Encouraging peace and unity between cultures are main goals of the International Student Council for the new semester, council members say. We are bringing people together at SIUC to share ideas, promote unity and enhance cooperation, Sahabo Mohammad, Vice President for Internal Affairs, said.

The council met its first meeting of the fall semester Thursday night, and formed a recruiting committee to be headed by James Quisenberry, the director of International Programs and Services.

Wan Kamal Wan Napi, council president, said there are currently 46 different countries represented on the Carbondale campus, with around 3,000 international students in the population at SIUC.

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Currently on the council we have 36 students, and they range anywhere in nationality from Africa to Turkey, he said.

Wan Napi, a graduate student in Public Administration from Malaysia, said the biggest event the council is known for is the World Cup soccer tournament it hosts each year.

The soccer tournament brings different people and different cultures together, he said. During the game, people fight to win, but at the end of the game, you can see the relationship between the international students is very good.

It’s a very good bridge to peopleyou can see people working together in sports activities.

Two other major events organized by the council are the International Festival and the International Olympics, the latter of the two just introduced last year, Wan Napi said.

The International Festival is a week long celebration for students from nations world-wide to share different cultures with others at SIUC, and the event is usually held during the first part of the spring semester.

The International Olympics consisted mainly of track events held in McAndrew Stadium, with a ceremony being held prior to the start of the games similar to Olympic Games style.

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Tug-of-war, the 4X100 and 4X400 relays, and high jump were among the competitions, Wan Napi said. The competition is slated this year for Sept. 30.