The Rocket

Issue date: 11/18/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Julie Dye Shawnta Reed (left), vice president of SUMA, gives a hand to Dominique Leopardi who digs into some pierogies. Several campus organizations participated in the event for Unity Week.

Approximately 60 students from various ethnic backgrounds lined up to get a Taste of the World on Tuesday afternoon in the lobby of the University Union.

Taste of the World, a buffet created by the Student Union for Minority Affairs (SUMA), was set up to introduce students to different foods from around the world. The event lasted from noon to 1:30 p.m., and was just a part of the week long SUMA sponsored event of Unity Week. The food was provided by AVI Food Systems and included dishes from America, Korea, Italy, China, and Poland.

The buffet charged students, "a dime a drop" for each scoop of food, so students could fill a plate for 50 cents. All proceeds benefited Slippery Rock's Pregnancy Crisis Center.

Ben Haag, a senior psychology major and president of SUMA, said that the purpose of this event was to try to get people to try food from cultures they normally wouldn't try.

"We're trying to show diversity on campus, and bring that diversity together," Haag said.

DaNine J. Fleming, Director of Intercultural Affairs and SUMA advisor, is overseeing all of Unity Week. Food is one of the things that all nations have in common, Fleming said.

"Food has no color," Fleming said. "Everyone can come to the table around food."

Senior English literature major Natasha Ricketts said she was impressed with what SUMA had put together.

"It was good; it was great," Ricketts said. "You cannot assume things based on looks. You must be open to new things. I went through the line three times, and paid for my friends to go through."

Jemaine Thomas, a graduate student majoring in community counseling, is the co-adviser of SUMA. Thomas said in order for people to be open to different cultures, they must be able to embrace your own culture, along with the others.

"Some students aren't open to different cultures, and we're definitely trying to change that," Thomas said.

Fleming said SUMA's dream is to see new faces at their programs. Fleming said when 10 fraternity brothers went through the line and asked how to get involved, it made the group smile.

SUMA has been a campus organization for four years, and has been university funded for two years.

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