The diversity resource center at Colorado State University-Pueblo is taking extra steps to celebrate multi-cultural events at the university.
The main idea behind celebrating and observing these events on campus includes promoting the sense of respect and existence of people from various cultures within the United States and at CSU-Pueblo.
Several events for the fall and upcoming spring semesters are planned in collaboration with the international students on campus, which come from more than 15 different countries around the world.
“We are excited that we will have the opportunity to introduce the CSU-Pueblo community to an array of different cultures and traditions that our international student population brings to our campus,” said Gena Alfonso, director of diversity resource center at CSU-Pueblo.
Most of the events will include traditional celebrations that have taken place for centuries in the respective countries of the international students. Some of these events include Holi, Eid and Diwali, which are celebrated mostly in South Asia and the Middle East, in addition to the Chinese New Year and Korean thanksgiving (Chuseok).
“Meeting with such a diverse group of international students from all over the world and hearing how excited they are about sharing their traditions with CSU-Pueblo was very encouraging,” Alfonso said. “We look forward to working with them to make some of their ideas come to fruition.”
The year 2013-14 has been aimed by DRC to promote more international culture on campus, especially through the celebration of cultural events of countries like Iran, Indonesia and Slovenia, which have not received much attention at CSU-Pueblo.
“We (international students) come from diverse communities, which means at CSU-Pueblo we have so many different cultures to share and be familiar with,” said Pantea Matinrad, an international student from Iran. “It’s going to be wonderful if we can celebrate some of the most important events of our countries together, and show others the beauties of these cultures.”
To make these multicultural celebrations a success, DRC carries out weekly meetings on Tuesday afternoons with the current international students and students from diverse backgrounds within the United States.
“I highly appreciate the opportunity provided to our international students by the diversity resource center to bring international culture on campus,” said Annie Williams, director of the center for international programs at CSU-Pueblo. “Apart from our annual extravaganza event, now we’ll have more events on campus showcasing CSU-Pueblo as a melting pot.”
Besides the international events, DRC will continue organizing events, which represent the existing diversity within America, such as Hispanic heritage month and black history month.
“Hispanic heritage month, black history month and women’s history month are very meaningful celebrations, because they allow most of us to reflect on our country’s past, and make us proud of the obstacles we have overcome together,” Tyrone Holt, programming officer at DRC, said.
