As a part of International Awareness Week, the Office of International Awareness Committee and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services will put on a series of different events each day in celebration of diversity and the international community at Vanderbilt.
Monday was Global Dress Day, an opportunity for members of the Vanderbilt international community to wear traditional clothes to celebrate the different cultures represented on campus. IAC sponsored a lecture on Tuesday night by Professor Jaya Kasibhatla on Salman Rushdie, a controversial figure involved in international issues.
President of IAC Tyler True said the lecture is a good opportunity to encourage conversation about a controversial piece of literature.
"We hope this event will build awareness and spark conversation about different views on this topic," True said.
On Wednesday, IAC will present "How Islam Respects Women." This event will take place from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in the Student Life Center in Lower Level Meeting Rooms 1 and 2, with a light lunch provided.
The largest event of the week will take place Thursday afternoon from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Rand Terrace. The International Food Festival will have food from several restaurants offering different types of international cuisine.
Sumita Danerjee, IAC's advisor, said the International Food Festival has been successful in the past for bringing the Vanderbilt community together to spread awareness about international cultures.
"The International Food Festival is the most significant event in the week," Danerjee said. "Historically in the last couple of years, it has been a very successful event bringing in people from all different parts of campus, not just students but also faculty and staff and people from the medical community."
The International Food Festival has two important goals according to True.
"Our first goal is to get people to try new types of food they might not encounter otherwise," True said. "Our other goal is to get students to meet international students at Vandy and allow people who might not otherwise know other international students to interact and meet new people."
On Thursday night from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Student Life Center Board of Trust Room, IAC will co-sponsor African Night with the African Student Union to spread awareness about African culture. Veronica Calvin, president of ASU, said the event will include traditional African food, music and dance in addition to a presentation about student groups on campus.
"This year for our presentation we're going to be talking about different organizations in the Vanderbilt community that have helped and are helping Africa," Calvin said.
Organizations presented will include Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND), an organization that raises awareness and support for refugees and immigrants in Sudan who have been affected by the Civil War, and Students for Kenya, an organization that collects unused medical supplies to support a medical clinic in Kenya.
"The event will have free traditional African food and both traditional and contemporary African music," said Calvin. "African Night will expose people to African culture and inform them about what's going on here on campus."
True hopes International Awareness Week will spark more events to be held toward the end of the semester to celebrate the international presence on Vanderbilt's campus.
"The purpose of International Awareness Week is to raise awareness of Vanderbilt's international community and different countries and cultures in general," True said.
"We're hoping to have an International Art Competition with participation from members of the international community and other students on campus at the end of the semester to continue to highlight international cultures represented on campus."
