Caribbean Day kicks off Diversity Week
Cuban sandwiches and fried plantains were available to students during Caribbean Day
September 17, 2014
To kick off Diversity Week, the Multicultural Center organized Caribbean Day at the Student Union Starbucks. The event started on Monday Sept. 15, at 11:30 a.m and continued until 1 p.m., letting students mosey through the event during lunch.
This was the first year that Caribbean Day has been held and it had much to offer to the students who stopped by. The event had free food native to the Caribbean, such as Cuban sandwiches and fried plantains, a banana-like fruit. Even the Student Union Market offered a special lunch of Jamaican jerk chicken, coconut rice, black beans and Caribbean vegetables to show support for the culture.
Along with food, the event also held musical performances that expressed the Caribbean heritage. UA’s Steel Drum Band performed at the beginning with music that made you believe you had just landed on a Caribbean island. After that, the event had rumba and bomba-plena playing, which are native Caribbean music.
“We held the event to just celebrate and bring something to the UA community that usually isn’t seen here,” Associate Director of the Multicultural Center, Elisha Swanson said.
Not only did the Multicultural Center help organize the event, but other campus organizations partook as well. The Liberation of Progress, Hispanic Organization Leading Akron and the African Students Association all had booths to celebrate Diversity Week as well.
Diversity Week continues all week with numerous events throughout campus each day. Diversity Week will continue until the end of the week. This week is put on to celebrate and raise awareness of different cultures and ethnicities brought together here at UA.
