In the melting pot of cultures its colleges and universities educate students from some of the most diverse backgrounds.
But sometimes those cultures don’t meld smoothly. International Fusion, hosted by the International Student Association, hopes to bring those students closer Saturday at its fifth annual event.
“I want this to be a pride of international students,” said economics junior Michael Mayen, president of the ISA. “All the different cultures we have make us very unique people, and we should not take that as being an outsider people.”
There are more than 20 clubs specific to certain countries and cultures on campus, but ISA is the umbrella organization for all international students.
ISA was founded to help international students settle in and make friends in their new environment, Mayen said, but sometimes those students feel separate from their domestic peers.
To help promote friendship across these borders, Mayen moved International Fusion from its original home at the International Cultural Center to the Student Union Theatre for the first time this year.
“The reason I brought it here is its not just for international students, I want domestic students to see the side of international students that they don’t see,” Mayen said.
The event will kick off at 3 p.m. with an exhibition portion. Students from countries across the globe will present posters and provide information about their homeland to interested attendees.
Julanda Al-Lawati, vice president of the Omani Students Association said he is excited to use this time to teach students about his country.
“We are going to have a small exhibit, so we’re going to have a lot of posters about Oman,” Al-Lawati said. “Some posters are about the history of Oman; some are about the currency. Some of them will be about the geographical place of Oman, so we are going to explain it to others because many people don’t know where Oman is.”
OSA, like most clubs for international students, was founded so students from Oman would have a place to belong, Al-Lawati said. He hopes International Fusion will bring more awareness about the country to the larger University community.
Performances will follow the exhibition from 4 to 6:30 p.m. More than 15 groups are scheduled to perform dances, songs or poetry.
Leah Wong, founder of the Caribbean Students Association said practicing for their dance number brought members of her club closer than she could have hoped.
“Honestly, practicing for that always relieves all the stress that I have during the day,” Wong said. “We’ve basically been able to bond over this because we spend so much time together practicing now.”
The Asian American Ambassadors also have a performer scheduled Saturday.
AAA president Isabelle Vea said her club is not just for international students, but anyone interested in Asian culture.
“You don’t have to be Asian; you don’t have to be American,” Vea said. “You just have to have a love for Asian culture. Anybody can be an ambassador of something.”
Food from different countries will be served at the ICC following the performances.
Chemical engineering sophomore Sulaiman Al-Rawahi went to an Arabic Club meeting to promote International Fusion, and hopes the event will help others feel the inclusion he does.
“We’re trying to put ourselves out there and introduce people who don’t know about our culture and just talk and have fun with each other,” Al-Rawahi said.
International Fusion event to introduce LSU students to diverse cultures
April 16, 2015
Raegan Labat
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