This year's slogan of "Identify. Relate. Construct." was the theme of Culturefest 2001 during the period of Nov. 8-17. Student groups representing cultures from around the world joined to share their traditions and customs with their classmates at Johns Hopkins.
The events began last Thursday with opening ceremonies in the Glass Pavilion. Immediately following the festivities was a lecture entitled "One Person, One Vote: The Search for Electoral Equality" by Lani Guinier, an author and civil rights activist. Guinier spoke about democracy in America. She discussed how power is perceived in today's society, reflecting on her experiences teaching at Cornell and Harvard Law School. Guinier emphasized that people in a democracy should have a direct influence on the government, stressing that a democratic government should be run by the people. The lecture was sponsored by the MSE Symposium and Culturefest.
On Friday evening, cultural groups took to the stage for Cultureshow, a musical showcase of cultures from around the world. Immediately following the show there was a cultural bash at E-Level.
Culturefest also took over E-Level Monday evening with Coffeehouse Study Break. Students took a break from the books to play cultural games like Mah Jong, the Chinese equivalent of poker. The International Students Organization covered a wall with plastic wrap and turned a harmless game of trivia into an international pie-throwing contest. Others played cards, shot pool, or simply relaxed on couches and watched their friends dance in front of the large TV that played dance music throughout the evening.
The cozy atmosphere made for a relaxing evening of conversation and games. Tuesday afternoon marked the central event of the Culturefest experience - the food.
Various cultural groups gathered in the Glass Pavillion to prepare delicious cuisine from all over the world.
Each group set up a table where they featured home-cooked foods of various international flavors.
Students sampled foods like curry chicken and hand-rolled rice balls while talking to people from various cultural groups on campus.
There was no shortage of variety in the food court.
The Korean Students Association featured kimchi dumplings filled with vegetables, while the Israeli Students Association and Hillel made kugel, a type of Jewish dessert.
Additionally, there were plates of Vietnamese spring rolls, potstickers, fried noodles with chicken and onions, egg rolls, fried doughnut balls, green tea, samosas, Spanish corn bread, quesadillas and custard-filled cream puffs.
For many students, the food court provided a welcome break between classes to enjoy good food and good company with people from another culture.
However, many groups underestimated the popularity of free food, and most of the goodies were gone after an hour or so.
Culturefest will continue throughout the week with workshops held by the Black Students Union and the African Students Association, as well as a Japanese festival featuring tea ceremony demonstrations, sushi-making and cultural games held by Japanese Students International.
The closing ceremonies will take place Saturday, Nov. 17, in the Glass Pavilion.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.