One of the foundations of the Lake Forest College Forester Five is student development through “embracing diversity. This consists of accepting differences, intercultural understanding, and celebration of differences that the institution values.
Lake Forest College values diversity because it enhances the learning experience for students by being part of an environment with people that actively share a wide range of opinions, perspectives, and experiences that they can share with the rest of the community.
The Lake Forest College community is significantly diverse. According to Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Intercultural Relations Erin Hoffman, the College “has students from more than 40 states and 70 countries, encompassing various religious backgrounds, racial ethnicities, classes, gender identities, and sexual orientations.”
Diversity is widely celebrated on campus through events such as Global Fest that are hosted by the Office of Intercultural Relations. During Global Fest, students participate by showcasing cultural outfits, attending global discussions and the annual cultural gala, and learning about other cultures through music and dance at Globalpalooza.
This year at Globalpalooza, Lake Forest students connected with other members of the community by listening and dancing to live music by the Official Reggae movement, DJ Sound Culture, and ESSO Afrojam Funkbeat. A student from Jamaica, Toni Myers ‘18, enjoyed the performance since “the Official Reggae Movement tends to add modern twists to old tracks” from her home country. Various student organizations engaged members of the community by encouraging them to take part in activities that raised more awareness about different cultures, current issues, and identities.
At the United Black Association and Pride booths, students designed colored bracelets to celebrate various identities on campus. At the Students for Women’s Awareness Network (SWAN) booth, students collected stickers and painted rocks to showcase their feminist pride.
At this year’s Annual Intercultural Gala, there were musical performances by Almedin Smajlovic ’18, Hakob Parsamyan ’20 and the choir, dance performances by Latinos Unidos and Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Enrique Treviño and his wife; and a fashion show hosted by Evelyn Bello ’17.
One of the most memorable performances was by Parsamyan from Armenia. He sang a song titled “Hayastan,” which is the Armenian name of his home country. According to Parsamyan, the song is of great importance since “it reflects the terrible past of Armenia full of genocide, war, and massacres—where Armenians lost both land and people—and it talks about how there will be positive hope and light that will come to Armenia.”
During the fashion show, different countries such as Nigeria, Hungary, Armenia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and Mexico were on parade. Ramóna Györfi showcased Hungary by wearing her national “Csárdás” costume. The red, white, and green colors on her costume represented the Hungarian flag. Prior to the 19th century, only nobles wore the costume. Today, all women wear the costume for festivals, weddings, and other special occasions.
Lake Forest College also ensures that there are opportunities for students to learn about cultural diversity through exciting academic programs, lectures, discussions and courses such as African American Philosophy, Black Metropolis, Global Islam, Ritual in Contemporary America, Chinese Art and Culture, and Colonial Latin American Art.
It is a combination of all these events, student organizations, the Office of Intercultural Relations and faculty support that makes Lake Forest College rich in its support and enhancement of cultural diversity at every possible level of student life.
