SCTCC’s newest club has already planned and hosted an event on campus: the Nepalese Student Association celebrated Teej on Friday, Sept. 5, with a gala.
With a strong Nepalese international student population, the club brought this festival to SCTCC for the first time this year.
“For us international students, celebrating Teej here in the US is a way to keep that cultural spirit alive while also sharing its empowering message with a wider community,” said club president Aveen Sunar.
Teej is a festival held in the Nepalese culture to celebration women’s empowerment, including strength, sisterhood, and spiritual devotion. With women dressed in red, Teej is filled with music, dancing, singing, fasting, feasting, and celebrating their power. Additionally, Teej brings into focus dialog concerning women’s equality, social change, and gender relations.
During SCTCC’s celebration, students decorated the Commons with bright colors and provided mango lassi, a drink like a smoothie, as folks entered. SCTCC President Lori Kloos welcomed everyone to the event, and members of the club spoke briefly about the event and themselves. Director of the Multicultural Center Njeri Clement was one of the guest speakers, sharing words of encouragement about women’s empowerment and equality.
Attendees were delighted when dancers dressed in red danced the welcome song, followed by drumming, singing, more dancing, and Nepalese food prepared by the club members. After-dinner entertainment included a dance-off, which morphed into a dance party.
“Back in spring when the Nepalese Student Association was first forming, I remember them explaining all of these ideas they had for programming and being part of the campus community,” shared Shaun Keeley, Director of Campus Life. “What struck me about everything I heard from them was how student led and driven it was, and I got really excited about the opportunity to simply work with them, guide them, and be part of what they were creating.”
The Teej Gala was a perfect demonstration of student-led events that share their cultural background as well as involve and invite all to participate. We are looking forward to seeing what the Nepalese Student Association invite us to next!