Last week I attended the Diwali event held by the Indian Students Association. Being an Indian raised in America, it is really nice to see that people still embrace their culture in college while they’re all so busy. Personally, I have grown with my culture and have learned about the Indian and Hindu culture as well as the American culture. I found this beneficial since it opened up my eyes to see how people around the world celebrate their culture and society throughout the world. I did not go into the event trying to fulfill my diversity assignment but as an opportunity for me to meet other people like me so I can connect back to my roots. Currently I am the freshman representative of the Indian American Association, which does have close ties to the Indian Student Association, therefore I did know the opportunities and events that take place relating to the Indian culture and in fact I have started to help organize, market and fundraise by being a part of the executive board.
This student organization did not require an appointment or rsvp to attend the event, it was an open invite, encouraging more people to come. Since it was a gathering, there was no wait or line, other than for the good food.
Going to this event I was hoping to meet more people since it has been difficult to make new friends as a commuter. When I went there, I realized I already knew a lot of the people since a lot of them also went to the Indian events I did as a child as well as went to my high school, or I knew them in some other way. Although, I was able to meet some new people including some of my friends’ roommates and a lot of international students who are studying here but came from India. Being able to connect with them was really nice since it was like talking to my family in India.
I think the biggest thing this event could have used is more marketing. A lot of the people there seemed to be from the same few “cliques” I see at other Indian cultural events and I can tell that many people are interested in these cultural events and want to come. Another problem I can see is that the events are open invite, therefore people of all cultures and ethnicities are welcome to come, a concept which I believe is miscommunicated with a lot of these events. If this was more known, more people would come, and more people are able to learn more about other cultures!
I really enjoyed going to this event because diversity was not forced, and it was more of just having fun and enjoying Diwali, the Festival of Lights. I appreciated how everyone got together and treated everyone else as friends and a community since every student really does connect to each other in one way or another. This is a great way to learn about my own culture but in the future I would want to go to other cultural events as well.