On a long blue table sits row upon a row of crispy, golden, empanadas — beef and chicken, among others. Students line up for the flaky delights.
It’s the International Lunch event at the Multicultural and Identity Center on the Larimer campus. Every year, the center invites FRCC students to try ethnic cuisine from a local restaurant.
Nothing brings people closer than sharing a meal together.
It’s all part of the center’s mission to serve as a point of connection for students to learn about the different communities from which their classmates come.
Joe Rankin, student engagement coordinator of the center, said he wants the space to be welcome for all to be themselves. It’s not just an area where people can study, hang out, and meet people. It’s a place where marginalized people can gather and celebrate their heritage and identity.
Some of the cultural events they’ve held in the past include Diwali (“Festival of Lights,” for Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs), Dia de los Muertos, and Eid al-Fitr, in which Muslims observe the end of Ramadan.
Rankin said he recognizes that he’s an “outsider” as a white person, so he makes an effort to collaborate with the communities that celebrate these events.
This sentiment is echoed by one of the center’s student workers, Emmit, who affirmed the importance of making these events authentic to honor and respect their origins.
It can be as small as the music choice in a previous International Lunch event through student recommendation (Egyptian ‘70s pop) or fact-checking the answers for a Kahoot game about LGBT history on National Coming Out day.
Emmit said the biggest joy of working at the center comes from seeing students attend these events and connecting with each other.
This sense of connection at the center resonates with another student worker, Valerie. She said that she loves working in the center because her team feels like family. For a Belarusian student like her, she said, this is her second home.
