Three Manhattanville Students help keep the International Bazaar a Manhattanville Tradition

Written by Steven Willis

Cultural and ethnic diversity remains a pillar at Manhattanville College, a fact celebrated at the 37th Annual International Bazaar on March 21.

Each year the International Bazaar is coupled with Undergraduate Admissions Board of Trustees Weekend, in which accepted students receiving the Board of Trustees Scholarship are invited to spend a night at the College and be a part of one of Manhattanville’s biggest traditions.

During the event the entire East Room is decorated with flags from every country represented in the student body, along with different foods from all over the globe and there are student performances throughout the evening. The highlight of the night is the Manhattanville Fashion Show where students don traditional clothes from their home countries. 

This Manhattanville custom and highly anticipated event was in jeopardy earlier this year when Director of International Services L.A. Adams stepped down as the events official advisor. Fortunately, Vice President of Undergraduate Enrollment Management Nikhil Kumar and  Director of Admissions Joe Cosentino decided to step in as the new advisors. They, along with sophomores Melanie Santos, Gary Chou, and Dylan Rich, all members of the International Student Organization, worked together to keep the nearly 40-year-old tradition alive.  

“We didn’t just want the (International Bazaar) to disappear” said Santos, “We wanted to take it on make it bigger and see it grow”.

Kumar and Cosentino saw the Bazaar as a potential learning tool for the students, to develop skills they will use beyond college. So they gave them the opportunity to organize the entire event with little interference. The students were able to work with the budget, pick the food, and even develop the theme for an event that had nearly 600 in attendance.

“Events of this magnitude bring students together” said Chou, an international student from Taiwan, “It generates school spirit and makes students want to participate.”  

“I can’t explain how proud I am of us,” Rich said, “Seeing how big of an event it is, and how happy it makes students, and the fact we set up what students will remember as the International Bazaar 2014.”

The College is routinely praised for its emphasis on global outreach, and was ranked 12th on the Newsweek Daily Beast’s “Best School for Foreign Students,” in 2012. In the listing Manhattanville received an “A-,” diversity ranking for its contribution to helping create a diverse environment, and providing ample amount of services and financial aid resulting in an easy transition for international students.