SLIDE groups organize Multicultural Fair to celebrate cultures with various activities – The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Student Leaders for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (SLIDE) hosted the annual Multicultural Fair on the Quad on May 19 during lunch. During the event, affinity groups set up tables to share food and culture with the school community.

Various clubs participated in the fair, including Armenian Club, Asian Students in Action (ASiA), Babel Magazine, Black Leadership and Culture Club (BLACC), Jewish Family Alliance (JFA), Japanese Language and Culture Club, Latin American and Hispanic Student Organization, Muslim and Jewish Alliance, Middle Eastern Student Association, South Asian Student Association and Nigerian Club: The African Diaspora.

Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Janine Jones said she enjoyed seeing different cultures interact on campus. 

“It’s just an important opportunity for us to recognize the diversity of our community in a really celebratory way,” Jones said. “That’s why I think the multicultural fair is an amazing event every year.”

ASiA leader Glory Ho ’24 said because ASiA is not hosting another event for Asian American and Pacific Islander month, the club sought to highlight many cultural traditions at the fair.   

“We have bunnies because it is the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit,” Ho said. “We’re representing Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures, since they all celebrate the Lunar New Year. We also have a Kogi Truck, and Kogi is specifically Korean American, and also mixing a little bit Mexican American. We’re trying not to be too homogenous with the identities that we’re trying to represent.”

Ho said proceeds earned by ASiA from the Multicultural Fair will be donated to charity. 

“All the money from the bunnies and the food truck is going to the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum,” Ho said. “The organization is particularly seeking to improve the mental health of Asian communities.”

JFA leader Charlotte Newman ’24 said she was glad community members were interested in cultural heritage.

“I really liked it when people asked what the food was called, or asked what holiday that we were getting ready to celebrate, it made me really excited to share about the culture,” Newman said. “The point of SLIDE [Student Leaders for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity] events is for people to learn about other cultures and their community members. So I was really excited that people were interested in learning [about cultures].”

Newman said along with sharing Jewish food, her club celebrated Shavuot, a Jewish holiday that starts in May.

“Shavuot is a celebration and it’s in May,” Newman said. “Traditionally, it’s a celebration of the first harvest of summer, and the gift of the Torah, from God to the Jewish people. It was exciting to be able to celebrate this at the Multicultural Fair, because at Jewish Club, we typically are a bit more cultural than religious.”