The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union hosted its third annual Multicultural Week last week, celebrating the cultural and ethnic traditions of UTM’s student population which included a cultural carnival, cultural show, and food festival.
Running from Monday to Wednesday, the three days of festivities began with a Cultural Carnival hosted in the Student Centre, showcasing diverse cultures comprising UTM’s student population. Among the presenters were student clubs and school organizations, including the Canadian Asian Student Society and UTM’s Middle Eastern Student Association, who tabled with traditional food and flags from around the world.
“We always do try to make every year bigger than the last and I think we have achieved that this year as a number of different countries and cultures were represented by their respective club,” stated Salma Fakhry in an email to The Medium.
Among several other events throughout Multicultural Week, a UTM snowball fight announced by UTM was also hosted on Monday. A Food Fair, focused exclusively on sharing cuisine from cultures around the world, also took place on Tuesday at the Student Centre.
“I think it’s great to see so many different sides of students at the school,” said Nicholas Prevedel, a third-year biology student and attendee at the Cultural Showcase, “The free events and free food make it an awesome experience. I can’t wait to come back again next year.”
The week was concluded with the Cultural Showcase, a campus-wide and community exhibition of UTM’s cultural composition. Student participants and cultural clubs donned traditional attire and performed music and dances in the presentation room of the Student Centre. UTM students and members of the community were in attendance throughout the four-hour cultural celebration.
“As a first year, I was pretty nervous to get involved in clubs in the first semester of school,” said Soman Talash, first-year student and participant in Wednesday night’s Cultural Showcase to The Medium, “I think Multi-Cultural Week was a good chance to make new friends and participate on campus.”
Talash stated that events like Wednesday’s Cultural Carnival and Multicultural Week at large promote inclusion and a sense of community on campus.
