On Saturday, Oct. 27, in commencement of Cultural Harmony Week 2007, eight multicultural groups on campus joined together to welcome students, faculty and the general public to the Intercultural Dinner in the Union Ballroom.
Each group filled the menu with unique dishes and the stage with entertaining performances, and by the end of the event, demonstrated what building bridges really meant.
Dancing from all cultures came to the stage, from the Black Student Union's "G-Steppas" to Shakti's renowned Geneseo Bhangra. The Geneseo Chinese Culture Club came forth with a traditional dance and the Latin Student Association demonstrated Bachata, Salsa and Merengue. But the entertainment was hardly restricted to dance. Pride Alliance presented a performance in drag, Womyn's Action Coalition told a series of politically correct bedtime stories, and the Korean American Student Association gave a skit, "Crash Course on Korea."
The performances were complimented by the food, which spanned the cultures of Geneseo students with contributions from each group. BSU's corn bread, GCCC's beef with beans, JCC's grilled rice balls, KASA's kimbap and LSA's pollo guizado with sofrito created a full range of entrees for people to choose from. WAC provided the tables with baba ganoush with pita bread, and Pride offered summer cake as dessert.
Nabila Chaudhry, a junior who helped Shakti with cooking vegetable korma, found unity not only in the presentation, but also behind the scenes. "There was a really nice atmosphere in the kitchen," she said. "We all had a lot of fun, and everyone from different clubs was talking to each other. The kids from BSU helped us in the kitchen because they finished early."
Shivani Polasani, a junior who performed with Geneseo Bhangra, agreed that the harmony of the groups well-represented the harmony of the week. "All the culture clubs really unite during the show," she said. "That's the beauty of being in a small school; you basically know everyone, and during shows like this you get to learn so much about other countries. I had a blast performing on stage and representing my culture."