One of the week’s Homecoming celebrations, the Multicultural Block Party featured live entertainment, llamas, henna and more on Tuesday night.
With a bounce house, llamas, henna, and origami, the University of Iowa’s Homecoming Council and Multicultural Centers have collaborated to raise awareness at IU campus cultural centers of the Multicultural Block Party. .
About 100 students gathered in the grassy area behind Slater Residence Hall and the Pride Alliance House, which was full of free activities promoting the resources provided by the centers.
âI think one of the most important things from years past has been to do [the Multicultural Block Party] a way that students learn to become allies and more educated about what these resource centers are, instead of just coming for food and performances, but would also take away information that they can learn to use these centers, â Homecoming Council Co – Multicultural Director Lisa Truong said.
This year, a ticketing system was created using 30 QR codes spread throughout the event to provide access to free activities, including petting the llama and alpaca or jumping into the bounce house. Participants in the event scanned a QR code to answer questions about cultural centers.
âThese are pretty straightforward and standard questions about the centers, like what the acronyms mean, when do they hold their heritage month and the idea of ââ’These are the traditions they hold,'” Truong said. “And our theme for Homecoming this year is’ Advancing Tradition.”
Some students also attended the party for free local fare from Molly’s Cupcakes, Mammitas, Island Vybz and Exotic India, and left with established knowledge and connections to the cultural centers.
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UI freshman Gabriel Arboleda said he came to the event for the food, but added that he saw the diversity on campus during his stay, which was revealing.
âI think it adds a bit of flavor, showing the diversity of students on campus,â Arboleda said. “A lot of us come from all over the world, and I think it’s good that people can now experience the different cultures in front of them.”
In addition to local caterers, the block party featured performances by UI Breakers to a cappella groups UI Old Gold, Iowa Agni and Iowa Hawkapellas.
âI love a cappella and seeing these different bands was really cool. Plus, llamas can’t go wrong with llamas, âsaid fourth year student Shayna Ungerleider. âI think it’s really important to show freshmen and just like any class that there are people who are welcoming in every community, even if you aren’t involved or like not be part of this community.
The Multicultural Block Party provided a welcoming space for under-represented students at the university, allowing visibility of the different cultures present on campus.
âI think it’s really important to spread diversity on campus,â said Linh Pham, student manager at the Pride Alliance Center. “I know a lot of students don’t know that we have real cultural centers here because we are so far from the centralized area of ââcampus.”