In a diverse blend of educational tables, colorful food samples, decorated posters and blue-and-gold tents, Seventh Street was bustling with volunteers and students during the Global Spartan Month Fair on Thursday afternoon.
The fair was hosted by the International Student & Scholar Services, Study Abroad & Away and International Gateways, and was held to kick off Global Spartan Month, according to an SJSU website.
Global Spartan Month is all about celebrating international education and exchange throughout the month of March, and provides individuals with a chance to learn about new cultures, according to the same site.
Lined up in front of the music building and next to The Arch of Dignity, Equality and Justice were various blue tents where organizations gave students information for study abroad opportunities.
Representatives passed out flyers, free stickers, pins and candy to promote experiences students could have all around the world.
Dan Brook, retired SJSU sociology professor and program director of Hands on Thailand said study abroad teaches students in an experiential, fun way.
Hands on Thailand is a Faculty-Led Program based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The program is organized to provide opportunities for students to experience personal exploration, growth, and development in Chiang Mai, according to SJSU Study Abroad and Away.
Brook said oftentimes individuals have only ever seen one piece of our world, and that studying abroad allows for discoveries in a new, unique location.
“You get to immerse yourself in the culture for three weeks, surrounded by positive, friendly people,” Brook said. “This experience really teaches you things that you can’t get from a classroom, book or movie.”
He also said that it is a monumental blessing and honor to have students contribute to Thailand through their volunteerism and community-engaged learning, facilitating their enjoyment, bonding, exploration, discovery and growth, according to his Wordpress website.
In front of the art building and along the entrance of the Central Classroom Building, groups of students promoted their clubs.
Of these clubs was Society of Advancement for Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), where club members were selling snacks and sharing the benefits of their club with event attendees.
SACNAS is dedicated to fostering the success of Latinx and Indigenous students in attaining advanced degrees, careers and positions of leadership in STEM, according to its Instagram.
Dalia Cruz, forensic biology junior and club member, said the club’s main purpose is to create a community for those who may need a safe space, and represent various ethnicities.
“We want to let people know that there are other people like them,” Cruz said. “We also don’t only want to invite people from one major, but we are interested in having various majors combined to just create a place where they can share their experiences and values.”
Cruz said she loves events like these because she enjoys seeing people from different backgrounds.
She also said the event has given their club a chance to build a network and guide individuals in a direction that will be most beneficial to them.
“It’s been really fun to share our culture with people, and to talk to people,” Cruz said. “There are so many international students here, and I’ve loved meeting people from different places.”
Next to the line of enthusiastic club members and volunteers encouraging students to spin a rainbow-tinted wheel to win prizes was a Spartan Eats tent, where a step-by-step tutorial for a pineapple-fusion drink was being demonstrated.
Students eagerly lined up to get a hold of paper cups filled with samples of the yellow drink, made of fresh orange, romaine lettuce, pineapple and a special ingredient — one purple onion.
Volunteers poured various samples of another beverage, Chinese tea, into detailed glass cups in front of the Student Union.
They wore vibrant, embroidered outfits to highlight part of their culture, and to share parts of themselves with the SJSU campus.
International Student & Scholar Services (ISS) employee Keri Toma stood next to the tea station, and said the fair is not only about the number of students that SJSU brings, but it is what the school is specifically doing to support those students while they attend.
“It’s what we are doing to get them engaged in the community,” Toma said. “I think it is really important that students are given the opportunity to discover themselves in new locations.”
Toma said connecting students with opportunities to study abroad is something she believes SJSU does quite well.
She also said the fair is an opportunity to showcase the diversity our campus has.“It’s not only our international students, but it is also our U.S. students who are very diverse,” Toma said. “Just bringing that to campus and highlighting the different cultures out here is beautiful.”
