Nov. 24, 2020 Campus Voices | Media | Satire | Covid-19 | News | International Students | Soccer Recap
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CULTURE FUSION FRIDAY: a spirited display of diversity
PHOTO BY A.J. RUBIO | THE WICHITAN
PHOTO BY A.J. RUBIO | THE WICHITAN
The students attending the culture fusion event, got to participate in a game of Anil Khanal, energy management graduate student, shows off his moves as he plays the challenge to match the dance to the song, Nov. 20. musical chairs as they listened to music from different cultures, Nov. 20. ELIZABETH MAHAN REPORTER ne student wore a traditional Indian dress that matched the shade of the orange autumn leaves drifting from their trees and rustling in the wind. Another student, who had Grenada’s flag wrapped around his head as a bandana, laughed while conversing with his friend and waiting for the next game to start. Cultural Fusion Friday, a night of games, dance and food from Namaste Indian Restaurant, was part of the week full of events that the Global Education Office organized to celebrate International Education Week. on Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. “The reason I had [cultural student organizations] help me plan this week is because historically, the international organizations on campus, ASO, MISA, CSO and other
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organizations that are inter- that they bring their ideas. bring their vibe all together to national, they don’t generally work together,” Tobin said. They bring their culture. They work together. Being a stuJesutobiloba Oladido, dent myself at MSU before, management informaI noticed that there was altion systems junior and ways tension between the president of the Afriorganizations, and now can Student Organizathat I am working at MSU tion, said this event was in the Global Education Ofa good opportunity for fice, not as a student but ASO to be represented. as an actual staff member, “We’re doing this to I wanted to use my platjoin together all of our form to get them working organizations,” Oladido together,” said Kamilah said. “I think it’s imporTobin, global education retant because we can both cruitment specialist. learn from other people This is the first year on the other side of the MSU has held events world, apart from Amerithroughout International ca, so you can learn from Education Week, but Tobin other cultures.” said the Global Education One game students Office is hoping to make played was to listen this celebration an annual to music and attempt event so that international PHOTO BY A.J. RUBIO | THE WICHITAN to dance the cultural students continue to feel dance that they thought Students arrived in their traditional appreciated. matched the music. “That was the idea be- garments to be welcomed and Then, the hosts projected hind the whole week and checked in to the Culture Fusion the video that goes with Culture Fusion Friday is Friday Event, Nov. 20. the music to show the
students what country the dance was from and what the dance actually looked like. A participant in this activity was Joshua Griffith, chemistry and math senior and cultural chair of the Caribbean Students Organization. He said as an international student from Grenada, he was interested to see what was on display at Culture Fusion Friday. “It [International Education Week] allows me to see other people from other islands and get to experience what they have in their home place because as we know, each place is different culturally, so it opens my eyes to that,” Griffith said. “We’re in the United States of America, and most people don’t know how our cultures are back home. They may only know ‘Oh this is Caribbean,’ but they don’t know that the Caribbean is of many islands, and each one in their own way is very
unique.” Seth Skelton, senior associate director of global education, said International Education Week was an opportunity to communicate and have a dialogue with the people around us. “We want the MSU Texas campus, and the Wichita Falls community, in general, to be more aware of our international students and their presence here. We recognize the culture that they bring, the different perspectives, the diversity. It just adds to the richness of the university. We recognize that, so it’s important to try to raise awareness, and have people from around Wichita Falls and around Texas to experience that and then for international students as well to be a part of the local community and have that interaction,” Skelton said.
