International day celebrates culture and diversity

 International education week showed the diversity of cultures on campus. In honor of the week, International day invited students to partake in the celebration.

The event was hosted by the International Club and staff at the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, on Nov.16. The festivities started off with a parade of children, from the child development center, who held up flags from different countries, and were followed by two harmonious bagpipers, all leading up to the museum.

From there a trail of tables was set, each one decorated colorfully with items from an individual country's culture. The Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Africa, Pakistan, Taiwan, Japan all had pamphlets, food, and friendly people at their tables to educate students about different cultural customs.

The Spanish Club and International Club were both very involved in the festivities. They encouraged students to come to club meetings and learn about different cultures. "It sounded fun, I went to the first meeting and I liked it," engineering major Edwin Reyes said of a Spanish Club meeting.

 Students were able to get henna tattoos, a popular form of art in certain cultures. Food vendors also served  students  different cuisines of the world. As students enjoyed their food, they were presented with the "Beauty Among Cultures" show, in which western Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the United States all gave a little taste of what defined their culture.

"Beauty Among Cultures" highlighted clothing that represents each culture's heritage, using traditional garments.

One student representing Asia performed a song in both English and his native tongue. Performers for Kenya and Asia sang for the audience as well.

Dancing was another popular part of the show; the Pacific Islands had a hula group perform the "Tonumaipe," a traditional Polynesian dance. The performers also shared their methods of dancing with a few audience members.

The food, table displays, and performances combined to make International Day a successful show of the many cultures that students bring to campus.

 "We live in a very global society and this gives us a chance to see everyone's cluture," President and Superintendent Dr. Shannon said. "Our customs are unique and a way to understand them is to share so we can get a small taste of one anothers culture."