Countless times throughout the school year, students are reminded to place emphasis on the importance of diversity within our student body through the saying, “Youth from every quarter.” The phrase is well justified, as the Phillips Academy student body consists of students from 23 countries and 47 different states, with over ten percent international students. This immense amount of diversity was epitomized at the International Festival, hosted by the International Club, where food from nearly every quarter of the world was sold. A delicious array of sushi, pad-thai, pizza and Chinese food was arranged outside of the Underwood Room last Saturday, May 24. The constant hustle and bustle of students and cheery atmosphere created the perfect venue for a deliciously international dinner for students waiting for the main event of the night, the Battle of the Bands outside Samuel Phillips Hall. Good food, people and conversation attracted various members of our community to the event. “The festival went fantastically. Through the many generous donations made by downtown restaurants, all the food we sold was pure profit, which translated to a lot more money to help the Chinese earthquake victims and the cyclone-stricken Burmese,” said co-head of International Club, Tim Wong ’09. He continued, “One notable moment was when Will Burke ‘09 came up with the idea to hawk pizza outside at the Battle of the Bands. It was a huge success and we got rid of all the pizza, all the while enjoying the atmosphere and the great music outside.” The International Club’s mission is to celebrate and recognize all the different nationalities represented on campus through meetings, festivals and presentations. They meet on a regular basis to discuss various global issues and learn more about each other’s cultures. Most importantly, however, the International Club organizes an orientation program at the beginning of each year for students of international origin. “I loved International Orientation. It allowed me get to know a smaller group of people before transitioning into the PA community. We got along very well because I could relate to a lot of the things that the fellow international students were going through including homesickness, introduction to the dorm life and jetlag. All those name games were worth it in the end; I developed some valuable friendships with kids from all over the world from just those few days of orientation,” said Mollie Lee ’10. After a highly successful food festival and the conclusion of the Battle of the Bands, students made their way to the Underwood Room, where the International Festival dance took place. “It was just like any other dance, except it was sponsored by the International Club instead of the Student Activities Board. I think people had a good time; I didn’t really hear any major complaints from anyone, so I’d say it was pretty successful,” said Michael Yoon ’10.
