 "Photo: Meghan Moriarty")
 "Photo: Meghan Moriarty")
If anyone thought Chico State was not home to a diverse group of cultures, the 26th annual Multicultural Night on Oct. 26 in the Bell Memorial Union auditorium proved them wrong.
The theme of this year’s event was “Taking diversity into your own hands.”
With a documentary about culture and dance performances such a performance by Ballet Folklorico Mexico Lindo, cultural pride showed throughout the student audience.
Mari DeLaCerda, Associated Students commissioner of multicultural affairs, was proud of the Multicultural Affairs Council for pulling off such an amazing show.
The council wanted to bring a sense of awareness to the school about different cultures and how much culture is changing in the community and everywhere else, DeLaCerda said.
“If students want to learn more, I ask that they be more inquisitive and not limit themselves,” she said.
Junior Stephen Ross, a member of the Multicultural Affairs Council, was heavily involved in the event.
Ross not only helped put the event together, he also performed as a member of Men of Honor and co-hosted the show.
“I want tonight to have a huge effect on people and, by having events like these, the Multicultural Affairs Council is on its way to do that,” Ross said. “Diversity is like an appetizer plate. A person can add a little of this and a little of that and it’s a small taste of different cultures combined.”
Senior Krystle Tonga, a member of the A.S. Multicultural Affairs Council and a co-host of the show, thought of the event as a way to help students think more critically about diversity and to broaden their cultural awareness, she said.
“Events like this challenge students to take a deeper look on how we identify ourselves,” Tonga said.
Though some groups have participated in the event for many years, others were challenged to join in for the first time.
This was the first year PRIDE Safe Zone, an organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight-allied students, took part in the event.
Sophomore Jillian Ruddell, vice president of PRIDE, performed at the event and wanted people to educate themselves on what PRIDE is all about after seeing last night’s show.
“We did this because we want to be represented and more prominent in the community,” Ruddell said.
Too many people think about diversity and immediately equate it to color, race or ethnicity, said Tray Robinson, Chico State’s diversity coordinator. Diversity is also about gender, age, faith, disability and sexuality.
The Multicultural Night aimed to broaden students’ cultural understanding and help them make the most of their experience at Chico State.
“The campus has a need for shows like this,” DeLaCerda said. “Our education is not limited to the classroom and students should take advantage of what they pay for.”
Julia Vazquez can be reached at
jvazquez@theorion.com
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