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| April 5, 2005 | ||
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Diversity Celebration waters garden of knowledge Plemmons Student Union will be transformed into an extravagant and unique demonstration of Appalachian State University’s commitment to diversity for six hours today. The fourth annual Diversity Celebration uses the theme “The more you know, the more you grow- water the garden.” “The cultivation of curiosity about the world around us is one of the primary objectives of a liberal arts education,” Susan H. King, staff development specialist for the Equity Office and the Diversity Celebrations publicity director, said. “Events like the Diversity Celebration bring the world to Appalachian, in a sense, making it both larger and smaller at the same time. The gathering of people of all ages from the university, the town, the country and beyond is a significant community building experience.” The Diversity Celebration, which began in 2002, is co-sponsored by the Equity Office and the Office of Multicultural Student Development. Other sponsoring units include the Office of Diversity, Freshman Seminar, the Office of International Programs, Student Government Association, the Hubbard Center and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. For the first time, the Diversity Celebration also has a corporate sponsor, the Mast General Store. Other firsts in this year’s celebration include first opening ceremony, where a Native American water blessing will take place in the Summit Trail Solarium, and an individual event will be held somewhere other than the student union. The event, which will take place April 5 -7 in the Turchin Center, will be the creation of a sand mandala by Tibetan Monk Lama Tenzin Deshek. Over 70 clubs, organizations and businesses are involved with the celebration. The event also has sponsoring restaurants, 11 different dance lessons or performances, 20 display tables and more. Several of the entertainers from previous years were invited back to participate in this year’s celebration. New talent was also recruited in order to include cultures and art forms that had not been represented in previous celebrations. There are many more cultures represented this year than ever before, King said. The entire schedule of events for the day can be found on the Diversity Celebration Web site. |
© 2005 ASU Student Publications
