As a part of the Black History Month program, organized by residence life at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La., the A&M-Commerce Caribbean Student Association (CSA) showcased their culture on Feb. 22 at the NSU campus.
The CSA expressed their cultural influences through dances, skits, songs and ethnic food. NSU students attending the event were taught how to dance to reggae and soca songs, also taking part in some of the skits and songs performed.
“It was well received by the students as we had 100 percent participation from the students who attended the event,” Dereka Thompson, president of the Caribbean Student Association said.
Further into the program, there was a segment in which the CSA sat down with students and discussed the way of life in the Caribbean and how they were able to adjust to American lifestyles.
“Northwestern students were motivated by the personal stories that our members shared about living far away from home and succeeding in our educational careers abroad,” Thompson said.
The program was organized by Terrence Bradford, assistant director of residence life at Northwestern State University. Twelve CSA members participated, half of which did not have any Caribbean lineage.
“While here, he worked with our organization on numerous occasions and felt that our organization was a shining example of student leadership and involvement on campus and in academics,” Thompson said. “We felt it was a good way to reach out to our fellow students and share our culture with others and so brought it the attention of our members. They were very excited about it and unanimously agreed to do it.”
According to Omar Brown, an advisor for the CSA, the NSU students soaked up every activity that was presented.
“The bond that was formed within the CaribSA group and the new-found friends at NSU is just priceless,” Brown said. “I would love to see the same type of reaction from the students here when it comes to learning about other culture and traditions that they would not otherwise be affordable the opportunity to experience. These students were very receptive, participative, and most importantly genuinely interested.”
After the performances, every student stayed back for a question-and-answer session, led by Bradford.
“We are accustomed to most people being interested only in the food, some in the festivities, and then they would leave (for whatever reason). However, every single NSU student stayed for the entire duration of the program,” Brown said.