SOCA: “We Are Here”

This spring UWG welcomes a new organization on campus, cleverly named SOCA, which stands for Students of Caribbean Ancestry and which also happens to be a genre of Caribbean music. “Instead of the regular Caribbean Student Association we wanted to be a little different,” said UWG student and SOCA president Cameron Daly, who is of Jamaican descent.  Unlike the African Student Association (ASA), and BSA (Black Student Alliance), SOCA was created to unite UWG students who share a common ancestry from any island in the West Indies.  “We don’t have a lot of representation,” said Daly. “It was like we were left out because ASA, we don’t fit in them, and Americans are like what are you listening to, what are you eating? It was like we were left out and everyone was sectioned off.” 

Although SOCA caters to Caribbean students, it is not exclusive to them. SOCA openly welcomes Americans and Non-Caribbean people. “I don’t want it to just be Caribbean students, I want everyone to join, everyone to feel welcome, [and] everyone to learn and share their culture,” said Daly. The organization hopes to leave their impact very soon. “I want to bring diversity to the campus. I really want to show Carrollton, West Georgia students, there are other types of types of cultures that people are ignorant to,” Daly continued. “I want to make sure Caribbean students don’t ever feel left out. We are here too.” 

 Students of Caribbean Ancestry was started by Cameron Daly, and group of friends who encompasses her executive board, during spring break. In order or become an organization on campus you have to find an advisor which can be any faculty member on campus, create a constitution, bylaws and positions, and also have dues set. “We started toward the middle of spring break and after spring break we were like we have to push for this. We have to push for this right now,” said Daly.  “We pushed for it and now we’re here two weeks later. We have 70 people within a week.  We really needed this. Now it’s like a little family.” SOCA currently has 131 members. 

 The Students of Caribbean Ancestry plan on having an abundance of events including fundraisers for islands in need, Taste of Tropics food tastings, Dance teams, fashion shows  and panel discussions breaking down Caribbean stereotypes and the bleaching epidemics in the West Indies. Their first event took place Friday, April 14 in Riverpointe  Apartment complex. To find out more information about joining SOCA, check out OrgSync.