Multicultural block party showcases diversity

The Multicultural Block Party was held last Friday by the Office of Multicultural Affairs to celebrate diversity on campus and in the community.

The event spanned the entire block with food, art, clothing and jewelry vendors, as well as musical performances going on in the background.

This is the second year that Block Party took place at the Multicultural Affairs Student center adjacent to the Homewood Apartments.

"The purpose of the event is to expose Hopkins students to the customs and traditions of diverse cultures. The event is used as a means to create dialogue and enhance understanding of students from different cultural backgrounds," said director of Multicultural Affairs Irene Ferguson.

"Members of the Hopkins community are also provided with an opportunity to meet with and procure items/services from local vendors. This intercultural exchange allows students, faculty, staff and Baltimoreans to explore the differences and similarities among diverse communities. Various cultures are also celebrated through musical performances and performances by student organizations."

Students and locals alike attended the party. They perused the various pieces of local artwork for sale, such as local artist Larry Stevens' Smile collection.

There were also many activities such as African bongos to drum on and henna tattoos, as well as many diverse types of food including Chinese vegetable dumplings and Charm City cupcakes.

Japanese Student International (JSI) was one of the groups that chose to participate in this year’s block party.

"We made some Japanese food for everyone to grab. A group of us got together the night before and cooked a lot of food, but it ran out quickly," said freshman Michelle Mariko, who is a member of JSI.

"For a lot of people, it was their first time trying Japanese food and I hope it was a good experience for them. I thought it went well. There were lots of groups that I didn't know existed before. There aren't as many Japanese people here as other cultural groups, and there were people who didn't know about JSI, so it was good for them to learn about it."

Other students liked being able to learn about other cultures as well.

"It's really cool that there's this cultural awareness [and] a sharing of cultures," said freshman Alla Mageid, who is a member of The Mentoring Assistance Peer Program(MAPP), which is a branch of The Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Vania Nwkolo, a fellow MAPP member, agreed. "You get a taste of different cultures . . . literally."

However, there were some students who had complaints, mostly because of the lack of free food and drinks available.

"People don't want to pay for cultural awareness," said freshman Zoe Longenecker Wright.

"Yeah, especially because we're poor college students. Everybody likes free food," said freshman Tiffany Wei.

However, student Malcom Douglass said that despite this, he would probably still come back next year.

"The bongos were cool," he said.

Despite the prices, there was a great showing at the event. According to OMA's numbers, there were 350 people who attended this year.

However, that was still 150 fewer people than there were last year.

"We would like to have [had] more participation from the total Hopkins student body. We were impressed with the support and participation this year and hope students of all backgrounds realize that this is a celebration of all people and not just particular organizations and groups," said Ferguson.

"[Next year}. we will not schedule the event during the fall break weekend. We will also invite other student groups to participate in this event"