San Juan Hills High Goes Multicultural

By Tracy Parco

EDITOR'S NOTE: Patch has teamed up with The Express, the student newspaper at San Juan Hills High, to bring you news reports from the school.

With almost 7 billion people living on earth, divided into 196 countries and each with their own culture and way of life, it's hard to know all of them. But on Friday, the world comes to you, if you're a San Juan Hills student.

More than 40 clubs at will represent a different country, enlightening students about a variety of ethnicities.

“The purpose of the Multicultural Fair is to expose our students about the different cultures around the world,” said Gladys Garcia, Associated Student Body multicultural commissioner.

Garcia works hard throughout the year to put this event together, planning all the details and contacting various people to ensure the event goes off without a hitch, she said.

More than just a lunch-hour activity, the Multicultural Fair is a week-long event, which will host a series of activities and programs set to engage SJHHS students and staff, Garcia said.

The fair itself will be held during tutorial and lunch in the quad, each club with a booth decked in the finest their country has to offer, she said.

“In the past, ASB has put up flags around the school which look really cool," said junior Jessica Luna. "You don’t realize how small we are in comparison to the rest of the world until you see all these other places. I’m really looking forward to Multicultural Fair because it’s always interesting to learn about other cultures. 

"The food is always good, too,” Luna said. 

Most clubs try to incorporate food into their booth; however, this year the clubs are required to also have a poster and background information at their table to center the event on each individual country’s culture, Garcia said. 

Kiki Hui, President of Interact Club said her club will have a table for Jamaica.

Her club "will be selling chips and salsa and guava juice. Multicultural fair is a really good opportunity for us to promote Interact Club while also raising some money. It’s a unique fundraiser, and it’s nice because each year, we can represent a different country,” she said.

Similarly, Ally Greene, president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, said that with Haiti as his group's country, members are planning to offer chicken, riceand grape soda at their booth, while raising awareness of their country’s culture and atmosphere.

According to Sarah Entezari, ASB club commissioner, the event has been around since the school opened in 2007 and has been popular among students ever since.

“It is mandatory for clubs to participate. Some clubs are Anime Club representing Japan, Hispanic Career Club representing Mexico, Save the Mermaids representing Costa Rica and UNICEF representing South Africa,” Garcia said.

– Tracy Parco is a senior at San Juan Hills High.