By Staff Writer Maddie Kenn.
Every year, Umass Dartmouth hosts an event by the name of The Unity Fest. The Torch staff got in touch with the two presidents of the event, Danielle Bostick, who is a nursing major in the class of 2019, and Karen A Gonzalez, also a nursing major in the 2019 class here at Umass Dartmouth.
The two of them discussed important information regarding the event, and how it all began. The Unity Fest emerged from the Black History Gala, a Unity gala held in 2013 planned by the campus wide committee.
Because of the guest limit of only 150 people, the committee worked to create a fest intended for a larger amount of people to join in the celebration of our diverse campus. Thus, the Unity Fest was born.
The events main purpose is to merge individuals of various identities and cultures together to acknowledge the diversity on campus.
Four Unity Fests had been held in the past, having titles such as “UBUNTU” standing for the African American word meaning “humanity” held in 2015, the Swahili fest in 2016 which was referred to as “UMOJA”, and the TONGYI, standing for “unity” in Chinese Mandarin, held last year. The most recent theme, in 2018 was “CommUNITY”, as a close to the Chancellor’s inauguration.
The event is held in the campus center, as well as outside, based on the weather conditions. It will take place on April 11th, 2019 from 4-7 Pm.
It is not required, but recommended to join as students celebrate this multicultural event through food, dance, music and activities!
If this does not seem like something you would like to be a participant in, perhaps consider joining the staff!
The Unity Fest planning committee is assembled the first semester of each year, and is looking for students who are willing to bring creativity and leadership to the community!
Students can choose which branch to be apart of, whether it’s to be in charge of the decorations, the food, or entertainment. Still not sure if this is the right decision for you? Take a look at what Bostick and Gonzalez have to say! “We have both been a part of the Unity Fest planning committee for 3 years now. We are both really committed to highlighting and increasing diversity on campus and Unity Fest is a great opportunity to do so. This year we decided to take on the role of co-chairs since it is our last year and we wanted to get as involved as possible with such a memorable and important event”.
Bostick states that “ the most beautiful part of Unity Fest is that although this campus is full of individuals with all different backgrounds and cultures, we are able to come together to celebrate the diversity the university embodies.
We are able to work with a variety of different students in our planning committee who really embrace the concept of hosting a truly multicultural event”.
If you are interested in joining the planning committee, please note that the meetings are held bi-weekly this semester and are held on Fridays at 3pm in the Unity House.
Help Bostick and Gonzales have a memorable last year by attending the Unity Fest, and don’t forget to clear your schedules for April 11th from 4-7 PM!