With a variety of clubs, sports, classes, teachers, and students, Roosevelt naturally produces the diverse environment evident in this year’s Multicultural Night, Africa’s Night Out, and Hispanic Night.
Culture seems to have been the them at Roosevelt this April: On the 19th, the International Club hosted their yearly event, Multicultural Night; four days later the African Student Association introduced their event called Africa’s Night Out; and on the 26th, the Spanish Honor Society opened the cafeteria doors to an excited and energetic crowd of students for Hispanic Night.
All of these events outline the culture that can be found in Roosevelt. But there is a difference between learning about the cultures in school and attending those events, and that difference is all about the experience.
Multicultural Night was created to show the “merging of cultures and to put them all on display,” said Floriane Beyegue, senior and president of International club, who was in charge of the event this year. Through out the night African Dance and Desi performed along with individual performances to give the students freedom to choose whichever aspect of their culture they wanted to represent.
Beyegue said she was glad that the dinner part of the night went well because the club provided enough food for everyone through, a “nice set up”. As the title of the event indicated it would, the club brought in a diverse amount of foods such as Chick-fil-A, Subway, Panda Express and dishes brought from home.
The African Student Association or ASA club was created this year and to promote participation, involved students created Africa’s Night Out.
Diane Shaibu, a senior and president of the ASA, wanted Africa’s Night Out “to show our African culture and to celebrate it and to show it amongst the Roosevelt population.” The event embraced Africa and the many types of culture the continent provides through clothing, dancing, comedy skits, poetry and singing.
One of Shaibu’s favorite moments was the Azonto dance contest, a Ghanaian dance that is inspired by a number of African elements. Not only were there performances, but also afterwards the members of ASA showed off some of their African heritage by donating food for the people who went out to the event. Food included jollof Rice, fried Plantains, cuscus, cakes and pastries.
As the vice president of ASA, senior Ashley Yeboah-Afinene explained that an event like Africa’s Night Out gives students the chance to “practice their heritage outside of home and being a part of it made me learn more about my own culture.”
And for senior Mara Moran, president of Spanish Honor Society, the Hispanic Night was created because “it’s a chance for SHS to interact with the Latino community and learn more about the culture.”
Through out the night a DJ played music, Aloniz performed, people danced, a showing of a movie and of course lots of food was provided. One of her favorite parts of Hispanic Night is when she “sees people you never expect to dance but because the music is so contagious they get up to dance.”
As the president of SHS since the end of her sophomore year Moran has organized Hispanic Night quite a lot and the memory that sticks out to her is when all the male members of the honor society is in the kitchen, cooking food. With almost 250 to 300 people who show up for an established event like Hispanic Night the planning can become hectic but the benefits of the event are tremendous. Since there isn’t any other event like Hispanic Night it “is special, unique because of the culture we’re celebrating.”
The cultural events hosted these past couple of weeks allows students to experience the communities of other cultures with a more hands on experience and through the music, performances and servings of food the multiple displays of culture became something people will not forget.