Two weeks ago in Canavan Arena, the Ethnic Student Council (ESC) continued a wonderful tradition on campus — Unity Showcase. This year, the theme was “Our Beginnings,” highlighting the cultural roots of Stevens’ cultural organizations. ESC hosted this event, which included performances by several key organizations on campus to display the cultural aspects of the student body.
This tradition started up in the late ’90s as a way to illustrate various cultural aspects of the student body in the form of one large show, and has since evolved into a massive theme-based event. Prior to 2002, the event itself was relatively small and was usually held in Hayden Lounge. After former ESC President Juan Jaime took control, the event grew large enough to be held in DeBaun. Since then, it has continued to attract a large enough crowd to fill up the Canavan Arena.
With larger crowds comes larger responsibility. Unity required a substantial amount of planning beforehand. This year, the planning started as early as the summer of 2018, when the theme was decided. This theme was then revealed to the participating organizations during the fall semester. Then, once the Spring semester began, planning really started revving up. Avery Lau, ESC’s Vice President and liaison to Student Life, ensured that Student Life provided their end of the production crew. Jon Pendon, ESC’s Treasurer, purchased all the necessary items. Jonathan Ho, ESC’s Social Chair, took charge of all the duties relating to University Events. Jeff Ung, ESC’s Secretary, connected everyone through his emails. Calvin Han, in collaboration with Morgan Brenner and ESC’s Historian, Jonathan Brown, photographed the whole event. Here, active collaboration between all members served as the drive for Unity’s functional success.
Effective communication between all of the co-hosting organizations was especially important, though time intensive, but a necessary burden for the theatrical success. Lau said, “Personal communication with co-hosting orgs was time intensive, but it gave the most insightful feedback and allowed us to do more to help performing orgs.”
After introductory presentations by Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s Nasir Montalvo, SGA President Jason Chlus, and Russian Culture Club’s Elina Tuder, the club TECHnique rocked the stage with a phenomenal dance routine. Following that, the Middle Eastern Student Association gave a sobering yet humorous look at current stereotypes of Arab-Americans. Next, the West Indian Student Organization performed significant moments in the West Indies’ history, starting with the exploits of Christopher Columbus. Afterwards, the Chinese Student Association enacted an ancient story from Chinese mythology. Then, the Black Student Union illustrated the trials and tribulations of African-Americans through a rich and visually stimulating musical dance routine. Next up, the Indian Undergraduate Association told of India’s independence from British rule through a colorful musical performance mixed with dramatic scenes. Going off this, FAST gave a touching and moving performance of a Filipino family’s involvement in Philippine political tensions. Next, the Korean Student Association gave a dramatic and insightful look at the divergence between North and South Korea in culture and government. Wrapping it all up, the Cultural Greek Council concluded Unity with vivacious dance routines by Nu Alpha Phi, Lambda Upsilon Lambda, and Omega Phi Beta.
Capping it all, the judges determined that the Black Student Union was the winner of “Most Relevant to Theme” and “Best in Show,” followed by FAST for “Most Active,” and the Korean Student Association for “Most Improved.” All in all, the event was another stunning success by the Ethnic Student Council, garnering over 400 students and alumni in attendance, and a string of artfully crafted performances by cultural organizations. Looking forward, the E-board members of ESC hope to incorporate smaller cultural organizations on campus even if they do not yet have a strong foothold in the student body by co-hosting events in the fall with them and having them present at the showcase. We can expect the Unity Showcase to be happening many more times in the future on its usual date of the Friday night of Accepted Students Weekend.
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