Every year, cultures unite at Chico State through performance and art at Multicultural Night. The main emphasis of this year’s event was unity among cultures, including diversity in sororities and fraternities.

Although the event was free and open to the public, not everyone took advantage. The audience was filled with people of color, which is great, of course, but where were the white students and supporters? We cannot have a uniting system if every human being is not willing to participate. The event was not meant to exclude anyone, in fact, it was intended to bring cultures together and inform the crowd about culture through art.

That said, many cultures were present. A group of Hmong people danced with beautifully-crafted, colorful attire. Chicano students presented themselves with an Aztec dance, which helps get into a spiritual zone. The Afro-Caribbean dance class and the Brazlus, a Brazilian dance group, performed while taking the audience across the world.

Sororities and fraternities also showed their cultural values by sharing background information about themselves. For instance, members of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. described their journey in which they became the first Latino fraternity.

Hip-hop groups danced and shared a song about coming together. Chico State Pride recited a poem and the event ended with a performance by Full Force Dance Company.

For more than 30 years Multicultural Night has been occurring, showing the importance of having many cultures on campus— here’s to 30 more.

Valeria Flores can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.