Festival celebrates diverse cultures on Bloomington campus

Junior Amber Smoot tested her advanced skills using chopsticks as she transferred M&M's from one bowl to another, making it look easy. After completing the task, she left with a free cup and a stash of M&M's.\nSmoot participated in one of the activities at the Asian Culture Center's table during Thursday's CultureFest, one of the main events of Freshman Welcome Week.\nSmoot, a folklore major, enjoys learning about the music, food and customs of other cultures and found the event especially relevant.\n"For many students here, it's the first time they've been exposed to so many different groups, so this is a positive experience," Smoot said. "People shouldn't be scared or intimidated of other cultures, they should learn about them."\nBefore students watched live music and sampled free food, they filled the IU Auditorium for the first segment of CultureFest activities.\nBloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm approached the podium wearing this year's diversity T-shirt, designed by freshman Kate Miranda.\nMiranda turned around from the front row when Brehm asked the 3,000-plus audience to put on the shirts in unison.\nThe chancellor welcomed the incoming freshman class and spoke about the importance of an ethnically diverse campus.\n"For some of you, the domestic diversity on campus will be greater than you've ever experienced before," Brehm said. "By living in a multicultural community, it makes you more aware of differences but you also realize the common humanity of many cultures."\nBrehm also encouraged students to take advantage of studying a new language while at IU.\n"We teach over 80 languages on this campus, but unfortunately many of us only know one," Brehm said.\nEric Liu, the event's keynote speaker, then took the stage to provide the new Hoosiers with tips on learning and an insight to the future.\nLiu, an author and domestic policy adviser to former President Clinton, was named one of the 25 most influential Asian-Americans by Inside Asian America magazine.\n"Many people find the best teachers they had were not necessarily members of the faculty but instead were their own peers," Liu said. "In our social roles, we learn from each other."\nLiu also asked students to take something deeper from CultureFest, beyond the free T-shirts and food.\n"Your experiences here depend on how you apply yourself and make an effort to learn," Liu said. "We live in an age where discussion about race isn't a brand new subject. So we are forced to think more squarely about who we are."\nAfter Liu spoke, students gathered in the Fine Arts Plaza for the celebration segment of CultureFest. Long lines formed around the food tents, where vouchers bought free tastes from various culture centers.\nStraight No Chaser, IU's a cappella group, drew a large crowd and wooed CultureFest attendants with smooth harmonies of songs like "In the Jungle." Other groups, including Afro-Hoosier International and the IU Swing Club provided entertainment as students mingled with peers, faculty and staff.\nGonzalo Isidro-Bruno, director of the Leo R. Dowling International Center, was dressed appropriately in a colorful tie covered with flags from around the world.\n"American students should come down to the International Center to interact with people on a smaller level because it really adds to a student's education," Isidro-Bruno said. "Here at CultureFest, students see that IU is a mosaic of people from all around the world."\n-- Contact staff writer Maura Halpern at mhalpern@indiana.edu.