Kayla Missman
[follow id = “kaymissman”]
Open House isn’t the only opportunity for potential freshmen to get acquainted with campus — PolyCultural Weekend, which took place from April 4-6, is a venue for underrepresented students to get connected on campus, said Que Dang, the MultiCultural Center (MCC) assistant coordinator.
“It definitely promotes diversity and increases the pool of students that come here,” Dang said. “It’s one of the main efforts on campus to increase diversity and provide a welcoming environment.”
More than 60 percent of students who attend PolyCultural Weekend commit to Cal Poly, she said. Most students that come to the weekend are first-generation college students, and they say it’s very inspirational and personal — they get connected to a host, stay in the residence halls, connect with college deans and get a feel for the university, she said.
This year was one of the most-attended weekends; approximately 230 prospective freshmen participated. Dang said PolyCultural Weekend is entirely student-run, and at least 300 current students volunteered their time and homes to make the event possible. Check out four of the best moments from the weekend.
The Chinese Student Association and Pilipino Cultural Exchange greeted students and their parents as they entered the Julian A. McPhee University Union. These were two of the 21 cultural organizations that participated in the event.
The PolyCultural Weekend coordinators took a selfie with hosts and hostees, trending the hashtags #pcw14 and #reverseduckface.
Hostees were treated to dinner and a show on Saturday. Various clubs, such as the Indian Student Association, performed dances to showcase their culture.
As the potential freshmen were preparing to leave, hosts and hostees broke out into spontaneous line dancing.
Photos by Sophia Liu/Mustang News.