ALANA Hosts Cultures From Around the World at Multicultural Day

Published 4 years ago -


Iva Juka, Copy Editor

Assumption College’s Cross-Cultural Center, which is also known as ALANA, hosted one of their annual events on November 7th: Multicultural Day. Thanks to ALANA E-board members and hosts, Leilah Bruno and Roxann Wint, Multicultural Day was a complete success. The main goal of this particular event is to have students of all ethnicities gather together and experience different cultures and traditions from around the world.

Multicultural day was held upstairs in Hagan Hall and it began at approximately 6:30 p.m. All Assumption students were invited to support and taste foods from different cultures. The first thing students saw when walking into the room was all the different flags from around the world hung up on the walls. Under each flag was a station where students who were representing that specific country had set up the food they brought along for others to try.

As soon as I arrived to the event, I was able to sense how uplifting the atmosphere was. Everyone was willing to try so many different dishes and were supportive of all countries. Not to mention how proud the students seemed to be to represent their own country. This event is a perfect way to bring students together to learn more about other cultures and traditions.

The first hour of the event consisted of students socializing with each other while trying out different foods. I must admit, the students who represented Italy did a great job with the macaroons, they were a delicious.

After socializing for about an hour, the African Dance Club performed. Portia Bonsu, president of the club, and Dana Mendes, who is in charge of public relations, worked with their team for weeks in advance to make sure they perfected their dance. With that being said, the African Dance Club did an amazing job performing.

Bruno and Wint made sure to keep their guests constantly entertained. After the African Dance Club performed, the hosts held a raffle and then shortly after went on to announce the winners. After the winners were announced, students were allowed to socialize for about another 10 minutes while ALANA prepared for the last performance.

Two of our graduate’s students, Terrell Huff and Christian Dargan constructed a great presentation of their fraternity, which originated at Indiana University of Bloomington. This fraternity is called “Kappa Alpha Psi” and was created during the early 1900s. The ten founders felt as though African Americans and other minorities were being left out in PWI (predominantly white institutions).

They developed this fraternity to allow colored men unite as one and feel welcomed within college campuses. I was able to speak with Terrell and ask him about his performance to get a better understanding of it. He responded by stating, “when we stroll, it’s a way to express how we feel. It demonstrates a calling to all our brothers that this is our time.”

The Multicultural event this year was a complete success, as many students were allowed to express and demonstrate their own cultures through food, performances, and presentations. ALANA is a club that is always welcoming to all people, and that makes this club remarkable. It brings all people together and unites them as one.

 

 

Iva Juka, a senior, studies English. She is a copy editor for Le Provocateur.

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