February 18, 2008

Purdue Housing and Food Services celebrates Black History month

A special menu of authentic African food was offered at Windsor's Soho serving station, including African jollof rice with chicken, peri peri chicken, African maize and spinach, cornbread and Akara (black eye pea purée mixed with onion, Serrano pepper and eggs, all deep-fried). 

The Housing and Food Services diversity work group filled the Windsor lobby with art and décor borrowed from the Black Cultural Center and with displays highlighting important African-Americans. Visitors were able to converse with members of Purdue's Black Caucus, a support network organization of black faculty and staff.

The event organizers, Willie Cruz, Housing and Food Services' cultural programs administrator, and James Foster, University Residences' diversity and community coordinator, are part of an administrative team that received the 2007 Golden Award from the National Association of College Auxiliary Services in recognition of staff diversity programs. Cruz said that Purdue can become more unified when it celebrates its diversity.

"It is natural that Housing and Food Services should take a leading role in this effort. People from all over the world live, eat and work in our facilities," Cruz said. "One of the most effective ways that people can share their culture with others is by breaking bread over native food."

Two more Cultural Nights at Windsor: Cultural Journeys through Food, Music, and Crafts are scheduled for this semester. Women's History Month will be celebrated on March 20 and Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month will be celebrated on April 9. Last semester Native American, Italian American and Latino heritage months were celebrated at Windsor. More information about the program is available online at https://www.housing.purdue.edu/HTML/HRMulticultural

At each event visitors are encouraged to take a 10-question quiz about that night's cultural presentation. Participants will be entered to win an iPod in an April drawing.

Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu

Source: Willie Cruz, (765)494-0922, wcruz@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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