Diversity of all kinds celebrated last week
Multicultural Student Services planned Diversity Week, four days where students could celebrate the various groups of people at Utah State University.
Students lit candles to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, played wheelchair basketball to better understand disabilty and learned Middle Eastern and belly dances.
“The theme of the week was to spotlight many unique and different groups and show how diverse our campus really is,” Josh Wood, the ASUSU Campus Diversity and Organizations vice president said.
“It was about creating awareness and making sure students know what’s going on. We wanted to allow students to experience different aspects of life,” he said.
Wood said Diversity Week is planned every year and it was very fitting that this year, the activities were planned the same week as Dr. King’s birthday.
Diversity Week began Tuesday with a vigil in honor of King.
The goal of the night was to not only remember his dream, but to recognize that Americans can still make changes.
Jennifer Gowon, a senior in human business management and president of the Black Student Union, said people should “recognize the distance we still have. Our hope is to feel the message of King’s words.”
Before the light from the candles filled the International Lounge, Gowon added, “Our flames together reach upward and fill the room just as Dr. King’s dream reached people. May we reach for higher ground.”
Wednesday afternoon, students played wheelchair basketball in the International Lounge.
Six people could play at a time and periodically, they would be stopped and discuss what they thought about playing some basketball on wheels.
Wood said many of the students felt tired after playing and commented on how bad their shoulders hurt. They also said they realized that the sport was still very competitive and playing was intense.
“The whole goal of the event was to create awareness of a unique group of students,” Wood said. “Those who played were able to get a glimpse – a small glimpse – of what it would be like to be in a wheelchair. Students did feel like they understood a little better what it would be like to live like that.”
The week was capped off Friday with a carnival and diversity dance.
The carnival, also held in the International Lounge, allowed students to get free Aggie ice cream and visit tables set up by various clubs on campus.
The Hispanic Student Union table let students play Spanish bingo for candy and the Middle Eastern dance club advertised belly-dancing lessons.
The Logan LDS Institute had a table and so did Operation Smile, the Polynesian Student Union and the Freeride club.
During the carnival, more than 30 students participated in the Diversity bowl, a trivia game where students competed to win a 30-gigabyte iPod and gift certificates to the USU Bookstore.
That night, a dance incorporated clubs and culture with swing dancers, Middle Eastern dancers and belly dancers.
Each group performed and then tried to teach the audience how to do the dances on a brown, wooden dance floor set up in the International Lounge beneath the various country flags that draped from the ceiling.
Students laughed as they tried to learn the moves from different cultures.
Students who participated during the week stated various reasons for doing so.
Sarah West, a senior in print journalism, is a member of the Middle Eastern dance club and sat at a table during the diversity carnival.
“America encompasses a lot of different things and sometimes, I feel my culture is diluted here. I want to stay strong and remember my home, because Egypt is my home,” she said.
West said it is important to be exposed to diversity and to be educated in a variety of different things.
Polynesian Student Union member Celia Moleni said it’s good to be open-minded about people.
Moleni, a junior in social work, also said, “It’s always good to find out about different people. It helps me grow.”
—mnewbold@cc.usu.edu