RSOs share how they celebrate the holidays

With the semester coming to a close and the holidays right around the corner, different Registered Student Organizations (RSO) are sharing different ways they celebrate with students.

The Hispanic Student Council hosted its annual La Posada event on Dec. 2 in the student services building. Vianey Sanchez, president of the Hispanic Student Council, said La Posada is a mainly religious holiday that focuses on Mary and Joseph looking for shelter before their son was born.

Having this event allows for not only people of different backgrounds to come together, it also opens up a conversation about immigration, Sanchez said.

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“It really has been a tradition for every single year because it is just so relevant to the political climate here in the United States, and then, like, another aspect is that a lot of us come from different backgrounds, whether we are first generation, second or third, and any of the above. So, I think it’s also, like, a good time to reflect on the sort of the lack of immigration reform there’s in the country,” she said.

Sanchez said the purpose of her RSO is to bring the Hispanic and Latinx community together and provide a space for them to be themselves.

“Well, it’s also trying to serve the entire population on campus. So if there’s any issues that you hear about, the Latinex and Hispanic community really students of any background and they can feel free to come to us and we’d also like to advocate for them and their needs and make sure all their needs are met on campus,” Sanchez said.

Ra’Deja Johnson, president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Club (NACWC), said her group will be hosting its annual Christmas party on Dec. 9 from 6-8 p.m. in the Missouri room at the student center. She said the event is open for everyone to participate in and there will be a lot for people to do.

“We’ll have food like pizza and breadsticks and things like that and then we’ll have some minute to win it games; wrapping a gift game; and we’ll have games like that; and then we’ll also have ornament decorating and stocking decorating and music,” she said.

Johnson said, because NACWC has held the event for so long, it did not take a lot of work to set the event up. She said having this event is a great way for people to take a breather before finals and meet new people.

“We always have a really pretty good turnout. It’s super fun. Kind of relaxing and you get to kind of mix and mingle and just kind of decompress while doing little activities with other people and just talking amongst other people and then also with our ornament decorating and stocking decorating it kind of gives you something like you can go home and you can look at it or just have to let you know that the holidays are coming” she said.

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Samuel Wolff, the president of the Chabad Jewish Student Group, said that group will be hosting its Pre-Hanukkah party on Dec. 7 from 5-7 p.m.

“We’re giving away free make-your-own olive oil because Hanukkah is all about how the oil stayed for eight nights instead of one. So everyone will be making their own olive oil container and will be taking it home as a gift,” Wolff said.

This event is not only for the Jewish community, but all people are welcome to come and experience a culture and tradition that is different from theirs, he said.

Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @DEJaniyah. To stay up to date with all your Southern Illinois News follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.

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