Fulbright Celebrates Diversity and Multiculturalism

By Lauren Krakau

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fulbright Scholars at the University of Arkansas invite all students to celebrate “Fulbright Holiday Forum: Diversity and Multiculturalism at the University of Arkansas” from 5:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec 4, at the Reynolds Center Auditorium.

Fulbright Scholars at the University of Arkansas RSO contact, Sergio Mosquera said this event decided to use these topics for the forum because they feel our campus is composed of domestic and international students that have different backgrounds.

“We certainly have a strong international community that is somehow impacting the future of this campus as well as the future of the Fayetteville’s town,” Mosquera said. “We believe in the dream of Senator Fulbright which has to be with the International educational exchange in an effort to humanize mankind.”

According to remarks of the thirtieth anniversary of the Fulbright Program in 1976, Senator Fulbright said “International educational exchange is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that men can learn to live in peace–eventually even to cooperate in constructive activities rather than compete in a mindless contest of mutual destruction…We must try to expand the boundaries of human wisdom, empathy, and perception, and there is no way of doing that except through education.”

Mosquera said Senator Fulbright’s goals about International collaboration between other countries and the American society live within the core of the Fulbright Scholars at the U of A.

“We are a group of students from different countries, sponsored by the Fulbright Program, and we are here to strengthen the bonds between America and the countries we are from,” Mosquera said. “There’s no other way to do that than letting us live and study within the American society and letting Americans live and study in our countries.”

He said this forum will be beneficial for the campus community because it will show how different RSO’s networks are creating these changes in the campus community and the Fayetteville’s town. He also said speakers at this event will talk about how the campus has changed over the years and how international students and domestic students have been part of that change.

Students could get their free tickets prior to the event last Thursday and Friday, but Mosquera said tickets should still be available.

“We are almost done with the tickets distribution, that was free for students,” said Mosquera. “However, this is just a control for the number of students that will be present in the free-dinner we will be offering that night and think that still, anyone can attend this event.”