Weekly Coffee Hour offers cultural forum

Coffee can mean more than the java juice that gets people going in the morning. Every Friday afternoon, it can also mean a chance to meet new people and learn about different cultures.\nA martial arts demonstration and a mock Filipino wedding were two of the events at the Leo R. Dowling International Center's Weekly Coffee Hour, 4-6 p.m. every Friday. Located next to Read Center, it provides the facility where one of about 50 different international student groups on campus play host each week to a social and informative get-together for students and community members.\n"Any international student group is encouraged to host a coffee hour," said John Riley, events coordinator. The meetings are social gatherings, an outlet to share parts of different cultures and a forum for people to have a good time, Riley said. Some groups bring traditional dishes such as sushi or rice and peanut sauce from different countries and regions. Sometimes as many as 200 people attend, he said.\n"The point of it is to provide a social outlet," Riley said. "Everybody is always welcome. Americans especially are encouraged to come because what we try to do is provide a forum for cross-cultural sharing and cross-cultural understanding."\nSmaller groups are held, as well. For example, last semester about 50 people gathered to hear a reverend from Kenya speak about development issues, Riley said. It was more informative than social, he said.\nUpcoming events include the International Graduate Student Association's Cultural Fest April 27. It will be the group's biggest event of the semester, said president and graduate student Kazuko Suematsu. Although plans are not formalized, the festival could include a fashion show, displays and music. \nThe association, which represents a number of international student groups in the School of Education, holds its own coffee hour from 2:30-4 p.m. every Friday in room 3115 in the Education Building. Members watch movies with cultural aspects or invite guest speakers. One session was about international associate instructors and the problems they encounter.\nLast semester, the group held its kick-off party during the Dowling Center's coffee hours and nearly 70 people attended. \n"We hadn't seen that many graduate students in one place, so it was pretty successful," Suematsu said. They played intercultural games, had a guest speaker and just got to know each other, she said.\nGraduate student Hennessy Ng, president of the Hong Kong Student Association, has participated in many of the weekly coffee hours.\n"Each one is different because of the different cultures," he said. "You get a glimpse of what each does and what they practice."\nThe Hong Kong Student Association is planning to sponsor a coffee hour within the next few weeks.\n"We are always trying to attract more American students and provide that forum to meet other people that are unlike themselves," Riley said. "I think sometimes we get too comfortable with what we're used to, and we travel in the same circles and things where maybe we should be expanding our horizons and getting out and approaching people who are different from us. \n"You need to come to one and experience it in order to do it justice."\nOtherwise, he said, "you won't really get a flavor for what it's all about. It's a great way to meet people and find out things you don't know"