The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) hosted Multicultural Week Jan. 11-15 for the first time in several years, featuring events designed to bring students together and make them more aware of other cultures.
Events included a traditional fashion show, a world DJ night, and a food fair.
CUSA president Fahd Alhattab said Multicultural Week brings together a lot of the activities and cultures that already exist on campus.
“There’s always so many cultural events happening and different cultural clubs that exist, and bringing them all together . . . is exciting,” Alhattab said.
Multicultural Week is designed to engage students who might not come out to other CUSA events, Alhattab said.
“When we look at student life programming, what’s the first thing you think of? Concerts. But only a certain population of students actually like going to those shows. Having a multicultural week, especially since the most active clubs on campus are very culture-focused . . . they can all come together and showcase the different cultures and have fun with it,” Alhattab said. “It’s student life programming, but in a different lens.”
Alhattab said celebrating multiculturalism is especially important at Carleton because the school has such a diverse student population.
“I think we’re in a very unique position as CUSA and even as Carleton. We have one of the most dynamic schools in the country—both because of the large international student population and because in Ottawa we have huge diversity,” he said.
