The KSC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission and the Global Cultural Club (GCC) joined forces to host Owls Around the World, a day-long celebration of cultural diversity on Wednesday, April 23.
The event consisted of three phases, starting at 11:30 a.m. with a variety of pop-up stations at the Zorn Dining Commons, where various dishes and cultural staples representing a variety of countries were served by Chartwells.
Following the pop-up station culinary exhibit, a multicultural fair was held at Oya Hill, featuring a variety of tables showcasing different cultures, as well as a dance performance by students from Women’s and Gender Studies Department Chair Patricia Pedroza Gonzalez’s class.
Junior and President of the KSC Black Student Union Aloisio Costa held a table at the multicultural festival dedicated to Brazil and offered the chance to decorate kites. Costa said he was excited to see a large number of people taking an interest in the fair.
“It’s been pretty cool. People have been walking by occasionally and I’ve been giving them kites to decorate. It’s pretty fun,” said Costa.
Sophomore and President of KSC’s Jewish Cultural Club (formerly Jewish Student Union) Sammi Goldblatt hosted a table highlighting Judaism and Jewish culture, which included a “Jeopardy”-style game about Jewish culture, as well as various samples of Jewish food and snacks.
“Our goal was to give people a fun way to learn specifics about our religion and Judaism in general, while giving them the chance to test themselves and learn more,” said Goldblatt.
Communications Program Assistant for KSC’s Office of Student Diversity, Belonging, and Equity and alum ‘24 Daisy Gaikwad said the Owls Around the World event was being held for the first time and expressed hope that it may become a yearly event.
“I’m honestly really happy with how things are going. We had a lot of student groups sign up to table today, we had lots of people come by and engage with us and a lot of students really seemed to enjoy it,” said Gaikwad.
“I definitely see a lot of potential for more engagement as the years go on, and I’m really happy with the first one we had today,” added Gaikwad.
The event concluded with a cultural showcase in the L.P. Young Student Center’s Mabel Brown Room, featuring music, dance and culturally traditional fashion performances. The cultural showcase was orchestrated by the GCC.
Bangladesh, Uruguay, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and various culturally distinctive regions of Nepal were represented during the cultural showcase.
Sophomore Pauline Batan represented the Philippines by opening the showcase with a cover of Filipino pop band South Border’s 2004 hit single “Ikaw Nga” (It’s You), which gained recognition as the closing theme for the hit Filipino fantasy drama series “Mulawin.”
“It’s a very popular Filipino song from the early 2000s that was used as an official theme for one of the most popular television dramas in the country. It was really nostalgic for me because I used to listen to the song as a kid and my neighbors would sing it at karaoke. A lot of older Filipinos know about the song, and the band is really great, but the song itself has a cultural impact within the space of Filipino pop culture,” said Batan.
Sophomore and Co-President of the GCC Nisha Poudel said the Keene International Festival was an inspiration for the event.
“We were thinking about doing something like the Keene International Festival, but bringing it home to Keene State for spring. Our idea was to have something that represents diversity and the different cultures we have at Keene State,” said Poudel.
Poudel participated in the showcase, modeling a traditional Nepalese Kurta Suwal outfit and closing the showcase with a dance performance.
“In Nepali culture, dancing and music is important for festivals and celebrations. Back home, we do a lot of celebrating with dancing and music, especially with major festivals, and schools have programs that help us celebrate the diversity of our country,” said Poudel.
“Even though Nepal is a small country, you can see that there’s so many different cultures in Nepal,” added Poudel.
SPDA Metal Lab Coordinator/Educator Warren Hurd said he attended the showcase to support students and said celebrating cultural diversity is important.
“I’ve been to a few of these, and I believe different perspectives are a good thing. We welcome them the same way they would welcome us. Everybody is equal, and so many people have different perspectives. Having worked alongside many of the students, I can see the differences and it’s important to see through their eyes,” said Hurd.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
