Students go around the world for International Week

Lisa Lillianstrom, Staff writer


Students were able to see customs from around the world during the week of Nov. 14, in a week long event called International Week. Throughout the week there were performances, vendors, a street fair and many different activities to celebrate cultures from around the world.

The week was hosted by United Students of all Cultures (USAC). International Week is an annual event that is held every November.

“It is important that the students learn about cultures that are not just here in the US but throughout the world,” said USAC Secretary Kamie Peterson.

The week kicked off on Nov. 14 with a Lion Dance from the Chinese Students Club. The lion danced all around the school, starting from the F building to the Jobe Lounge. Elgin Community College President David Sam then gave a speech on how important culture is in someones life.

After the lion dance, there was a performance by drummers entitled “Heartbeat of Japan”. For an hour, they pounded on Taiko drums, what sounded like a thunderous roar throughout the Jobe Lounge.

After the drum perfomance there was a Chinese Folk Dance. The dance consisted of a mix of ribbon dancing, martial arts, and story telling. The dance was described as graceful and elegant, and showed a new world to many students.

On Nov. 15 the Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) sold tacos and a vendor sold various items representing Mexico. There was a showing of a documentary called “I Learn America” which follows several immigrant students in their senior year at an American high school.

Nov. 16 had the theme that crossed between Arabian Knights and Africa. One of the more popular performers of the week was Kruccus International. With a mix of spoken word, music, dance and song, the group gave a performance of both traditional and authentic African Culture. Students could also get henna tattoos from Muslim Students Association (MSA).

“Everyone seemed to really enjoy the performance. They got up and danced with them and seemed to be really into it,” said USAC Informational Officer Eloisa Basillo.

Peterson hopes for more participation in the future.

“I hope that more groups will be able to come perform, and I hope that more people participate, watch and listen to the performances,” Peterson said.

The week was wrapped up on Nov. 17 with a street fair, where various clubs at ECC had a monument from a different country. The event was a contest between the clubs and the prize for the best monument was money in the clubs budget.

Human Services Club had Japan in which they built Godzilla. The president of the club, Crystal Villalobos, says that the club is all about making ideas heard from everyone.

“One of our members threw out the idea of Godzilla and instantly everyone was on board,” said Villalobos.

Student Government had Russia in which the they built a rocket, with the colors of the Russian flag.

“It had a historical meaning. Russia was the first country to launch a rocket,” said Senator Fatima Cruz.

The winner ended up being the Chinese Students Club who had the U.S.A in which they built the Statue of Liberty and the flag out of balloons, along with selling items to raise money for their club.

For Villalobos the best part was working together and seeing how much work has been done.

“The best part was probably viewing the progress and being happy each step of the way,” said Villalobos

For Student Government Vice President, Adil Jahangir, the street fair was a chance to see many different countries being represented in many different ways.

“I was able to see Japan, France, USA and Russia among other countries and everybody did a great job representing their assigned countries. Obviously, the Statue of Liberty stood out the most. Thanks USAC,” said Jahanghir.

When asked if they would do it again most of the clubs seemed more than happy to get creative again.

“The members were thrilled to make a monument, we didn’t have to ask who wanted to participate, the members are the ones who got together and said they wanted to help out, said Villalobos.

Overall the week seemed to have been successful, and the hopes for the future that there is more awareness of cultures of the world and that people continue to keep an open mind.

“It was amazing. We need more of these events to improve the cultural understanding of our students moving into the future,” said Jahanghir.