World Fair Brings Diversity to Campus

Cedarville’s World Fair will bring diverse culture experiences to campus on April 13 from 6:30-8 p.m. in the BTS.

The Fair will feature fantastic sights, smells and sounds, said Brenda Reid, coordinator of international student services.The event will feature booths with different kinds of food from around the world, made by the volunteers. Other highlights will also include an art station, henna tattoos and camel rides.

The entertainment will include live music from a bagpipe performer, and Irish Fiddler, Enoch Jayasundara’s The Missionaries of Massie Creek and the multicultural band from International Friendship Inc.’s ministry at Wright State.

The event is free and anyone can come, said Berenice Lopez, Cedarville’s multicultural admissions specialist.

“Faculty, staff, community, students, everybody,” she said. “It’s going to be like a family event.”

The Fair is not only open to everyone, but is also made possible by the students, staff and faculty members serving as volunteers participating in the World Fair.

These volunteers represent their home countries or cultures, or the places they served as missionaries, Reid said. Many are also representing their heritage, even without having lived outside the U.S., she said.

“It’s really up to the individuals who are volunteering to help,” she said. “Those representing are usually half international, half American.”

Reid also said that people often do not have the chance to showcase their heritage at Cedarville. The World Fair gives everyone the opportunity to promote their diversity, to highlight the different cultures on campus and give the campus a global perspective.

“Cedarville puts a lot of emphasis on going out into the world to share the gospel,” she said.  “But this is an opportunity to highlight those regions of the world that are coming to us, right here on campus.”

The World Fair will also help international and missionary students feel more at home, Lopez said.

“It’s for all students to have a great time,” she said, “and to share their culture with us and what home means to them.”

The World Fair is sponsored by the school of pharmacy, international services and intercultural leadership.

The school of pharmacy provided the funding for last year’s world fair, with a grant from Walgreens, given to promote diversity in some way. The pharmacy department gave the funds to Catherine Hernandez, the former multicultural admissions specialist, who worked with Reid and several international students to create a multicultural event in only three weeks.

Because the first World Fair was so successful, it is now a planned annual event, Lopez said, and the generous sponsors and commitment of the volunteers help keep the event alive.

“Hopefully we can keep it going,” Lopez said.

Paulene Kolota is a junior journalism major who loves cultural and artistic studies, especially anime and manga.