Kappa Phi Gamma hosts a night of food and dance
BY NIKAYLA KIRCHNER, STAFF WRITER
On Friday, Nov. 1, the Mason community celebrated the fifth annual “Kulture Night,” where various cultural organizations from across campus came together to promote the celebration and appreciation of different cultures through food and performances.
Hosted by Kappa Phi Gamma, an all-inclusive South Asian sorority, Kulture Night was the perfect opportunity for students to experience the wealth of cultural groups on campus. The night was bustling with laughter, music, dance and a strong appreciation for Mason’s variety of cultural groups.
“This is actually our founders’ month,” said Mannat Chawla, Kappa Phi Gamma’s sorority service chairwoman. “We were founded on Nov. 8, so Kulture Night is our means of kicking off this month.”
To begin the night, Kappa Phi Gamma catered authentic Indian cuisines such as butter chicken, paneer, mango lassi and naan, allowing the audience to settle in and get a taste of the night.
Dinner was followed by a train of performances, showcasing the various cultural organizations across campus. These performances included Greek councils, competitive dance teams, Latinx groups and more.
Fourth Estate / Nikayla Kirchner
“We include performances from different cultural groups on campus because culture is one of our sorority’s key principles,” said Mahati Malladi, Kappa Phi Gamma’s treasurer and marketing director.
According to the sorority sisters, Kulture Night is an important means of celebrating various cultures from around the world. Embracing cultures different than one’s own is an extremely important value within their organization.
One particular performance showcased by the Latinx fraternity, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc. (LUL), strongly embodied the principles of Kulture Night. Their performance was a beautiful combination of hip-hop and traditional Latin dances that was met with an eruption of cheers and laughter from the audience.
“Our performance attempted to mix dance with stroll, which is traditional to our fraternity’s roots,” said Rolando Flores Santos, one of the performers. Much like Kappa Phi Gamma, LUL promotes cultural inclusivity and celebration as a core part of their organization.
Kappa Phi Gamma also performed multiple routines that incorporated popular hip-hop dance with traditional South Asian dance. In fact, many of the performances mixed genres and blurred the lines between traditional and contemporary styles.
The performances were all met with high energy from the audience, perfectly encapsulating Mason’s goal of promoting and celebrating diversity.
Kappa Phi Gamma strongly encourages any Mason cultural organization to perform at Kulture Night in the future and extends their arms to anyone interested in cultural exposure and appreciation.
