Caribbean Americans celebrate culture at GIC

The sound of reggae music and the scents of Caribbean food drifted from the Greenfield Intercultural Center last night. Inside, the Caribbean-American Student Association was hosting a cultural workshop -- complete with dancing lessons and a cooking demonstration. College freshman Gravette Brown, secretary of CASA, said the evening was intended to educate the University community about the Caribbean's dialects, dance, cooking styles, history and culture. "We want to teach people about different aspects of the Caribbean besides what one may find out as a tourist in the area," she said. Wharton senior Anya Parkes, former president of CASA, explained that the group tried to have all the different cultures of the Caribbean represented. "We wanted a well-rounded look at all the islands and how they are different nations," she said. "It was really interesting. I learned that it can be difficult to dance to Reggae," College freshman Vivian Ruperto said. "But it was cool to learn [here] by oneself." College freshman Karlene O'Hara agreed. "I'm from Jamaica so this is really fun for me," she explained. "I haven't danced reggae for a long time so it was great doing it here with other people." CASA President Hugh Harmon, an Engineering sophomore, conducted a reggae dancing workshop. As someone from the Caribbean, Harmon said he learned reggae from his family and from going to clubs. College senior Christina Kononenko noted that while Harmon was teaching reggae, the new dancers seemed embarrassed. "They first are embarrassed because they see [the dancing] as strange," she said. "But once they learn the basic dancing techniques and start improvising, they have a good time." Engineering sophomore Jason McHugh was the leader for a dialect workshop. He explained that many new words in the Caribbean language come from popular culture. "Often words from songs often become the hot new words in Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean," he said. Last night's Interactive Workshop was part of a week long series of events planned by CASA to expose the University community to Caribbean culture.

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