On Sunday afternoon, Old Dickinson Field was enveloped with music, games and food for the third annual Multicultural Extravaganza.
The event, entitled “SunDaze with Me,” was organized and sponsored by several on-campus organizations, including the Intercultural Welcome Committee and the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC). Tanyah Barnes, assistant director of the MRC, said the event was held to give new students an opportunity to start the semester with connections to multicultural groups.
“We were finding from our students that it had taken them a long time to find other students that they had looked like or might identify with, and so they were feeling isolated,” Barnes said. “We thought this first week was really important for the new students to have this chance.”
Over 25 student groups tabled, including the Mental Health Outreach Peer Educators (M-HOPE) and the Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society. Nichelae McFarlane, treasurer of the Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society and a junior majoring in political science, said they tabled at the event to get more students of color involved in pre-law.
“When we visited law schools in Chicago, they all talked about how diverse they were,” McFarlane said. “But really, their students of color represented around 2 percent of their school. We want to change that by getting more lawyers of color through our society.”
In previous years, the extravaganza was organized as a performance-focused event in the Anderson Center. This year, according to Jorwell Perez, host of the Extravaganza, president of Quimbamba and a junior majoring in human development, the event structure has changed to create a more personal and connected experience for both the students and organizations.
“With this type of event, people can interact with the groups and organizations, whereas before they would do their skit in front of the audience,” Perez said. “It felt separated, and as a freshman I didn’t feel very connected. But now we can walk around and actually connect directly with the groups and see their performances up close.”
Several groups had live performances. Diverse Cultural Xcellence and Quimbamba danced along a walkway. Elisse Howard, an undeclared freshman, said the performances were her favorite part of the event.
“I was really excited for the step team to perform,” Howard said. “Seeing all the groups out here together makes me more comfortable because it is a more intimate setting unlike [UFest] where it was overwhelming.”
“SunDaze with Me” was the second part of a three-part “Intercultural Welcome Kick-off Series,” which also included the “New Student of Color Networking” on Aug. 23 and will include the “MRC House Party” on Aug. 30 in the MRC Lounge.