The Diversity Program Council hosted a cultural game night with seven different student organizations in the Fairview community room. Photo by Ella Beu.
AUBREY MATASOVSKY | STAFF REPORTER | amatasovsky@butler.edu
Cards were shuffled and tiles laid out in the Fairview community room as Butler’s Diversity Program Council (DPC) hosted a cultural game night on Oct. 16. The night included several board games such as Mahjong, Tarneeb and Bananagrams, as well as mochi donuts and Dubai chocolate for guests to enjoy as they played and drifted between tables.
The game night is one of several outreach events that DPC hosts throughout the year to build community and understanding on campus.
Giavanna Yowell, a senior biochemistry and neuroscience double major and president of the DPC, works directly with the cultural clubs on campus and helped organize the event with the rest of the DPC.
“I think these events are crucial [for] creating that community on Butler’s campus because it brings us all together,” Yowell said. “We have 14 different organizations for different cultures here on campus, but having events where we bring all of us together really supports unity because we’re all trying to be a part of this greater mission of creating that community.”
Of the 14 organizations that are a part of the DPC, seven hosted, including Hillel, Latino Student Union, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Asian and Pacific Islander’s Alliance (APIA).
Jack Huang, a sophomore chemistry major and the APIA secretary, taught attendees how to play Mahjong, a traditional Chinese tile and strategy game, at the event.
“We do individual club events, but I think that these kinds of [group] events, having all of the organizations together, is a great opportunity for collaboration,” Huang said. “It’s a good chance to teach people the games of [different] cultures.”
Outreach events like the cultural game night aim to bring more cultural awareness and participation to campus and provide more community to people who may feel excluded in other places.
“I think we’re basically the [diversity, equity and inclusion] of the campus because Butler is not very diverse, [so] we’re trying to make sure everyone is equally represented,” Huang said. “I do want to represent and spread my culture, because not many people know about a lot of things in Asian culture.”
The tangibility of the board games can provide an opportunity for further understanding, as well.
Senior computer science major Omar Daas is a member of SJP and played the Tarneeb, a card game popular in many Middle Eastern countries, throughout the night.
“Having these culture nights helps people understand people who live in these cultures,” Daas said. “I can tell you all that I want, but showing it, experiencing it, feeling it and living it, that’s the best way to understand it.”
