The event was a sucess from the beginning. For the past few years, the Jewish Student Union and the Arab Cultural Society have been trying to plan some joint events. None were successful until this tailgate on Saturday. This was the first time we had not only an event, but a social event. This social aspect really allowed everybody to let loose, mingle, and just have fun. This is extremely important, because it shows that aside from school, family, politics, religion, all of the concrete facets of life to which we belong, we are all just people who are naturally prone to social interaction. We got to see our commonalities through hanging out, and it was an eye-opening experience.
The event was hosted by the office of inclusion, which promotes unity of diverse fasets on campus. Their aim is to create a four-year experience for every student at MSU that is ripe with opportunities to be exposed to as much diversity and cultural blending as possible.
It was exactly this kind of blending that sparked interest among group members who attended the event Saturday. As I said in a previous post, the tailgate didn't look much different from most tailgates that afternoon, though it did sound different with the middle eastern music playing in the background. The event was catered by Woody's Oasis, so everyone had a good meal. There were beverages of all sorts (and that's all I'm saying about this). People talked about classes, girls/guys, the game, football in general, etc. We were all one, and it was pretty nice.
I really hope that events like this will prompt other organizations to hold similar events in the future. Things like this are something that the MSU community in general can really hold their heads upon and be proud of. As stated in President Lou Anna K Simon's official statement on diversity, "A strong campus community is characterized by respect for, and civility toward, one another." We as students, can make this campus stronger every day.
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