Dinner welcomes international students

Dinner welcomes international studentsNovember 18, 2003Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Some of Syracuse University’s international students and scholars will be treated to their first tastes of turkey and pumpkin pie during Syracuse University’s 24th Annual International Thanksgiving Celebration, to be held Nov. 23 in the Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium. More than 500 international students, scholars and their families are expected to attend the dinner, which will begin at 5:30 p.m.

The annual feast is sponsored by Hendricks Chapel, the Division of Student Affairs and the Lillian and Emanuel Slutzker Center for International Services. Trimmings such as dressing, mashed potatoes and cranberry relish are part of the dinner, which is designed to introduce newly arrived international students and scholars to the American Thanksgiving tradition. The meal is served family style, and members of the University and Syracuse communities are involved as table hosts, keeping the conversation lively and answering questions about the celebration.

“This is the nicest event of the year,” says Patricia Burak, director of the Slutzker Center. “We highlight the diversity of our international community, and at the same time welcome them to a traditional American event.”

The Rev. Thomas V. Wolfe, dean of Hendricks Chapel, and Burak will serve as co-hosts. Greetings will be offered by Chancellor and President Kenneth A. Shaw and Mary Ann Shaw, associate of the Chancellor; and Cornelius B. Murphy Jr., president of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Angie Sarid and Mounir-Maurice C. Doumani, president and vice president of the Association of International Students at SU, will also greet the guests.

Musical entertainment by the African Dance and Drum Ensemble, led by David Etse Nyadedzor, will follow the dinner.

The dinner is made possible by the generosity of donors throughout the community, and organizers have found that some donations come from the most unexpected sources. Some of the candy that children will receive at the dinner was donated by a local orthodontist, Dr. Mark Paciorek, who runs a Halloween candy “buyback” program for his patients.

Other donors to this year’s event include Ameripride Linen & Apparel Service; Paul deLima Coffee; Johnson Paper; Kaufmann’s; Maines; Peter’s Grocery; Samir’s Import; Syracuse Banana; Sysco Foods; Upstate Farms; Westcott Florist; Spectrum Foods; Empire State Venture Corp.; U.S. Foodservice; SU Food Services; the Islamic Society of Central New York; the Slutzker Center; SU Bookstore; Plainville Turkey Farms; and Village Office Supply.