Beginning in the 1950s, International Students Night featured student performances and exhibits of the countries represented at the College. The event was held annually by the International Club, which combined the earlier Cosmopolitan Club and the International Students Committee. The club also sponsored dinners, auctions, newsletters, and informal lectures on world events, with the goal of “promot[ing] the study of other cultures and the development of friendship among people from different cultures.” The proceeds from International Students Night, as well as the profits from cakes baked by faculty and community members for the show, went to support the International Students Fund.
“By enjoying these cultural differences, I do not mean, of course, that we should enjoy these cultures because they are strange and exotic. On the contrary, exoticism, as it is well known, is the most insidious form of racism. I mean the kind of enjoyment that comes from accepting a different point of view on things as interesting, valid, and not at all strange.” – Marylin Jiménez. Choragos, November 15, 1979.
