In 2009, over 500 people attended International Night, an event put on by volunteers from the Organization of International Students to promote cultural awareness. However, the OIS expects an even greater turnout at this year’s event, which will take place tonight.
This year’s theme, “Break the Wall; Embrace the World,” is focused primarily on friendship.
“This year we chose to call it ‘Break the Wall; Embrace the World,’ because we wanted to unite various people together and break those stereotypes,” said Leonardo Orozco, who helped gain publicity for the event.
This is Orozco’s third year working with International Night.
Jimmy Hsu, the OIS’s publicity head, has worked alongside other student volunteers to spread the word about the event. They have sent out postcards and posters to various high schools and colleges in the area.
“We hope to unite not only PSU students and faculty, but people from the Portland community as well,” he said.
Volunteers also posted information requesting someone to design a poster for the event. According to Hsu, many people were excited to do so.
“We actually decided to use a poster that was designed by a student from Sunset High School,” he said.
To start off the night, a dinner will be served from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in 109 Smith Memorial Student Union. The meal will include dishes from many different countries, including Korea, Mexico, Greece, India, Italy and Ethiopia. There will also be a variety of beverages available.
After the dinner is served, there will be 33 cultural booths representing over 25 countries. The exhibit will be displayed on the second floor of SMSU, in the Multicultural Center.
“The booths are designed to show people a glimpse of the culture and give them the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the world around them,” said Jill Townley, International Student Life coordinator.
Following the booth display, the entertainment section will start at 7 p.m., in the SMSU Ballroom. There will be various performers, as well as an international fashion show with models from around the world.
This year, the students of the OIS have taken a different spin on the fashion show. They plan to display a wide range of countriesto give an overview of their traditional dress and history. There will also be short dance lessons by some of the different booths, in addition to palm reading.
“It is important to realize that this is a student-run event, and they work hard to make this happen every year,” Townley said.
Tickets are available at the Portland State Box Office, which is located in SMSU on the first floor. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for the general public.
For more information, visit www.oia.pdx.edu.
International Night at a glance
Dishes and caterers:
-Hyde Deli: Pa jun, japache
-Cha Cha Cha: Mini tamales, enchiladas and taquitos
-Blue Olive: Greek salad, hummus, domathes, pita and baklava
-Tandoor: Chick masala, chana masala, chicken biriyani, white rice and naan bread
-Taste Unique: Pasta and tiramisu
– E’njoni Café: Ethiopian bread, saffron rice, curry vegetable and spicy beef
Entertainment includes:
-Taiko drummers
-Salso Con Coco
-Murray Irish dancers
-Randa Ben Aziz
-Vietnamese student group
-Saudi student group
-Japanese student group