Rutgers—Newark hosts Student Organization Showcase, student leaders discuss cultural clubs
On January 24, 78 student organizations participated in the Student Organization Showcase for the Spring 2024 semester in the Paul Robeson Campus Center on the Rutgers—Newark campus, according to an Instagram post by the Newark campus's Office of Student Life and Leadership.
The Student Organization Showcase provides an opportunity for students on the Newark campus to interact with organizers of on-campus student organizations, according to the Welcome Week page by the Division of Student Affairs.
The Newark campus, recognized by The Wall Street Journal as the most diverse college in the Northeast in 2022, has several cultural student organizations dedicated to honoring diversity on campus.
One such group, the Rutgers Black Professionals Network (BPN), connects students with alumni and fosters academic and professional excellence, as previously reported by The Daily Targum. The BPN announced in an Instagram post that one of its first events of the semester was a Financial Literacy Workshop that occurred on February 7.
Also present at the event was the Organization of African Students (OAS), which hosts Dancerversity, a cultural dance and performing arts showcase that typically takes place annually, as well as Owambe, an annual fashion show. OAS shares African culture with the Rutgers community through performance and service, according to its getINVOLVED page.
"(We hope to) let everyone know that they're welcome to learn about Africa as a continent," Naomi Amadasun, a School of Arts and Sciences senior at Rutgers—Newark and secretary of OAS, said.
This semester, for the first time, the organization also plans to host an event titled "Fake Wedding Party," according to Chiamaka Nwanoro, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore at Rutgers—Newark and social media advisor of OAS.
The party, which aims to pay tribute to African wedding traditions, will take place on April 27, according to an Instagram post by OAS.
Dominican Talks, a nonprofit organization with a mission to embrace culture, build community and amplify those of Dominican heritage, plans to host the second-ever Diaspora Fest on February 22, according to a post on the group's Instagram page.
"We really want to talk more about ... (what it's like being Black) in the business world and the education world and what it really is to be a Black person in school," Amanda Franco, a Rutgers—Newark Business School sophomore and co-vice president of Dominican Talks, said.
