PSA and MSA Shine at Chico
University Festival
By Talat Sattar
The 32nd Annual International Festival
at Chico State University on Saturday in front of the Kendall
Hall turned out to be a day full of music and culture. An
explosion of color, the scent of tasty food, and the tune
of groovy music lured guests to the campus. The free all-day
celebration was sponsored by the Associated Students Multicultural
Council.
Booths on the lawn displayed pride in heritage from many student
multicultural organizations such as the Chico Hmong Student
Association, the Indian Student Association, Pakistani Student
Association, Muslim Student Association and many more. Walking
around the booths, visitors were immersed in the many cultures
shared by students on campus.
Glimpses of the 32nd Annual International
Fesitval at Chico University. Top left :PSA organizers
It was a day to celebrate the diverse cultures of Chico State
campus through food, clothing and music. And there was plenty
of food to go around. Whether it was the homemade egg rolls
or delicacies from Sri Lanka, chicken tikka or sheesh kabob
from Pakistan, or the booths that lined the free speech area,
there was a little something for everybody. The diverse cultures
also brought in a diverse crowd. Word of the eight-hour event
spread like wildfire as the crowd continued to grow throughout
the day.
From fashion to food, the festival had it all. Students from
the many multicultural clubs on campus performed dances and
wore traditional clothing depicting their cultures.
Local students associations were at the scene selling jewelry
and clothing from all over the world. Between sets, students
from a variety of the multicultural organizations gave impressive
performances representing their backgrounds to keep the tone
of the event alive.
The festival started in 1974 when a few of the multicultural
clubs on campus gathered together to share their food and
crafts. Since then the event has gotten bigger. Pakistan Student
Association (PSA) was founded about 20 years ago by Mrs. Rabina
Khan, Mukhtar Khan and Khan Ahmad Khan. Rabina was the main
brain behind PSA for this year event as well as all the previous
years. This year’s theme for the Pakistani stall was
“DHOOLI”. Rabina Khan, who is also involved in
several other cultural, religious and political organizations,
is dedicated to the Pakistani cause. Rabina Khan thanked the
Pakistani community for helping her in all the political and
community events in Chico area including this one and she
credits all her success to the community. Because of the community
following, Congressman Wally Herger appointed her a Republican
Party delegate.
It is interesting to know that PSA was the winner for “Best
Decorated Stall and Best Food” for the past four years.
This year the University decided to split these two categories,
“Best Decorated Stall” and “Best Food”;
the whole idea was that one booth could get only one award.
Rabina Khan decided to set up Muslim Student Association (MSA)
stall as well. The “Best Food” award went to PSA
and the “Best Decorated Stall” went to MSA and
so both of the awards were captured by Pakistani organizations.
The Pakistani stall was flocked by the attendees and there
was a long line for food. People from different part sof the
world came to taste Pakistani food.
“HINNA” was the most popular item on MSA stall
as men and women lined up to beautify their hands with red
mehandi.
Pakistan Student Association organizers, Usman Khurshid, Nyla
Khan, Abbas, Fahad and Samra Ahmad deserve due credit for
putting up such a beautiful event together and their continued
triumph and victory at this yearly event.
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