At Carpe Diem Spring 2012, students had the opportunity to take a break from end-of-semester stress and immerse themselves in multicultural entertainment. Southeast students and staff as well as members of the Cape Girardeau community attended the event Saturday night at the University Center.
Carpe Diem began with a fashion show where students from a variety of countries and cultures showcased traditional dress. The rest of the evening was filled with ethnic music and dancing. Performances included music from The Southern Illinois West African Drumming Ensemble, a traditional dance by Nepalese students, dance routines performed by Southeast's Theatre and Dance Department and a traditional Chinese fan dance.
"I just loved the performance by Southern Illinois West African Drumming Ensemble," said Monika Emany, a Southeast student from India. " I noticed everyone dancing to those tunes. Each and every performance was mind blowing. Especially the Bollywood performance, hats off to the choreographer."
Attendees could also receive a free henna tattoo, have a caricature drawn and have a postcard photo taken. The free event also included ethnic foods prepared by international students.
Southeast student Sarah Little said she felt that the event didn't live up to the hype. She said the food and the DJ's music selections were not as good as she had hoped for, but she was very pleased with the fashion show and the cultural performances.
"I thought that these showed a lot of the cultural diversity we have here at SEMO," Little said. "To me, the student performances were the highlight of the night."
Carpe Diem is a semi-annual event hosted by the Office of Residence Life and planned by a committee of students representing different cultures and different organizations. According to organizers, the event celebrates all the different students on campus and educates the community about different cultures.
"I had a great time being with people from different countries," Emany said. "It was very well organized. [I'm] Looking forward for more events."
