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Below a tent in the center of the Shaw Quadrangle, Los Del Río’s “Macarena” played from speakers, attracting Cultures on the Quad event attendees to a dance floor. Together, they danced to the song’s steps, while surrounding participants connected over food and lively conversation about the campus’ various languages and cultural identities.

“It’s important to come support different cultures on campus because you have to learn about different people and surround yourself with different kinds of people,” said freshman Annabel Metzger.

“Coming into freshman year, you don’t know that many people, so meeting people from other cultures is a great way to expand your horizons,” added her friend, freshman Molly Klein.

On Wednesday SU’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (LLL) continued their series of celebrations for its 50th anniversary with Cultures on the Quad. Gail Bulman, LLL’s department chair, said Cultures on the Quad began in 2010 and celebrates all of the different languages offered at SU and the many cultures fostered on campus. The event also provided opportunities for students to research the department’s majors and minors.

This year, LLL invited the Maxwell School’s Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Syracuse Abroad and the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence to participate in Cultures on the Quad because of each institution’s commitment to creating exposure to a diverse university culture, Bulman said. Each organization was represented at an information table during the celebration.

“(Cultures on the Quad) offers so much opportunity for students here because every single language here, they have opportunities for you to study abroad,” said French teaching assistant Maxence Juchert. “This 50 year history is also an event that can remind you that you can go abroad and study. You can go to France. You can go to Asia, study in Korea, for example. I mean, it’s such a great event to remind you that the doors are open.”

For Juchert, celebrating 50 years of LLL “feels amazing.” She said it’s valuable for SU community members to see people study French outside of France, and people can learn so many languages they might never have thought of studying.

Bulman said LLL usually hosts Cultures on the Quad in the Huntington Beard Crouse Hall breezeway, but this year LLL hosted the event on the Quad for the first time. She said LLL encouraged all 15 language programs in the department to participate in the celebration and reserved tables for them.

“They do at that table what they wish,” she said. “In other words, they bring in their cultural artifacts. They might have a signature beverage or food item from that culture, games and different activities.”

Student representatives and professors for the Hebrew language program offered event attendees matzah flatbread, while Turkish language professors displayed traditional painted ceramic plates.

The event featured a range of student group performances, including from ROC Chinese Dance Student Association and student Bollywood dance group the Desi Performance Team. Bulman said the Spanish language professors also spotlighted salsa dancing and the Japanese language program offered students opportunities to try Kendo, a Japanese martial art.

Sahana Anand, a sophomore and president of Desi Performance Team, said she started the organization from a long-term dream. She said it’s always so much fun to perform alongside her friends and feel the audience appreciate their art.

“South Asian culture is so rich, and we really want to just celebrate it, spread the love in art, so it’s really important,” Anand said.

Bulman said LLL hopes to showcase how multicultural and multilingual the university is through Cultures on the Quad. Although the department recognizes their diversity every day, the event makes the department accessible to the broader community.

“​​We really value that diversity,” Bulman said. “We celebrate it every day in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, but we want the whole university to celebrate.”

Published on April 17, 2024 at 11:39 pm