Written by: Gabriella Grundy
This past Saturday night, Southern Adventist University’s Latin American Club (LAC) hosted its annual cultural event. A notably missing element that has been included in past programs is choreographed dancing, which will not be part of Black Christian Union’s (BCU) and Asian Club’s respective upcoming cultural nights, either.
The Student Development office announced a decision to prohibit dancing during cultural nights near the beginning of last semester, as reported in the Accent in September 2023. Vice president of Student Development Dennis Negrón stated that the university was “taking a year off [from dancing],” rather than banning it altogether.
“We have seen far less participation for this cultural night than we have in the past,” said Shayla Moguel-Coronel, senior psychology major and 2023-2024 LAC president. “A lot of us don’t feel comfortable having the spotlight on us, and dancing is really inclusive in that aspect, since you can dance with a lot of other people at the same time.”
Betsy Guerra, a freshman nursing major who attended LAC Night, said, “I would have participated, but it was hard with there being no dances.”
The main part of the night was a storyline written by Rebecca Vega, a senior education major and LAC Night director. The show had participants acting, singing and even playing soccer on stage.
“A lot of us don’t feel comfortable having the spotlight on us, and dancing is really inclusive in that aspect, since you can dance with a lot of other people at the same time.”
Lesieli Savelio, senior public relations and international studies – Spanish major who was one of the actresses for LAC Night, said, “Our director, Rebecca Vega, did an amazing job this year, especially with all of the challenges thrown her way. … I think it went really well overall, but I had several people tell me they miss the cultural dances and could really feel their absence from the show.”
“The most common thing I’m hearing over and over is, ‘Oh, you guys can’t dance, so what are you going to do?’ as if dancing is the whole night.”
The next cultural night to be held at Southern will be BCU Night on Feb. 24. Tenci Reid, senior broadcast journalism major and BCU president, also noted a decrease in participation this year.
Reid said, “I feel like dancing is a big way to get people involved, since you don’t have to do it alone like [for] singing or other things.”
Kirsten Saint-Aime, junior psychology major and BCU Night director, expressed disappointment in the decision against dancing but wants people to understand that dancing is just one part of these events.
“The most common thing I’m hearing over and over is, ‘Oh, you guys can’t dance, so what are you going to do?’ as if dancing is the whole night,” said Saint-Aime. She said she and the other BCU officers have worked hard to be creative about filling time that would normally be for dances, and she hopes people will be entertained and inspired by the show.
“People don’t really remember all the details or the lines that were said, … but the one thing they do remember is how they felt being there.”
The final cultural night of the semester is Asian Night, which will be Apr. 13. Ethan Dee, senior health science major and Asian Club president, said the club’s main focus has been to fill the time that would normally feature dancing with different forms of entertainment derived from each of the seven countries represented at Asian Night.
“I think we’ve accepted that there will not be dancing at all this year, so to keep harping on it wouldn’t solve the problem,” said Dee.
“I just hope that at the end of the day, Asian Night and the other cultural nights can create moments that bring people together,” he added. “People don’t really remember all the details or the lines that were said, … but the one thing they do remember is how they felt being there.”
