Office of Empowerment celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
Esperanza Meisch serves students falafel, hummus, and pita bread. Photo by Nicole Wadkins.
By Nicole Wadkins
Staff Reporter
On April 8, the Office of Empowerment (OE) hosted its fourth Taste of Culture event, focusing on Arab American culture in recognition of Arab American Heritage Month.
The Taste of Culture events help introduce students to different cultures. Interim Chief Diversity Officer for the Office of Empowerment Tanya McClain expressed, “Our mission is to produce global students, and how can you do that if they don’t have the opportunity to experience other cultures?” With the Detroit metropolitan area being home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country, this event gave students a chance to engage with a culture from their own statewide community.
OE staff who helped organize the event spoke with Arab American students and worked with Sultan’s Express on Washington Avenue to help select the best food for the occasion. In the end, the food served was falafel, hummus, and pita bread. “This seemed to be the food that was pretty common across all of the [Arab] cultures,” McClain explained.
Each table at the event had coffee candy and highlighted a different Arab country with fun facts and information about the region’s different cultures and traditions. To help create an inviting atmosphere, there was music playing in the background while PowerPoint showed different countries and information. “Having individuals come into the Office of Empowerment and experience building relationships with different cultures is what we like to see,” McClain said.
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