The Student Government Association hosted its first annual Day for the Nations event on Friday afternoon, where more than 50 cultural student organizations set up tables in University Yard, handed out food and showcased traditional cultural dances and music.
More than 300 student attendees and 50 student organizations, including the Bengali Student Association, GW Folklorico, the Philippine Cultural Society and GW Irish Dance, attended the event, which was hosted by the SGA and Multicultural Student Services Center. SGA Deputy Director of Student Experience Myra Goke, who helped coordinate the event and initially proposed the idea to SGA President Ethan Fitzgerald over the summer, said she has always enjoyed learning about other people’s cultures and wanted to give students an opportunity to do the same.
“I’m very proud to be Ghanaian, I’m very proud to be Nigerian, and I just love learning about other people’s cultures and having the time and the space to also talk about mine,” Goke said.
Colorful flags from countries around the world hung on the fences surrounding U-Yard, displaying the variety of cultures represented at the fair. Student organizations’ tables and a larger tent with catered food filled the concrete pathway of U-Yard where students chatted and waited in lines to try cuisines from a diverse set of cultures.
Janae Russell, the SGA’s executive secretary of organizations, said she worked with Goke to develop the idea for the event over the summer after they both recognized students need more multicultural events on campus. She said they wanted to help educate students who aren’t in cultural organizations about other cultures.
“I feel like it was July, we sent over the proposal and starting working on it, and we’ve had biweekly meetings together with the MSSC up until this week,” Russell said. “So it’s been a long process.”
David Lopez, a sophomore studying international affairs who tabled for the Organization of Latin American Students, said events that promote visibility for different cultures help foster cross-cultural understanding on campus. The OLAS table featured a poster board describing the organization for attendees, which focuses on empowering and promoting awareness of the Latin American community.
“I think visibility for different cultures is important when you have a diverse student body, I think it’d be a shame to not show it off,” Lopez said.
In addition to tabling, student organizations, like GW Argentine Tango, performed dance routines on a stage located on the south end of the yard. Attendees watched as students from the organization donned tango attire and danced to Argentino music that amplified throughout the yard.
Marli Hansen, a sophomore student studying international affairs who tabled for the Japanese Student Union, said she was happy to share Japanese culture with the larger student body beyond those who come to the JSU’s events throughout the year. The student organization hosted a table mirroring a miniature convenience store, which featured an array of Japanese snacks and iced tea for attendees to enjoy.
“It’s really important to portray culture from the perspective of the culture it is, especially since Asian culture, and Japanese cultures specifically are popular in a way that doesn’t necessarily align with real Japanese people,” Hansen said.
Dyson Murwira, a first-year master’s student studying project management who tabled for the Zimbabwe Student Association, said cultural events on campus are important because they give community members a better appreciation for the richness of cultures represented at GW. The ZSA table featured a map with facts about Zimbabwe and postcards for students to take home.
“This was quite a fun experience, besides having to introduce the lovely Zim to people from other countries, it was also good to interact with students from other countries and see them showcase their cultures,” Murwira said.
SGA President Ethan Fitzgerald said his executive SGA cabinet and representatives from the MSSC have held biweekly meetings for about six months to coordinate Day for the Nations. He said they wanted to host the event to provide students with a multicultural, campus-wide event for the spring semester, as the MSSC holds their annual block party in the fall. He said he hopes events like this help to foster more community for students at GW.
“A lot of people were really passionate about it, and we thought it would be a new, cool event, and we want to make this a tradition as well,” Fitzgerald said. “We want this to be the first year, and we want to continue on to next year.”
