Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--As part of a service project focused on Starkville's Henderson Intermediate School, a group of Mississippi State students is planning a Thursday [Nov. 1] international cultural festival.
The free 6 p.m. event in Lee Hall auditorium is open to all ages. The top three performances will earn awards of $300, $200 and $100, respectively.
The festival originated with a project developed by students in the university's Day One freshman leadership program, said freshman psychology major Jack Owings of Columbus.
"Our goal for this event is to heighten cultural awareness and interactions and at the same time to showcase Henderson students and the school," he added.
Day One is a new leadership challenge developed specifically for entering students. In addition to sharing a common residence hall and core academic courses, participants are divided into action teams to undertake various service projects.
Owings is part of the Cyber Dawgs team, whose motto is "changing the world one byte at a time." Project adviser for the festival is Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, coordinator of international student recruitment in the Office of Admissions and Scholarships.
Owings and freshman Joshua Daniels, an aerospace engineering major from Oakland, Calif., say that the 90-minute festival will promote awareness of other cultures and traditions in an increasingly global world. Henderson students will participate in the on-stage performances.
"We will feature dance, fashion and music from other countries as an entertaining way to broaden student perspectives," Daniels said.
Daniels and Shivakumaraiah said all area school children are being encouraged to attend.
The MSU Student Association and Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs are co-sponsors for the event.
Other invited campus organizations include the African, Black, Indian, Hispanic, and Muslim student associations, along with the Association of Chinese Scholars and Students.
For more information about the festival, telephone Shivakumaraiah at 662-325-0457.
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For more information about Day One, visit http://www.dayone.msstate.edu/.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.