The Triangle

Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Sarah Michelson

Media Credit: Mike Arrison

International Students and Scholars Services will celebrate the 10th anniversary of World Fusion Fest through April 18. The festival is a celebration of the international and intercultural presence on Drexel's campuses. Featured events included a scavenger hunt, a snapshot challenge, multiple international dance lessons, and international cuisine.

Scavenger Hunt

A text-message based scavenger hunt was one of the events that kicked off World Fusion Fest April 13. The event was sponsored by the Office of Victim Support and Intervention Services and International Students and Scholars Services, according to Drexel's Division of Student Life. Participants received text messages with clues and questions.
For the questions, each participant had to go to the location of the clues. Individuals or teams could participate. The winners will be announced at noon April 17 during the International Food Festival. Prizes include an iTouch, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle.

International Food Festival

Located in Behrakis Grand Hall, the International Food Fest featured cuisine from around the world and is served to students by members of Student Life and International Students and Scholars Services.
According to Kekec, this is an opportunity to learn about and taste food from different cultures.
Students will also get a chance to be contestants on what the Student Life Web site refers to as, "The most exciting game show at Drexel," called "How to Eat Like a Millionaire."
Contestants will win gift certificates to dine in culturally-themed restaurants around the city.

"Are We Really Worlds Apart?
Capital Punishment & Torture"

Len Finegold, Mary Spiers and Rev. Tim Thomson-Hohl spoke April 15 at "Science and Religion," a semiformal lecture event followed by open discussions. "Did we make God or did God make us?" Rev. Thomson-Hohl, an adjunct professor with Finegold who is teaching Issues in Science and Religion at Drexel University, said.
The most interactive part of the event, with respect to the speakers and audience, was the question-and-answer period during which an audience member asked, "Is the existence of God a scientific question?" Though discussions were decorous for the most part, tensions did grow as personal beliefs clashed.
Table Tennis Tournament

At the DAC April 14th, Prashanth Abraham Vanniamparambil of the Drexel University table tennis club defeated his teammate Song Han in the finals of the table tennis tournament.
Vanniamparambil, a junior mechanical engineering major, won the seven-setter final and the tournament by just a few points.
Though the final was the best of seven sets, all the other matches were out of three. The original 10 participating players were divided into two brackets by the two finalists who not only participated in, but unofficially took charge of the event.

"So, You Think You've Got Talent"

Individuals and groups faced off in "So, You Think You've Got Talent," a multicultural talent showcase April 16.
Adrienne Kekec, the executive director of International Students and Scholars Services, said that although this was the 10th anniversary of World Fusion Fest, the talent showcase has been suspended for the past two years due to lack of participation.
This year changed that, and entries ranged from Chinese Martial Arts, to an Indian fusion fashion show, to a break-dancing piece. Three panelists judged the competition, and winners were awarded cash prizes.
The English Language Center, the Office of Study Abroad, and International Students and Scholars Services sponsored the event.

Dance Around the World Dance Lessons (Bharatanatyam)

Throughout the week, different styles of dance were showcased at various workshops located all over campus. April 13, Rupa Gopinath taught the Indian classical dance called Bharatanatyam and Eileen Moran taught Irish Step Dancing.
"I wanted to teach the class, to share my culture, to expose people to where I come from and to a culture that I'm in love with," Moran said.
Over the course of the week, different styles of dance classes that were featured included a Merengue/Bachata combination, Flamenco, Bollywood dance and a dance style endemic to the Dai people of China.
"The Dai are one of the minority groups in China [and their dance] mimics the peacock," Hangjun Ke, president of the Chinese Dance Club, said.
Xuan Zhang, who led the Dai dance class, demonstrated the majority of the steps as other members of the club assisted participants struggling to perfect the dance's meticulous and graceful movements.
Once Zhang and the rest of the club became comfortable with the participants' understanding of the steps, a calm yet playful and uplifting Chinese song was added to the mix.
Buddhist Chanting
Workshop

According to the Student Life Web site, local Buddhist ministers and practitioners from the Won Buddhist Temple of Philadelphia gave students a demonstration of Buddhist chanting meditation and an introduction to the basic tenets of Buddhism at a workshop April 13.

Intercultural Spring Arts Festival/Festival of Nations

Another event that took place during the week was the Festival of Nations, in which 18 countries were represented by tables and gave students "the chance to showcase their culture," according to Kekec. The tables had various cultural activities such as henna tattooing, origami and international cuisine, Kekec added.

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