The Office of Residence Life will host its annual event, "Carpe Diem," on Oct. 24 in the Student Recreation Center-North. Carpe diem, which translates to "seize the day," is a free event for Southeast Missouri State University students, faculty and staff as well as Cape Girardeau community members.

"It's a very fun event for Southeast students, friends and family to come together to unite under one 'ethnic umbrella,'" said Gwendolyn Duncan, the Coordinator of Administrative Operations for Residence Life. "This diversity event was established so that we could have the opportunity to experience various cultures basically simultaneously, because it's all under one roof."

Authentic food, fashion, expressive art (henna tattooing and crafts) and dancing are just some of the things to look forward to at Carpe Diem.

This year's featured cuisine is a Jamaican curry, rice, southeast Asian samosas and a Hispanic dessert called tembleque.

"You can pick and choose what you do at the event," Duncan said. "Whether you want to experience it through the food, the fashion show, the dance performances or anything else we have available."

While Residence Life is the host and financial sponsor of the event, much of Carpe Diem's success is attributed to Southeast's international students because they bring their homeland traditions to be shared with everyone in attendance.

"You meet people from different countries and learn about them," Raphael Pellenard, an international student from France, said. "You know, there are a ton of international students here and they all have something special because they come from different places, and I think if you don't come to this kind of event you cannot get the full experience of college because you will never have this many different cultures around you in your life again so you may as well make the most of it."

According to Sindupa De Silva, a graduate assistant in the Office of Residence Life and international student from Sri Lanka, this year Carpe Diem will be set up like a marketplace or "bazaar."

Southeast international students will have stands set up to represent their home countries where they will be displaying things like ornaments, religious items, clothing or even small presentations on laptops. De Silva said many of the countries will be giving away small souvenirs that represent their culture.

"We're trying to create this atmosphere where when you walk in, you feel like you're walking around a market, but also traveling around the world," De Silva said.

At the end of the evening, there is a large dance on stage for everyone to join in.

"The dance is the best part," Pellenard said. "The first few minutes everyone is always a little shy, but in the next few minutes everyone is dancing even if they don't know how to dance. Some people are dancing Indian, some African, some, you know, anything. It's really cool."

Carpe Diem's attendance has grown every year and last year between 500 and 600 people came to the event.

Duncan said everyone is encouraged to come, and that American students shouldn't feel like this event is not for them. It's for everyone.

"We're ready to seize the day and seize the moment to stop and reflect on the great cultural diversity we have on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University," Duncan said.