By Briahnna Brown
Hundreds of students came out to celebrate George Washington University’s diverse community with the Multicultural Student Services Center’s (MSSC) annual block party.
With dance music and hot dogs and burgers fresh from the grill, the university welcomed all members of the community on Friday evening with warm smiles and comradery. GW’s various student organizations set up booths at the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom and third-floor terrace so students could learn more about groups with whom they could share their interests. A part of Welcome Week, diverse student organizations also performed different routines for the crowd and showed the prospective members in GW community what they are all about.
President Thomas J. LeBlanc stopped by the event to welcome students back to campus and even participated in the Cha-Cha Slide with other members of the GW community. The annual faculty and staff Wobble line dance saw university administrators such as Associate Vice Provost and Dean of the Student Experience Cissy Petty joining in on the fun.
Michael Tapscott, director of the MSSC, said that events like this are important to give underrepresented communities a time to celebrate and an opportunity to be seen and heard. He added that the best part is the broad representation the event sees every year.
“You can come from a different background, or you can be from a different part of the country, but you can come together to celebrate each other when they sing, dance, chant and gather,” Mr. Tapscott said. “I think it's the best reflection of diversity and inclusion on our campus—there’s nothing like a block party at GW.”
Take a look at a photo gallery from this year’s festivities:
