International Night returns after gap year

KENNETH REBELLO Reporter

International Night, one of South Dakota State University’s largest international cultural events, is all set to take place after a year gap. The event is at 6.30 p.m. March 26 in the Student Union Volstorff Ballroom.

International Night is a social event hosted by International Relations Council (IRC) to promote diversity and culture through different cuisines, fashion shows, dance, skits and vocal talents by students from various countries. Both domestic and international students look forward to this event every year.

“It is one of the events to showcase the talents from our international student population and the international community here at Brookings,” said Islamiah Fuad, international student adviser at the Office of International Affairs (OIA).

Attendees of International Night get to celebrate and gain knowledge of various traditions portrayed across different countries. Internationals students at the event say they feel more comfortable dressing up in traditional attire to showcase their culture.

“Students also come together for this event to connect with others,” Fuad said. “They don’t meet each other very often and (it) gives them a platform to meet other students from their country.”

International Night was canceled in 2022 due to a lack of various resources.

Sodexo, the current dining service, joined campus during fall 2022 and needed some time to settle before hosting a large event.

“Due to staffing and different resources, along with timing in general, we were not able to host it during fall 2022,” Fuad said.

Last held in 2021, International Night had garnered an increase in attendees, which led to a completely packed Volstorff Ballroom.

“I think we had around 450 attendees for the event,” Tricia Serrao, former president of the IRC, said. “We were completely sold out in terms of tickets for seating arrangements as people wished to attend the event, even if it meant to stand throughout the show.”

Food is one main reason people look forward to attending International Night. Aramark catered for the last International Night, and Sodexo will be taking over this year’s menu.

“Without a blink, I can say it’s the food people mainly look forward to International Night–besides the performance,” Serrao said.

The Volstorff Ballroom recently underwent renovations, so attendees can expect new features such as addition of new screens, projectors, updated lighting and carpet flooring.

“The spacing would be more of an advantage when it comes to staging,” Fuad said. “A lot more people would now be able to see the stage more clearly, but the seating plan would be the same.”

A lot of work goes into making

International Night a successful event. From deciding a theme to promoting the event, committee members of IRC work all year to pull it off.

“Coming together as a team to bring in ideas, spreading the word, planning, budgeting and time management is a major challenge for a committee to host these events,” Serrao said.

Janhavi Virkar, a master’s student studying nutrition and exercise science, has attended every International Night since 2018. She said she enjoyed gaining knowledge about different cultures and traditions through different performances and fashion shows over the years. She also wishes to attend this year’s event and believes that new performances and cuisines would guarantee a fun-filled evening.

Jenna Parliament, a master’s biology major who has also attended International Night since 2018, said she had no idea about what International Night was until she attended and enjoyed the music and food representing many different cultures and traditions.

The ticket sales for International Night are priced at $15 for students and $20 for faculty.

SERENA DAVIS Asst. Lifestyles Editor (She/Her)

South Dakota State University’s annual Wacipi is ready to go for April 1 and 2 in the Volstroff Ballroom in the Student Union.

The Wacipi event features Native American dancers, food and other cultural staples. American Indian Student Association (AISA) club president Dallas Kelso, a sophomore English education major, said this is a great opportunity to show off culture to the community.

“For AISA, this event means a lot, we enjoy putting (it) on and the exposure from the Wacipi event,” Kelso said. “With the amount of people that come, it makes it unique for everyone.”

Wacipi means “they dance” in Lakota, and it is a time to gather and express the traditions from the Indigenous communities. The theme for this year’s Wacipi is “We Heal through Education.” The meaning stems from the hardships that Native ancestors went through when they were sent to residential schools, said Wacipi chairwoman Margaret Bad Warrior, a sophomore early childhood education major.

Bad Warrior said the biggest challenge this year was the budget, but they were able to overcome the challenges the restricted budget brought.

“I have faced many challenges, but they have allowed me to grow as a leader and a young Lakota winyan,” Bad Warrior said. Winyan means “woman” in Lakota.

Kelso, who attended and helped with the Wacipi last year, said this event not only bridges the gap between SDSU and the Brookings community but also helps to bring people of all cultural backgrounds together.

“We really love being able to show our community what makes up our culture and what it means to us,” Kelso said. “It’s also a great opportunity to understand South Dakota culture as a whole, since Native American culture is so prevalent.”

Bad Warrior agreed with Kelso, saying that by doing the event in the Student Union, it is another way to really get students involved.

“We want students of all backgrounds and all majors to come,” Bad Warrior said.

AISA will be selling Indian tacos across the two days as well as hosting a free community supper featuring homemade fry bread and a specialty berry pudding called wojapi. The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) will have an Indian taco sale Friday, March 24 to get people excited and ready for the event.

“We’ve been doing Indian taco sales all year,” Kelso said. “This one is important because it’s our last one before the big event, and we really want to get students excited about Wacipi.”

The event starts early on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with the elder dancers and moves down the line in ages as the day progresses. This year’s host drum band, Bad Nation, is well known in the Indigenous community, according to Bad Warrior. Another special aspect to this year’s Wacipi is a powwow royalty set to be in attendance, however the name has not been disclosed yet.

“With an event as large as ours, we want to have the best of the best when it comes to our cultural pride,” Bad Warrior said.

For students wanting to attend, the event is free for SDSU students and for the community.

“This is a great way to take a break from studying, and for anyone who has never been, it’s a unique experience,” Kelso said.

ASIA member Bree Eastman said she had never been to a powwow before attending SDSU and thinks this a great way to understand the culture.

“Everything about Native American history is so unique, and I didn’t understand that until I went to my first Wacipi,” Eastman said. “It’s so diverse and I think that diversity is mirrored in the rest of the culture.”

If You Go

When: April 1 at 9 a.m.

x April 2 at 1 p.m.

Where: Volstorff Ballroom

Cost: Free for all

Theme: “We Heal Through Education”