Campus celebrates Canadian Multiculturalism Day on Main Quad

The Alumni Student Support and Engagement Team (ASSET), Graduate Students’ Association (GSA), and International Students’ Association (ISA) organized a celebration of Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27. 

The celebration took place on Main Quad with food, outdoor games, and performances. The Campus Food Bank (CFB), Campus and Community Recreation, the University of Alberta’s International Student and Visitor Services (ISVS), and the Latin American Students’ Association (LASA) were also present. 

The ISA’s Co-Vice-president (communications) Manyu Rathour spoke to The Gateway.

He said the celebration of multiculturalism is dependent on the groundwork of many Indigenous nations and Indigenous Peoples. 

“The way that we are here right now, building community, is only from reflection of the path that [Indigenous Peoples] have built for us,” Rathour said. “We are glad that they’re holding our hands and taking us forward into this beautiful country and this amazing land that we get to be able to connect with because of them and their support.”

He said the event was meant to build community with many international students who are still on campus for the summer.

“I can speak on behalf of international students that many students do not get to go home. Be it because of financial conditions, maybe because different countries are under insecurity and war.”

Rathour said it was a big joy for the different associations to come together and put this event on and be able to foster community.

“I feel like this is a good change [from] the regular, monotonous summer,” Rathour said. 

He said he hopes “for international students to see that someone cares, that there’s something happening for them.”

A time to connect and reflect

The GSA welcomed Florence Glanfield, the University of Alberta’s vice-provost (Indigenous programming and research) to kick off the celebration with a speech.

Glanfield acknowledged that multiculturalism hasn’t always included Indigenous Peoples. The 1988 Canadian Multiculturalism Act did not include Indigenous Peoples, Glanfield said. But Glanfield said that Indigenous Peoples are multicultural.

Glanfield declined a request for an interview at the event.

The Gateway spoke to Kumarie Achaibar-Morrison, the director of ISVS. The Executive Director of the CFB, Yetayale Tekle, also joined the interview. 

Achaibar-Morrison said that the GSA, ISA, and ASSET approached the ISVS about the event. She said the ISVS student engagement co-ordinator provided a point of collaboration with the event.

Tekle said the CFB was also approached by the GSA to join the event. He said the CFB “wanted to be part of the event because equity, diversity, and inclusion have been part of our mandate for a long period.”

He said making sure that the CFB is engaging with community members, potential or current volunteers, and folks who currently or will potentially access the CFB is important.

Achaibar-Morrison said that she hoped students could meet in a low-key situation, eat some food, and make a friend. She also hoped this would be a time for students to think about what land they are on, who are the people who came before them, and what they may contribute. 

“All of those things happen organically, but they also happen intentionally because we invite people to reflect and have those conversations,” Achaibar-Morrison said. 

She said they were lucky to have Glanfield set that context for them with her speech.

“Not everything can happen in a structured classroom way. Sometimes the spark and the invitation comes very informally,” she said.

Tekle added that “having these moments to pause and engage with our diverse communities is important.”