The dinner featured a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, as well as dishes from around the world. It was intended primarily for IU’s international student population, many of whom do not have the opportunity to go home during Thanksgiving break, said Josiah Moore, treasurer of Omega Psi Phi.
“We want to give international students a taste of what we do in the United States for Thanksgiving, as well as making them feel at home with foods they’re used to,” Moore said.
The event was organized by Omega Psi Phi multicultural fraternity and Theta Nu Xi multicultural sorority.
All IU students, not just international students, were encouraged to attend and welcomed at the event, Moore said.
“It’s something to enjoy for the simple fact that you get something different than usual,” Moore said. “It was definitely my first time trying all these foods when we did this last year. They’re things you don’t get to try on a regular basis.”
The dinner featured food from Mexico, India, Japan and Indonesia. Attendees were encouraged to mingle with people they didn’t know and sample foods they hadn’t tried.
“I think this is really interesting since it’s a celebration of different cultures for a holiday that’s American,” sophomore Krystina Patricio said.
The two multicultural greek organizations teamed up for the event for the first time last year. It was an idea Theta Nu Xi had wanted to try for a few years but didn’t have the resources to do alone, said Samantha Copenhaver, a recent graduate of IU and Theta Nu Xi who returned to help for the event. As soon as they teamed up with Omega Psi Phi, the planning of the event became much easier, Copenhaver said.
“It was something that had always seemed like a natural idea to us, especially watching many of the international students have to stay alone when we leave,” Copenhaver said. “We want them to be able to share in that feeling you get that you can’t quite describe when you get to go home to your family. We want them to feel welcomed and appreciated.”
Theta Nu Xi currently has only one active member, which can make it difficult to get involved with large events, Copenhaver said. However, this particular event is one that matters to that single member. Junior Mercury Luo, Theta Nu Xi’s active member, is an international student.
“Breaks can be really hard for international students, especially freshmen and sophomores, who are unfamiliar with the area in the first place,” Luo said. “We usually try our best to stay together over breaks, but this is a fun option that lets us really celebrate with lots of other people.”
More than a hundred students attended the dinner, including international students as well as students from other greek organizations, including Phi Mu sorority and Sigma Lambda Upsilon multicultural sorority.
“Seeing all of these people here makes me really happy,” Luo said. “I want everyone to embrace this moment of multicultural community and love.”
