The Moorpark College campus bustled with guests of all ages who culminated together at the 23rd annual Multicultural Day festival and parade on Tuesday, April 9.
This years Multicultural Day conveyed the theme of embodying “The ‘I’ in Diversity.” Moorpark administration scheduled this as an alternative day of education, affording teachers and students the chance to experience and learn more about the diverse cultures that inhabit the world. Guest speakers planned lectures, performances, exhibits, presentations, discussions, exercises and activities .
Ranford Hopkins, Multicultural Day committee chair, said there was a 20 percent increase in student attendance at the educational sessions. Out of the 70 expected presentations, only three were cancelled.
“We are offering programs that they feel are valuable to their curriculum,” said Hopkins. “I would rate this an absolute success.
With about 50 different vendors, students have the opportunity to learn about different cultures and hear their stories.
Madison Greene, 20-year-old Communications major, took this day to explore and learn more about different cultures.
“I first came to Multicultural Day because my teacher was offering extra credit,” Greene states. “But after exploring some of the vendors, I realized it’s actually a cool event, and I didn’t even realize all the awesome things the vendors had to offer!”
Hopkins believes this day is a beneficial experience for students and they can gain a lot of knowledge in a condensed amount of time.
“The importance of this day is to provide an alternative day of instruction where students have the opportunity to see how diverse cultures around the world control their environment politically, socially, and culturally,” Hopkins continued. “It’s cool how students could do all that in the space of one day!”
Christian Paige, 18-year-old Film major, was also interested in the variety of vendors and expos this day had provided.
“My background is multicultural, so it’s cool to come see and hear about more cultures that I wasn’t aware of,” Paige says.
Although Multicultural Day is only held once a year, students can take the time throughout the semester to visit The Student Dining Hall and view 23 years of Multicultural history discovered through thematically designed posters.
