Shrijana Tuladhar
Contributing Writer
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Cady Stribling
Features Editor
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In a celebration of cultures, students of all backgrounds danced and dined the night away at the fourth annual Diversity Ball. The event provides a place for the University community to gather for a night of fun music, good food and great people.

Held in the the Murray Room of the CFSB Center, students were able to meet many new people and win gift card prizes.

Cultural exchange ambassadors Raaj Jadhwani and Fatima Tarhab, both from Pakistan, wore their national dress at the ball. Jadhwani’s traditional attire represents his province from Pakistan, the design being about 5,000 years old.

Martha Briones, sophomore from Island, Kentucky, is part of the Office of Multicultural Initiatives and assisted in planning the Diversity Ball. She believes culturally immersive events like the Diversity Ball bring people together.

“It gives an opportunity to meet other students from diverse backgrounds,” Briones said. “I met two exchange students from Moscow and learned a bit about their experience at MSU.”

S.G. Carthell, executive director of the OMI, said the idea of a Diversity Ball came from his past interactions with international students as an undergraduate and when he worked for Florida and Ohio institutions.

The idea became a reality at Murray State.

“We started four years ago here in Murray State and thought it would be a good idea to have a nice event where people can dress up, come have a good time and share different cultures,” Carthell said.

The Diversity Ball is a way to provide these types of opportunities for students.

“The diversity ball was designed to help bring all the cultures together, and since it started, it gets better and better each year,” Carthell said.

Carthell said it’s important for students who come to college to meet people from different backgrounds, build relationships with them and gain knowledge about each other’s cultures through events like the Diversity Ball.

“I’m from Muncie, Indiana,” Carthell said. “You may never get to Muncie, Indiana, but you may get to Muncie through me.”

Carthell said he was pleased to see the number of people show up at the ball this year. Last year, many students were unable to attend the ball because of the weather.

At the Diversity Ball, a DJ played a wide variety of music while students danced with glow-in-the-dark bangles, glasses and bunny ears. The food was provided by Sodexo with a generous donation from Shogun, and all the expenses were covered by OMI, Akindale said.

Second year master’s student Ifeoluwa Akindele has been part of the planning and coordinating team for the event since 2017. In the future, she hopes the ball will expand to include cultural performances and presentations.

Abdullah Alhazmi, senior and officer of ISO from Saudi Arabia, said the campus is improving its diversity, but that international groups are still separated.

“Events like these give an opportunity to break such separation between the different groups on campus,” Alhazmi said.

The Diversity Ball was sponsored by the OMI, the International Student Organization and Student Leadership and Inclusive Excellence.