European Union comes to campus

OIP to sponsor cultural events

By Aimee Huynh, contributing writer
Posted on September 20, 2007

The Office of International Programs is hosting its eighth annual International Week from Sept. 24 to Sept. 28.

“It is a very good program, because it is not only beneficial to international students, but open to all students at JMU to learn about the international culture,” freshman Christine Dang said.

Junior Sam Williams agreed.

“[International Week is] a great way for JMU students to get out of the JMU bubble and learn about the world,” he said.

In light of the opening of Palazzo Capponi and the Master of Arts program in Florence, Italy, the theme of this year’s International Week is European Union: United in Diversity. The events will be focused on countries in the European Union.

“This is an excellent way of introducing the program to JMU,” Thomas Lavenir, assistant director for the office of international programs, said.  “It is a very important and exciting step for us.”

To start off the week, there will be a performance presented by a flamenco dance company, Furia Flamenca, on the Commons. Other highlights include Reflecting Ireland, a musical performance of traditional Irish folk music. There will be a keynote speech by Angelos Pangratis, deputy Head of Delegation the European Commission to the United States. There will also be an international bazaar where different vendors and departments will have displays relating to countries in the European Union.

In the Festival Center, members of the International Student Association (ISA) will  coordinate a late night breakfast. For a $1.00 donation to ISA, there will breakfast foods from the EU such as tortilla espanola and build-your-own crepes. At the late night breakfast, there will be a chance for students to win prizes such as a $50 gift certificate to Madison Grill and a 20” color TV by participating in “International Idol” and trivia games.

ISA is not the only organization helping out at the events. Others, such as the Center for Multicultural Student Services and the department of music, are doing what they can as well.

“Some events draw more students than others, and so we try to make things more interactive,” Lavenir said.  “[However], we want students to realize that culture isn’t just food and music, and so we balance it out with speakers and movies as well.”

Lavenir added that preparing for International Week was hard work.

“The work begins at the end of the school year, during the summer,” Lavenir said.  “We base the schedules around the big events that are harder to get, because those dates will be definite. We would like to have more student input into organizing the events, but the work is done during the summer when students are gone.”

Students who attended International Week last year are excited for this year’s events. Williams said that he is looking forward to the international bazaar and the movie.

“The bazaar is cool, you get to shop around and look at the international souvenirs, but

I’m more excited about the Spanish class and the musical and dance performances,”

Pratik Banjade, vice president of ISA, said.

Lavenir is also excited.

“[International Week] is an opportunity to bring an international perspective to the general campus for individuals to realize there are other countries other than us,” he said. “It is a way to diversify not only the campus, but also to diversify people’s perspectives of the world.”