To welcome students and faculty back on campus for spring quarter, Walla Walla University’s student leaders came together to host the first annual Multicultural Fair in honor of student diversity on campus. 

This inaugural event was led by junior product design major and diversity and wellness officer for the Associated Students of Walla Walla University (ASWWU), Andres Anaya, who developed the idea for the fair his freshman year when he felt there was no space on campus for him to feel celebrated as a Hispanic man. 

“I felt that if no one was going to step up and do it, then someone should”, said Anaya. His idea came to life with the support of the WWU Office for Diversity and Inclusion and several different campus clubs, including the Asian Pacific Islander Club (APIC), the Black Student Christian Forum (BSCF), and the Latin American Student Association (LASA). 

Guests were invited to wear clothing that represented their cultural backgrounds and to enjoy food and performances from the different cultures of the WWU community. Some performances included a Mexican folklore dance, a hula, and tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance which involves two people tapping and sliding bamboo poles back and forth on the ground while a dancer steps around and in between the poles. 

Assistant to the president for diversity and theology professor, Pedrito Maynard-Reid, enjoyed his homemade Jamaican ginger beer as he watched the gathered crowd. Maynard-Reid described the event as a fruit salad of cultures, saying, “...everybody loves their apples, bananas, and mangos, but every now and then you want to…put them in a bowl and enjoy them all.” 

Both Anaya and Maynard-Reid are excited, not only for next year’s Multicultural Fair, but the continued celebration of diversity at WWU. 

To learn more about diversity and inclusion on our campus, visit wallawalla.edu/diversity.

Posted April 29, 2024.