National Diversity Day
Rose celebrates National Diversity DayBY Macie Wright on October 10, 2014
On Oct. 3, Rose celebrated National Diversity Day by holding a celebration here at school. National Diversity Day is an annual holiday that is held every year on the first Friday in October. This celebration began in 2005 as a result of Diversity Promotions, and this year is the first time it is being celebrated at Rose. October is Diversity Awareness month and this holiday allows people to celebrate the differences in culture, race, nationality and religion from around the world.
There were 13 countries represented at Rose in the many booths located around the commons, including Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Cuba, Mexico, Palestine, China, Korea, Columbia, Thailand, Japan, Dominican Republic and India. The National Art Honor Society held this event and was very pleased with the turnout and with the success of the many booths. Each country was represented by Rose students of that nationality.This experience allowed these students to inform others about the various cultures represented at Rose and allowed them to teach others about their specific cultures and lifestyles. Many of the students that represented the various countries from around the world took advantage of this opportunity to celebrate their nationalities and where they come from. “I think it is really important for us to remember where we come from, our culture and our nationality,” sophomore Zara Mehta said. “It is important to celebrate that.” Mehta’s family is from India. She had traditional Indian clothes displayed at her booth and samples of an Indian drink for students to try. “I think it is really important for Rose to remember that there are still many cultures from around the world, and we need to celebrate that,” Mehta said. Students were also taking advantage of the opportunity to inform other Rose students about their cultures. “They don’t see what [the different cultures] are really like, but we live with it everyday,” junior Karen Amado said. “We know what [our culture] is, but we want to inform them on what [our culture is about].” Amado’s family is from Mexico, and she took this opportunity to teach others about her Mexican culture by allowing them to try traditional Mexican cuisine such as enchiladas and other baked goods. Art teacher Randall Leach organized the event and was pleased with the outcome. He was excited about bringing a new event to Rose. “There are a lot of things we do here at Rose that are awesome, but never where we get our different diverse groups and backgrounds together and celebrate them,” Leach said. Leach knew this would be a good experience not only for the students attending but also for the students participating in this event because it was an opportunity for students to be aware of their peers’ different cultures here at Rose. “They can see something that they might not have known about their classmates they’ve been around [all the time],” Leach said. “Also people from these same backgrounds have been connected [through this experience].” National Diversity Day allowed for students to come and learn about the different cultures represented here at Rose. Students were also able to step inside the worlds of the diverse students and try new food and drinks to get a taste of another lifestyle. “When other students outside of the different cultures are asking questions, trying food and singing stuff, I feel like there is a greater appreciation for who you are and where you come from [because you are] getting to step inside [the other students’] world,” Leach said. Leach hopes to continue this tradition because it is an event that brings a wide variety of people in to participate. This event also informed students here at Rose just how many cultures are represented and allowed students to get a taste of what different cultures are like. |
|