The semi-annual International Welcome Party was held Saturday at the MU Student Center.

Students were presented with a multicultural gastronomic experience as international student organizations showcased cultures of their respective countries by culinary means and by displaying cultural symbols, creating a global atmosphere in the student center.

Other groups, such as MU Dance and Recreation Association, the Vedic Society and the multicultural Greek sorority Alpha Phi Gamma Sorority, Inc. also took the opportunity to reach out to students.

According to the Missouri International Student Council website, the International Welcome Party is a unified welcoming party for the international community and a representing voice of all international students, regardless of their origin.

“We also want to provide an opportunity for international students and domestic students to interact,” Missouri International Student Council President Li Tang said.

Ananh Singsavang, an exchange student from Laos, said he was enthusiastic about the event.

“This is great,” Singsvang said. “I got to meet so many people from around the world and learned more about them, which was really nice because on campus, although I see many people, I never could know where they were from or what they were like”.

Previously, the event has been hosted at Stotler Lounge in Memorial Union and the Student Recreation Complex, but this year, the organizing committee chose the MU Student Center to better accommodate the smaller crowd of the spring semester. Apart from a new venue, the International Welcome Party also had two additional features.

“We’re trying to put a few more things, other than just food and cultural displays,” International Programming Committee Senior chairman Eric Cusick said. “This year we have speed networking and a global runway where people can try on costumes from different countries.”

Cultural performance was a feature of the International Welcome Party that was replaced with speed networking.

Missouri International Student Council spokeswoman Sarah Almahmoud said the feature was removed in light of responses from previous years.

“Based on our experience, people who attend the party really just want to have fun eating and mingling with friends,” Almahmoud said. “People don’t pay much attention to the performances. So to be fair to the performers who put in a lot of work, we decided to cancel it, instead of having their efforts wasted”.

With an average of 800 to 1,000 attendees every semester, Cusick said surveys have shown that it is generally an even mix of international students and domestic students.

While at the Malaysian Student Association booth, senior Clinton Lee and junior Jordan Kulage were listening to the Malaysian representatives explaining the diversity of their country.

“I thought it was interesting to try out other foods and at the same time to learn more about other countries,” Kulange said. “Before this, I didn’t know that Malaysia had the tallest building in the world. I’m glad I learned something.”