By Sullivan McGee//
Monday will mark the beginning of Hood College’s Fourth Annual International Education Week, a series of events where students can learn about and celebrate different cultures.
“We want people to know that we are a diverse community and a college that respects people from diverse backgrounds, and we like to celebrate everyone’s traditions,” said Amani Al-Dajane, the director of International Student Services at Hood.
Through the activities during International Education Week, students can learn about other cultures through hands-on experiences instead of through research, lectures or texts, she said.
Al-Dajane said that events like International Education Week are more important than ever. “We live in a very globalized economy,” she said. “These kinds of events will increase someone’s cultural competence, which is very important for every single person to be successful in today’s economy.”
The weeklong celebration demonstrates to students that Hood respects them and brings the community together, which is what Hood is all about, she said. “International Education Week will tell our people from diverse backgrounds that we respect you,” she said. “So it’s a message by itself about Hood and Hood’s culture.”
The event celebrates world cultures despite international tensions. For example, Al-Dajane said that Hood’s parade of flags on Monday will feature both the Ukrainian and Russian flags. “Everyone is accepted here at Hood College regardless of your background, nationality, religion, ethnic, gender, so that’s the whole message,” she said.
Tanith Fowler Corsi, the director of Graduate Admission, first proposed hosting International Education Week at Hood in 2019. She had been involved with the event at previous universities, and said, It was always a popular and fun campus-wide celebration showcasing unity in diversity.”
April Boulton, the dean of Graduate School, was very excited about the prospect of having International Education Week at Hood, and she worked with Corsi in the summer of 2019 and formed a planning committee. “We hope to continue to make this event a Hood annual tradition,” Corsi said.
Each day of the week will feature a different event.
On Monday, there will be the parade of flags at 4 p.m. at Rosemont Gate and the opening ceremony at 4:30 p.m. at Coblentz Hall.
Tuesday will feature the international student lunch at 1 p.m. in the Coblentz Seminar Room. RSVP is required for this event.
Wednesday will feature a Diwali celebration at 4:30 p.m. in Room 220 at the Whitaker Center.
On Thursday there will be the Susan Crate documentary and dinner from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Coblentz Seminar Room (RSVP required) and the international bingo and desserts at 8 p.m. in the Coblentz Seminar Room.
Friday will feature the global party at 10 p.m. in the Whitaker Commuter Lounge.
Students interested in joining the planning committee for next year’s events should contact Al-Dajane at al-dajane@hood.edu.
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