More than a dozen student groups came together this past Saturday, Sept. 27 for Sigma Beta Rho fraternity’s Fusion cultural event, a renewed festivity meant to celebrate various student backgrounds and interests.
The brothers of Sigma Beta Rho planned Fusion with cooperation from their co-sponsors, but they were also awarded a grant from the University as a tribute to this year’s communal principle, “Inclusion.”
Several UR clubs hosted booths during the cultural festival in Hirst Lounge from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. The three-hour event was punctuated by workshops in dance and other activities, led by the members of the various clubs and the brothers of Sigma Beta Rho. Participants could learn how to play Chinese jump rope with the Filipino-American Student Association (FASA), try to pronounce a Russian tongue twister with the Slavic Club, or take a dance lesson from the members of UR Celtic, among other things.
Also co-sponsoring Fusion were the Spanish and Latino Students’ Organization (SALSA), the Student Organization for Caribbean Awareness (SOCA), the Student Association for the Development of Arab Cultural Awareness (SADACA), the Pan-African Students’ Association (PASA), the Association for the Development of Interest in the Indian Subcontinent (ADITI), the Hindu Students’ Association (HSA), Black Students’ Union (BSU), and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC).
After the activities in Hirst Lounge, the event moved upstairs to the May Room where several different clubs held dance performances. In addition to appearances from the co-sponsoring groups, there were performances by Louvre, Ballet Performance Group (BPG), Xclusive step team, Sihir Bellydance Ensemble, Axum, Ma’frisah, UR Bhangra, swing dance club, UR Stylez, and student band No Jackets Required.
Sigma Beta Rho President and junior Michael Gulston said that several years have passed since his fraternity last hosted Fusion.
“In the past, Fusion was known as one of the biggest parties on campus,” Gulston said. “Sig Rho would reserve all the rooms in Wilson Commons and host a large party with several big DJs. This year, we took the idea of Fusion bringing cultural groups together, and strengthened the cultural aspect of the event.”
Many of Fusion’s co-sponsors host social events of their own. SOCA’s Minister of Social Outreach and sophomore Melia Douyon said that her club was advertising SOCA’s Caribfest event, a celebration of Caribbean culture that took place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2. SADACA President Sarah Eldehni noted that her organization hosts frequent events throughout the semester, including movie screenings, panel discussions, and hookah nights. Slavic Club was not advertising for any specific event. President and sophomore Ilya Dyskin commented said the club had come to Fusion mainly to “show Slavic culture and hang out with our friends.”
The brothers of Sigma Beta Rho, a multicultural fraternity and a member organization of MGC, have ties to several of their co-sponsors. Gulston explained that the fraternity’s Vice President Kareem Panton is also the co-president of UR Stylez. Social Chair Aaron Mason is a new member of UR Bhangra, and Gulston himself recently joined the dance group SALSEROS (Spanish and Latino Students Expressing Rhythm on Stage).
The May Room dance performances filled the venue with more than 80 attendees. The idea to add a performance aspect to Fusion originally came from “Celebrate Diversity,” an event during freshman orientation in which many of the same dance groups performed for the class of 2018. Sigma Beta Rho hoped to expand on this idea so that the UR community could become more familiar with the dance groups on campus.
“Fusion will indeed come back next year,” Gulston said, adding that he hopes to recruit more co-sponsors and clubs in the years to come.
Passanisi is a member of
the class of 2017.
