*Editor’s Note: 7:48 a.m. Nov. 19 – This story has been edited throughout.
SMU students had a chance to taste the international food, watch traditional performances from other countries, and win prizes on Tuesday night at the Around the World at SMU event, which celebrates International Education Week.
Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Delta Chi, and the International Student Scholar and Service department sponsored the event, held in the Hughes-Trigg ballroom.
Not only International students, but also students from the U.S. were attracted to the event’s multicultural theme.
Tyler Jackson, an American student studying computer science, said it was fun to experience different cultures through food and performance. The event also proved that SMU is more culturally diverse than people may recognize.
“it shows that there is more to SMU than what is shown outside and in pictures,” Jackson said.
Several booths were set up of the entrance of ballroom to let students see and learn about cultural practices such as Chinese calligraphy, henna tattoo art, and Sahaja yoga.
In the ballroom, students could pick up Arabic meals, and then grab a seat to enjoy performances. Many clubs and associations from SMU and around Dallas volunteered to perform Indian, Korean, Hispanic, and Italian dances.
“It’s really fun,” sophomore biology and psychology major Isaiah Clone said. “I’m having a good time doing all the cultural things and watching all the performances.”
Clone attended the event with Jackson, who said they learned about it through a group chat with friends.
The event also gave members of the different organizations an opportunity to talk to each other and work together.
“This event has a lot of moving parts and it’s always helpful to get other people join in,” Delta Sigma Theta president Kennedy Johnson said. “It’s also very helpful that we get to know the members of K-D Chi.”
The All Around the World event attracted more than 250 students, Johnson said.
“We found that there weren’t any cultural events that a lot of people went to, so we wanted to make one,” Johnson said. “This is our second year to have this event, and we plan to have it every year.”
