During Saturday night’s basketball games, the Moody track was crowded with tables, giving the community a taste of culture in celebrating the first annual Cultural Crossover.
The Office of Multicultural Enrichment sponsored event showcased Greece, Nigeria, Mexico & Spain, the Czech Republic and the United States of America at the Crossover, with campus international student clubs putting on display food, music and information from their own country.
Rodney Johnson, an OME student staff member, said they even showcased cultures on ACU’s own campus that go overlooked.
“It created an environment that allowed people to celebrate where they come from and who they are, which is what the Office of Multicultural Enrichment is all about. We strive every day to be a voice of culture and acceptance for this campus and its students.”
Jamilah Spears, senior communications major from Covina, Calif., and President of the Virtuous Sisterhood club, ran a table representing Nigeria. Their space served a Nigerian dish consisting of tomato stew, rice and a fried plantain with up-beat Nigerian music playing in the background.
Dr. Ron Morgan, professor in intercultural studies, stops by the Hispanos Unidos booth at the Cultural Crossover event hosted by the Office of Multicultural Enrichment. (Optimist photo by Adrian Patenaude)
“The crowd seemed to have enjoyed the table. Especially when we prompted them to dance or take a taste of the food,” Spears said.
But it was the student group Hispanos Unidos who walked away with the $100 prize awarded by OME for the best booth contest. Their members prepared a spread of quesadillas, tacos, Spanish rice and salsa music and flags of different Hispanic countries.
Liz Chavez, senior psychology major from San Antonio, works with OME and helped with planning the event.
“A few people would pass, making double takes because they did not know what was going on,” she said. “But when they found out there was free food, they quickly returned for some and got to learn about the different cultures. It was a hit for our first event ever like it.”
Chavez said Cultural Crossover is sure to become an annual event with hopes of more student clubs participation in the future to provide the community with some global perspective.
“It helps enrich students at ACU who do not have much of an opportunity to get to know different cultures around the world. It is a way to bring the cultures to our very own school and what better way than with food and music?” Chavez said.
