Tables decorated with flags and colors of cultural significance split the Aloha Center Mall into two corridors. New freshman filed in with the rest of the student body to sign up for different Student Associations in the event known as World Fest, which ran from Thursday, Nov. 19 to Friday, Nov. 20.
Some new freshman students were a little stunned at first by all of the excitement. Blake Smith, a computer science major from Mesa, Ariz., said he had just awoken from a nap “to a text that this was going on. It’s a little overwhelming just because I just woke up. It’s kind of loud but I like it.”
Other freshmen felt completely in their element. Marley Wilson from Florida, who is majoring in psychology, said, “I’m used to partying hard. [With] all [that’s going on], I feel actually more at home here, than I have anywhere else. I can be myself more.”
Ammon Autle, a freshman from American Samoa majoring in business management, said of the event, “I think it’s cool. Everybody gets to have a sense of pride and gets to meet other cultures.”
Kaylie Searle, a business major from Colorado echoed Autle’s sentiment and said, “I love the community and the feel and how everyone knows each other.”
Some students’ only complaint was there won’t be enough time to attend all of the different Student Association meetings, as some are on the same days as others.
DJ Burgess, a freshman with an undecided major from Samoa, said, “It’s fun. I’d say that there are a lot of clubs that have the same times, so it’s hard to choose.”