Diversity week aims to connect cultures
From Nov. 12-16, Diversity Week will celebrate the range of cultures present at USU.
On Monday, an international fashion show will be held in the Sunburst Lounge at 11:30 a.m. Angie Vatista, the International Student Council vice president, said the fashion show takes more planning than the rest of the events, but it is worth the extra work.
“The coolest thing is to see dresses and costumes from different places that you have no idea where they came from,” she said.
On Tuesday, students can participate in a free yoga class in the HPER building as well as a movie festival at 12:30 p.m. in the TSC Auditorium. Mariana Ochoa, ASUSU diversity and organization vice president, said some of the possible films include “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” a Chinese film, as well as “Hotel Rwanda,” about the Rwandan genocide.
Common Hour on Wednesday will give students the opportunity to enjoy foods from around the world and watch a number of international performances in TSC fountain area. Among the performers will be Doug Fiefia, this year’s Mr. USU and last year’s Mr. International.
On Thursday, dance lessons will be provided by the Dominican Student Association at 11:30 in the TSC lounges. There will also be a showing of “The King’s Speech” that night at 7 p.m. in the TSC Auditorium.
The Mr. and Ms. International contest will take place at 7 pm on Friday night in the TSC Auditorium.
Alfredo Balcacer, last year’s Mr. International, will help with this year’s contest. He said the contest is important because it gives people a chance to represent who they are.
“They have to be able to represent their country or culture in a proper way,” he said. “You can’t just go and perform. You have to speak well and you have to have charisma to be Mr. International. That’s what they’re looking for.”
Balcacer, who is from the Dominican Republic, said he believes Diversity Week is about students understanding each others’ cultures.
“It’s about understanding what Americans have in their culture and what we have in ours,” he said. “It’s about helping us interact and understand our differences.”
Ochoa said Diversity Week is an important week for students at USU.
“The purpose is not only to highlight and celebrate different cultures at USU, but also to educate students about the different cultures we have here,” she said. “A lot of students know that we have a diverse population, but they don’t really know much about them.”
Ochoa said these diverse cultures not only include different ethnic and racial backgrounds, but groups such as graduate students and married students.
“I want people to look at diversity in a more broad area, not just ethic wise,” she said.
Vatista said she has been involved with Diversity Week for several years, but it’s different every year because of the people involved. She said the importance of the week is always the same.
“I want people to learn the importance of diversity and people getting together and sharing their differences and learning from their differences,” she said.
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