NEWS
5
NOV 21, 2016
JEFFERSON DIWALI CELEBRATION
The Jefferson community comes together to celebrate the festival of lights Parsa Abedi and Tanya Kurnootala || STAFF WRITERS
Throughout the celebration, volunteers set up various Diwali-styled activities, including an arts and crafts station and even Diwali Bingo. They also decorated parts of the Dome and Nobel Commons with with lights and lamps. Freshman and crafts station volunteer Sarah Luthra was able to embrace Jefferson’s cultural aspect of Diwali. “TJ knows how to study hard, but also party hard and it’s great that people from all different religions and races are here to celebrate Diwali,” Luthra said. “I hope it spreads good vibes throughout the TJ community for people to enjoy different cultures and religions.”
From left to right: Juniors Jahnavi Prabhala and Zulekha Tasneem perform during the Diwali celebration. Photo courtesy of Techniques
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who did not, arrived ready n Nov. 5, Diwali, the Hindu to embrace diversity and festival of lights, students, celebrate another culture’s festival. families and faculty of the Jefferson community came together to Alouf Jirari Scavotto, the new sponsor of Namaste, became celebrate the holiday. interested in the event when she To religions and people across the received an invitation via email and world, the festival of Diwali is a time decided to experience what Jefferson to come together and celebrate one of had to offer. Hinduism’s most significant holidays. “The email talked about games and Hosted in part by the TJ Partnership dance and food,” Scavotto said. “I Fund, the event featured Bhangra, really don’t know a lot about [Diwali], a blend of traditional dance with but [the celebration is] going to be Western pop influences, by members a chance to learn a few things about of Namaste, Bollywood music, and another culture. I just came with an interactive games. Although there open mind and I’m going to learn were students who had celebrated myself what this is about.” Diwali in their own homes, those
Main office staff Samantha Wolf learned about the traditions and foods cooked in Diwali through the parents in the main office and volunteers at the event. She is excited by how Jefferson students collaborate in cultural events like the Diwali celebration and hopes that the celebration will grow and continue every year. “I think [the celebration] conveys that we have a tremendous community, a lot of wonderful people who come together to celebrate and to celebrate all of our diverse cultures, which is one of the neatest things that I find about TJ,” Wolf said. “It’s that everybody can come together, [and that everybody can] learn about each other and really by that we all become global citizens.”