When freshman communication major Guergana Stoytcheva was in elementary school, she was once asked why she was wearing clothes. The question, she said, stemmed from a perception that people from her home country of Bulgaria do not wear any.
Since then, she’s been confronted with a variety of strange questions: Do Bulgarians live in mud huts? What is Bulgaria? Where is it?
“It is probably because people don’t have to take geography courses, so they are very unfamiliar with countries that aren’t in Western Europe,” she said.
Stoytcheva, who considers herself to be well-versed in Bulgarian ethnology, is starting a club to celebrate Bulgarian culture and, she hopes, to dispel such misconceptions. No Bulgarian club has been officially recognized by the university in three years. Students said the club dissolved because of a lack of interest and turned into a barely-active online mailing list after many members graduated.
Starting a club is not going to be easy for Stoytcheva.
To start a club on the campus, students must fulfill a slew of requirements. Regina Crawmer, the campus programs coordinator, said for a club to begin, it must have at least eight university students as registered members, a faculty advisor and a written constitution. The entire process is done online at www.stars.umd.edu.
For some, meeting these requirements is not difficult, but with such a small Bulgarian population and few non-Bulgarian students who are familiar with Bulgarian culture, Stoytcheva said it will be difficult to produce the required eight members.
If eight Bulgarian and non-Bulgarian members are found, Stoytcheva said all she needs to do is host an event rich in food, dance or song to get other students engaged and excited.
“I want to bring performance groups, work with the embassy, have a lot of singing and dancing and a lot of food,” she said. “I want it to be a place for Bulgarians and non-Bulgarians to associate.”
Sophomore economics and information sciences major Mike Mihaylov said a revived Bulgarian club is exactly what he’s been hoping for, adding it would be a great way to educate other students about the faraway country.
“The number of people who I have encountered that are unaware of Bulgaria’s existence, much less its geographical location is astounding,” he said. “I hope the club is able to help the Bulgarians of this campus get to know each other. It’s difficult to meet them since there are so many people here. It would also be nice if others would turn to the club for an opportunity to learn more about Bulgaria.”
Stoytcheva is looking to revamp the Bulgarian club and break the ‘ignorance is bliss’ mindset she said she sees in so many of her peers. She added that she wants to, “incorporate all different ethnicities so that everyone can be enlightened.”
Stoytcheva said she can use her background to introduce more students with Bulgarian ancestry to others who they may not even know.
Mihaylov said he would like meet more Bulgarians in the area. Club members could see Bulgarian National Dance clubs and go to Bulgarian night clubs in Washington.
“I would also be interested in having a position in the club, help spread the knowledge of its existence and do my best to get other Bulgarians from campus to get involved,” he said.
egan at umdbk dot com
