Adiba Salbia
On February 27, 2025, the Bangladesh Student Association (BSA) held an event to commemorate International Mother Language Day. At City College, where students speak more than 100 languages, International Mother Language Day serves as a reminder of how deeply language shapes identity, community, and access to education. This day was established to honor the student movement of February 21, 1952, in Bangladesh (which was part of Pakistan at the time). Students protested the government’s declaration of Urdu as the sole state language of both East and West Pakistan, even though forty-four out of sixty-nine million people in the country were Bengali speakers. They took to the streets only to be met with police firing indiscriminately, taking the lives of many. The government had no choice but to amend the constitution to recognize Bengali as one of the state languages. February 21st was later declared International Mother Language Day, honoring the language martyrs of this movement. A monument was built in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, called the Shahid Minar (translating to “the Martyrs’ Monument”) to forever commemorate the sacrifices of those brave students.
As a freshman who has only been part of the CCNY family for two semesters, I was beyond excited when I first heard that BSA planned to build a replica of the Shahid Minar for our campus. I had never seen anything like this being done before, so I immediately got on board. We worked tirelessly for two weeks, making sure every detail of the monument was just right, and when we finally finished, it was absolutely beautiful. The event was held in the NAC Ballroom on February 27th, and I was filled with anticipation to see how everything would come together.
We began with Probhaat Pheri (which translates to “the early morning rally”), a tradition done at dawn on February 21, where people walk to the Shahid Minar with flowers, banners, and posters to pay tribute to the martyrs. Then we sang the iconic song “Amar Bhai Er Rokte Rangano,” a piece that instantly stirs a wave of emotions in any Bengali person who understands the depth of those lyrics. We were honored by the presence of Herbert Seignoret, Director and Academic Advisor; our Club Advisor, Cynthia Gutierrez; Deborah Cheng, Director of Fellowships and Student Success; Professor Missy Watson; Lecturer Danny Katch; and many of our BSA alumni. Seeing so many people—Bengali and non-Bengali alike—come together for this event filled my heart with pride.
Our club president, Asfaq Ahmed, gave a heartfelt speech about the significance of our language and the 1952 movement. He reflected on the deep roots of Bengali culture and its continued presence at CCNY, where Bengali students have long contributed to the campus community. Listening to his words, I was reminded of my own experience as an immigrant—how the sounds of my mother tongue have become both more precious and more distant over time. In moments like these, I can’t help but imagine how meaningful it would be to see Bengali represented in the classroom, not only for heritage speakers like myself but for anyone curious about a language so rich in music, poetry, and pride. International Mother Language Day invited us to reflect on these connections between language, identity, and education—and I left feeling inspired by how those threads are already woven into the fabric of CCNY.
This event not only resonated emotionally but also intellectually. In my English 110 class, a course in the first-year writing program, with Professor Katch, we were encouraged to bring our multilingual backgrounds into our writing, to challenge the idea that standard English is the only valid academic voice. When I asked Professor Katch how cultural events like this one might influence students’ writing or communication, he said, “Events that allow students to celebrate their culture and share it with others in their community are important in their own right. But I also think these events can indirectly help students as writers because they can help them feel more confident about their background and the different languages that they bring to their work.”
When I spoke with Professor Missy Watson, Director of the First-Year Writing Program (FYWP), she emphasized the program’s dedication to honoring multilingualism and student identity. She quoted Gloria Anzaldúa’s famous words: “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity—I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.” Professor Watson added: “We in the FYWP truly believe the linguistic diversity our students bring with them are assets to celebrate and develop, not deficits to hide or fix. If we lose that linguistic diversity by converting students to English-only communications, we miss the richness and insight that come from different cultures and languages.”
Events like BSA’s International Mother Language Day, she said, are deeply aligned with the goals of English 110 and FIQWS courses, where students are taught to explore how language empowers and oppresses. Students are invited to analyze the history behind English standardization and make informed decisions about their language choices in writing—without shame or pressure to erase who they are. These courses don’t reject standard English, instead, they challenge the idea that it’s the only form of valid expression. And in doing so, they build student confidence. As Professor Watson noted: “Semester after semester, we composition teachers find that students have been led to believe their linguistic abilities are inferior and they thus have low confidence in themselves as communicators. The BSA’s event helps to spread awareness of linguistic rights and normalize pride in one’s native language.”
Since I left what I call home—my Bangladesh, I have felt myself slowly losing touch with the essence of my culture. But this event gave me the chance to reconnect in a way I haven’t been able to in years. For the first time in a long time, I felt I was truly mourning and celebrating this day the way it was meant to be observed. It reminded me that language is not just a tool for communication—it’s memory, identity, and belonging.
At City College, where we are surrounded by so many languages and stories, honoring and preserving those voices is essential. Cultural and linguistic heritage is not just about the past—it shapes how we learn, how we write, and how we move forward. As the Division of Humanities and the Arts so beautifully reminds us, language is a tool of self-expression, resistance, and connection. Events like International Mother Language Day show us that when we hold onto our roots, we grow stronger together.