultural elements. By changing the name to Language & Culture Commons, it provides students with more freedom to share not only language but also culture.”
Nhi Nguyen ’24, a student consultant at the Commons, embraced the shift optimistically, saying, “I think the new name better reflects our mission and celebrates the diversity that our consultants and students of all languages and cultures bring to campus.”
According to Janecki, the Language & Culture Commons will announce an upcoming Open House during the spring semester, which may be an opportunity for students to reacquaint themselves with the Commons and its mission. Though the name change reflects a new chapter for the campus resource, its staff notes that its emphasis on cultural programming will not be novel for the Commons.
As Sakonju reflected, “I know the LCC will continue to be a space that builds community as it has done for me.”