Amongst the waving flags, great food, live music and the dunk tank, Saint Louis University students of all nations came together for the Billiken World Festival on Friday, April 6.
The Festival, sponsored by the International Student Federation, Multicultural Formation Team and the Department of Residence Life, featured international music, cultural dance and exhibitions, and ethnic cuisine. It was the finale of ATLAS Week, a larger event sponsored by the university.
“There seems to be a lot of positive response from the students,” said Muslim Student Association Vice President Lubna Alam. “There’s a lot of people coming out and trying new things. This is such a great way to raise awareness.”
World Festival programming committee member Katharina Panjaitan said that raising awareness was a key goal for the Festival.
“We want to show the internationalism represented on SLU’s campus. I think we’re doing a great job of that today,” said native Indonesian Panjaitan.
The Festival began with the Parade of Nations. Students carried the flags of various nations represented on SLU’s campus from the Simon Recreation Center through the quad.
The parade was led by the marching band from Vashon High School. “The parade was such a great thing,” said ISF President Darrell Bradley. “We wanted something to show a symbol of all the nations represented at SLU.”
Many people took advantage of the opportunity to try different types of food. Campus Minister Michael Schreiner had his lunch in a couple of different places. “I ate a rice and chicken dish from the African students’ booth and a Falafel sandwich from the Muslim Student Association. It was all very tasty,” Schreiner said.
The dunk tank, sponsored by the Student Activities Board, was a popular station for many people, with the dunkees ranging from Student Government Associate President-elect Mike Cappel to chemistry lab coordinator Don Hood.
One of the largest benefits to student organizations participating was that all of the profit was given back to those organizations.
“I think it’s really an incentive for organizations to participate. None of the money went to ISF or the university,” Bradley said.
