Arlington High School hosted its first-ever student-run multicultural night.
The event, held on April 9 with a crowd of people of all ages, included student clubs and cultural organizations, food from local restaurants, and cultural performances in the auditorium.
Swaga Jha, a junior at Arlington High School, is one of the founders of this event and one of the co-leaders for the South Asian Affinity Group. Jha, along with Anoushka Shesh, another co-leader for the affinity group, started working on this project in the fall.
“My whole idea throughout this was learning through immersion rather than just learning through being talked at, you know?” Jha said.
Jha said she wants to ensure that the multicultural night becomes an annual event. “I think such an important piece of celebrating our identity is making sure that we remember our culture,” she said.
Chelsea Walsh, a social worker at the high school, was one of the advisers who helped the students plan the event.
Walsh said Jha and Shesh reached out to all of the schools in Arlington and their Parent Teacher Organizations, made sure to post the flyer for the event on parent Facebook groups and gave their flyers to local businesses to spread the word about the night.
Jha’s internship with the Arlington Human Rights Commission allowed her to reach out to other town affinity groups for the event, Walsh said.
‘It’s hard when you do someone else’s vision to see what it’s going to be like,” Walsh said, “but now that I’m here, this is the coolest thing. I’m just really grateful.”
Hannah Stern, a senior, and Victoria Lessa, a junior, two of the leaders for the Latino Student Union, presented their group at the event. The student union was formed last year by two seniors, Lessa said.
“They left the club to us, so we could continue making space for all the Latino people, and for people that always wanted to learn about Latino culture,” Lessa said.
The Latin Student Union also organizes events like dance classes with other affinity groups at the school and hosts parties that allow them to show off their culture, Lessa said. She said the group always does something for different Hispanic holidays with the school.
The student union also participates in inclusion workshops where students cook foods from different countries for students to try, Stern said.
“We welcome anyone that wants to come,” Lessa said of the student union. “They don’t have to be Latino. If they have some type of interest, we’re always here.”
Maya Venkatesh, a senior and a co-leader for the Young Feminist Alliance, also presented her club at the event.
Venkatesh said the club has discussions, does outreach and has a monthly newsletter where it tries to raise awareness about various issues.
Their display at the event focused on intersectionality and showcased different books focused on that topic.
“I think it’s just a really good environment,” Venkatesh said about the club. “It’s really nice to have a place where I can come talk with other women my age, and some older women, about these issues.”
Ivanina Nedeltched, Deana Nedelteched and Nikola Koleb, the leaders of the Eastern European Club, presented their cultural club that started this year. Deana said this was their first major event.
“We try to bring awareness and celebrate the Eastern European cultures,” Koleb said. “We’re all Bulgarian, so that’s what we brought to the table today.”
Their table had different foods for people to try.
“Everyone’s so sweet,” Deana said, “There’s a lot of love. And a lot of love for food, too.”
The night ended with six performances, including a violin player who played traditional Jewish melodies, a woman who performed a Hindi dance, a Mandarin class that performed a Chinese square dance, and an Afghan student and piano teacher who played the piano.
Arson Fahin, the Afghan piano teacher who performed and spoke at the event, is a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Fahin said he was invited to the event by his student Subhan Sulaimani, who is a sophomore at the high school.
Fahin said he arrived in America just days before the Taliban took over and banned music in Afghanistan.
“Anytime I get the chance to tell, especially younger people, about what’s going on in Afghanistan it’s really meaningful to me,” Fahin said.
Deanna Witter, a paraprofessional at the Gibbs School, runs a culture club at the middle school. Witter said the Gibbs School also has a culture night, but mainly families with sixth graders show up to those events. “Here, I think we’re gonna get a bigger mix,” Witter said.
“I always support people having a better understanding of the diversity that is available to us,” Witter said.