While we have a section specifically titled “Arts and Culture,” we could also say that everything we do in this paper is about culture. 

Culture can mean art, but it also includes beliefs, ways of life, patterns of thinking and all the behaviours specific to a smaller or larger group. But let’s leave the defining to the dictionary - why are we so focused on covering culture at The Uniter?

There’s a lot of buzz around terms like cross-cultural exchange and cultural understanding. Usually we think that means across larger nation- or religion-based cultures. But on a smaller scale, we’re all part of a number of different cultures, and they influence the ways we see the world. 

When we read about cultures different from our own – whether that’s a musical culture, a food-based culture, a sports and fitness culture or a culture based on sharing a particular space on campus – we can get out of our own heads for a minute. 

Perhaps we can un-stick some of our tired ways of thinking and be a little more open to new ones. Perhaps we can see that there are others in the city doing cool things that we’d like to celebrate along with them. Perhaps we go out and do something new, or perhaps we also just read and explore new worlds through words.

When we share our cultures with others in a framework of honesty and respect, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. We all have something to learn, something to share, something to teach.

Every time we put an issue of The Uniter together, our world and our understanding of it gets broader and richer. We hope you feel the same.

Published in Volume 71, Number 18 of The Uniter (February 2, 2017)