 "Photo: Ryan Wiley")
Wide smiles, bright posters and the smell of sushi and rice cakes welcomed many UT students to the "Global Village" Thursday at the plaza in front of Gregory Gym.
UT clubs and students presented cultural information at displays representing more than 30 countries, ranging from Great Britain, Korea, and Russia.
The event is the first of its kind, though planned to be biannual, held by UT student organization AIESEC. The French acronym translates to the International Association for Students in Economic and Communication Sciences, although the UT branch welcomes all majors.
The nonprofit, student-run organization tries to promote peace and cultural understanding through student exchange programs, said Rusty Kocian, the organization's president and a marketing junior. The association places students in paid, international internships across the world and finds businesses for the students to intern at in their local community.
Most of the groups at the Global Village talked with visitors to promote cultural understanding, but a few had more elaborate displays, including food, music and dancing. The steady flow of visitors was bolstered by students and staff still in their workout clothes leaving the gym. The sound of Korean drums also drew students in on their way to class.
Many UT organizations, including the Indian Students Association and the Iranian Students Academic and Cultural Association, were present.
"We want people to associate us with Iran's beautiful painting, music and poetry, [rather] than what is in spotlighted in the media," said Jasmine Ghannadpour, club member and psychology junior. "This booth is a great start."
UT is known for it's large size and its diversity - something students should be proud of, Peschel said.
"The Global Village is something UT-Austin needed," said Peschel, "UT has so many cultural organizations that we wanted people to even know they existed and to help promote AIESEC."
Minh Phan, an undeclared freshman, wandered over to enjoy the festivities.
"One of the reasons I chose UT was because it is so diverse. UT needs this so the students are aware of how many cultures are on this campus and how different each one is," Phan said.
The goal of the Global Village aimed to highlight these cultures.
"All we really wanted was to hallmark UT's diversity," said Cristina Arizmendi, a UT alumna and former member of the association.
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