by Rachel Williams
The University of West Georgia celebrated its fifth annual Multicultural Festival on Thursday, March 13, from 12 to 5 p.m. The yearly event, which was free and open to the public, was sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the Anthropology Department and the Student Government Association. Throughout the afternoon, students, faculty and community members crowded the Campus Center Ballroom to enjoy the food and entertainment.
“It’s very important, because students need to get to know other cultures,” explains Jessica Ramirez, a graduate assistant for CDI and first-year student in the College Student Affairs Program. “They can get them all in one place here, so it’s very helpful. We do the Multicultural Festival once a year, always before spring break, and we try to make it accessible for everyone—students, community, faculty, everybody.”
Along with student organization booths and representatives from several countries’ Consulate General offices, there were also workshops allowing guests to enjoy henna, calligraphy and African head wraps. Pre-kindergarten students from the campus daycare center were in attendance for the fourth year in a row, dancing to the Pan Sonic Steel Drum Band and munching on the tofu, vegetables and cookies provided by Aramark. Additional entertainment included Native American dancers, Wolf Internet Radio, the Judo club, Lupita Sosa’s Mexican dancers and a bagpipe player from the U.S. Coast Guard.
“We thought it was important to have different aspects of culture for our students at least annually, to bring these different performers, acts and workshops to campus,” says Deirdre Rouse, acting director for CDI. “We also thought it was very important to have our students involved. We’re very proud that we have not only the outside performers who are coming in, but we also have various student cultural organizations that participate in this. Each year, we’ve had the Latino Cultural Society, the Black Student Alliance, the International Student Club, the Anthropology Department and the Waring Lab. It’s a wealth of participation from the University of West Georgia.”
