The International Student Club (ISC) is hosting their annual dinner and show this Saturday, March 19 beginning at 5 p.m. The dinner will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the Church-Chapel and the show in Sauder Concert Hall. The ISC Coffeehouse will showcase the talents and stories of international students representing various nationalities on campus.
Tickets can be purchased now at the Welcome Center or at the door. Separate tickets are available if guests wish to attend only one of the events and can be purchased at a lesser price. All proceeds from the event are either used to support ISC needs or sent to a charitable organization.“Each year part of the money goes to organizations,” said Bojana Jankova, a sophomore ISC leader. “Last year we donated $1,000 to Haiti. This year, $1,000 will go to Japan. In addition to that money being donated, we also donate to students who are in need.”
Goshen College’s only Japanese student, Yumi Otsuka, will be addressing the tragedy from her perspective during the show in order inform and to encourage voluntary contributions to the charity. Donation boxes will be available during both the dinner and the show.
The entirety of the event—including advertising, menu planning, auditions, program scheduling, right down to cleanup crew—was organized by ISC members with the help of their faculty advisor, Skip Barnett.
“One thing I really love [about the ISC coffeehouse] is how students from so many different backgrounds (American, Latino, Asian, African, even Australian) get to know each other as friends and work together through this project. In my opinion, it’s just about the best cross-cultural education project we do on campus each year,” said Barnett.
Six student leaders facilitated organization and were assigned specific tasks to oversee in order to make sure both dinner and the performance run as smoothly as possible. It will likely be necessary with an estimated 400 attendees for dinner and up to 900 expected for the show.
For those who have participated in the event in the past, like junior ISC leader Ly Nguyen, the event has become an important way to represent her heritage to the Goshen community.
“It’s a quality show with all types of performances from around the world. It’ll be a good opportunity to learn and be exposed to different countries and see how the performing arts differ from there,” said Nguyen.
Beginning with the parade of nations, a processional display of traditional apparel showcasing the countries that Goshen College students come from, the performance will include musical acts, poetry readings, dance routines and speeches. The dinner menu will feature cuisines from nations such as Ethiopia, Germany, Beirut and Mexico among many others. The meal will function on a first come first serve basis so attendees are encouraged to come early in order to guarantee a ticket.
“[The ISC coffeehouse] really shows how diverse Goshen College is,” said Simon Szablicki, a senior ISC leader.
With cuisines and performances showcasing over 30 nationalities, the event will surely live up to this expectation.
