1998 Miracle Yearbook

by Tim Hotchkiss Cultural Fest 1998 a n y Cedarville studentscome from small townsand have little intercultural experience. Known to some as "The Bubble", Cedarville would insulate studentseven further against cultural awareness if it were not for the cultural organi- zations that have been started around campus. These organiza- tionsareBetaRhoDelta,IotaChiPhi, Mu Kappa,and the Spanish Club. In some way,all ofthese orga- nizationspromoteculturalaware- ness here atCedarville. BetaRho Delta(the German Club)focuses ontheGermanculture. TheSpan- ish Club helps make students Kenneth Waldock attends the Indian booth at Cedarville's annual Culture Fest. 158 campus life aware of Spanish cultures. Iota Chi Phi promotes general cul- tural awareness. Finally, Mu Kappa focuses on serving the needsofinternationalstudentsand missionary kids(MKs). MostCedarvillestudentsknow atleastoneotherstudentwhowas raised as an MK. One of these MKs is Ben Nordaas, a senior elementary education major. Nordaas was raised on the mis- sion field in Brazil. Preparing to come to Cedarville, he attended an MK school. After living in Brazil most of his life, Nordaas said, "I thoroughly enjoyed it. I call Brazil my home - after 17 years of the same place, I think anyone would. It wasn't all too dissimilar to [the United States] with some exceptions ofthe cul- ture, but mostly the language. I know English well enough but enjoy speaking Portuguese,too." Nordaas continued to say that many Cedarville students have at least some interest in cultural awareness, whether it is the de- sire to hear stories aboutthe mis- sion field or the pursuit oflearn- ing about other cultures. Cedarville's cultural organiza- tions seek to address the needs of international students and MKs,as well as students whoseek to learn more about other cultures. We are fortunatetohaveorganizationssuch astheseto bring a new perspective to the Cedarville bubble. Andrea Weber partici- pates in one of many ethnic games of Culture Fest.