2003 NACA Mid America in Peoria, IL

Session title:  "If Everyone's Invited, Why Aren't They Coming? Multicultural Programming Tips"

Presented by: Michael Nejman, Director of Student Activities, Harper College (IL) and consultant for High Impact Training (MN)

Abstract: This session focuses on building community on your campus and how to deal with real-life programming issues such as pitfalls to avoid, co-sponsorship and strategies to success.  Participants will also learn ten ways to improve attendance at multicultural events.  Time will be allotted for participants to share their success stories.

More than 100 participants attended this session from a wide variety of colleges from Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Michigan. 

The group generated a list of reasons why multicultural programming is imperative at college campuses; here are the highlights from that list:

• To be prepared for real life.
• Because our population is changing.
• To end discrimination.
•  To unify the campus.

We then reviewed the top 10 multicultural programming tips and the three ingredients for success (cash, credit and food!).  Afterward, we opened the floor to have school representatives share their successes (many are listed below) and problems (for the group to trouble-shoot). Here are the highlights of the successful programs:

• A Language Fair - This program featured mini-workshops where participants learned the basics (greetings, simple questions, basic etiquette, etc.) from a wide variety of languages.  Then, they had "Language Bingo" to test the group.  The program closed with an awards ceremony for those who were the most successful in retaining and using their newfound language skills.
• A Recipe-Food Program - This event featured a recipe book (for sale as a fundraiser) showcasing recipes from the various ethnic clubs on campus.  A celebration of the featured recipes gave participants a chance to taste this world menu.
• A Halloween party for children that brought all the college's clubs together in the celebration (promoting Unity through Diversity).
• A Multicultural Variety Show where ethnic/racial, religious, Gay pride, and students with disabilities campus clubs each receive a 15 to 20-minute segment to showcase some aspect of their culture (i.e. music, dance, poetry readings, history, etc.).  The event not only emphasizes the diversity of your campus, but also provides an opportunity to develop a broad audience of supporters from all of the groups showcased.
• One way to secure more students to attend a program is to feature more club names on the posters (co-sponsorships!!).  Having a variety of clubs involved in an event not only promotes unity, but it also aids in the marketing of the event on your campus (more hands make the workload lighter!).
• Another way to gain higher attendance is to do outreach to the movers'n'shakers on your campus.  By securing popular athletes, academic leaders, and other campus celebrities, students who normally wouldn't attend multicultural events might be persuaded to support the effort.

Edited by Michael Nejman ; if you circulate this document, please credit the author.  c/2003.