Editorial: International Club promotes inclusive excellence

For student organizations, there is always a goal: more attendance. Organizations that put on events, whether it be Pi Day by the Math Club, or massive concerts put on by the Campus Activities Board (CAB), aim to increase attendance. Holding events is a key part to any successful organization.
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There is one organization which, in recent years, has done a spectacular job of not just routinely holding events, but making those events more and more successful. That organization is the International Club, and the event in question is the Festival of Nations.

On Sunday, International Club put on this year’s Festival of Nations. The event features all sorts of cultural components. There are dishes from up to 30 different nations. Students perform songs and dances from their cultures as well as recite poetry. Based on those merits alone, the event is fantastic. But, to grasp an appreciation for the success of this year’s display, we must go back.

The Festival of Nations actually goes back to 2011. Even then, the event could be considered successful, given that they had 200 participants. Now, for any event, 200 people showing up is a modest success, particularly for a student organization. Fast forward to 2016, and the participation had more or less remained the same with 240 participants. True, there was growth: 200 to 240 is an increase. But when we look at this year’s event, we see an incredible success.

This year’s event saw an attendance of 350 people. Any student organization able to pull 350 people together is, by itself, impressive. The number becomes more impressive when one considers that the USD Women’s Basketball team was battling TCU in the Sanford Coyotes Sports Center just down the road, a game that nearly packed the house.

Being able to pull numbers like that, even when there is a massive game in town, is noteworthy and commendable. More importantly the growth is noteworthy. It’s one thing to maintain numbers, it’s another to see massive growth. USD’s very own International Club has done a fantastic job of growing and expanding the Festival of Nations.

Seeing the growth of the Festival of Nations ought to bring a smile to any face. This event does a great job of displaying and promoting diversity at USD. It brings together dozens of cultures, cultures that the typical USD student would not be exposed to, and shares their culinary tradition, their artistic beauty and literary finesse. It’s events such as these which make USD a great place for diversity. It educates not only domestic students but also other international students about other cultures.

But we cannot take pride without recognizing the great work done by those student organizations who make these events possible. Therefore, we ought to congratulate the International Club, not only for an extremely successful festival, but also for continuing to promote and expand USD’s diversity.