A new student organization plans to unite international ASU students and promote cultural and ethnic diversity through community outreach and events.
The organization, International Connections - Mosaic Club, was created in March 2014 to create an environment where international students can connect and learn about different cultures, social work graduate student Kassaw Merie said.
"The club was started with a purpose of promoting closer bonds among international students here at ASU," he said. "We want to promote diversity and cultures."
Merie was one of the original members of the club and is now the president of the club. He said he supported the club because of its potential in bringing together international students.
"This is going to be a great organization," he said. "It’s just a matter of time."
About 15 people showed up to the club's first general meeting of the semester, which was held Sept. 15. The students were a mix of international and domestic origin, Merie said.
"Our organization, although it's an international student organization, we are not excluding local (residents)," he said.
Upcoming activities for the club include a holiday event, where international students can learn about Thanksgiving and still offer bits of their own culture, Merie said.
The club plans to celebrate World Refugee Day in collaboration with international student organizations in Tempe and also create a mentorship and tutorship program to help refugees, Merie said.
"We are building a database for volunteer tutors, and then we will identify needs in the refugee community," he said.
The club just elected members for officer positions and is hoping to find officers that can serve for multiple semesters in the future, Merie said.
"We are just trying to put things together and build our legacy," he said.
Social work graduate student Lindsay Saunders joined the club, because she heard Merie speak and decided it would be a good way to promote diversity and contribute to her social work studies. She was elected as vice president of the club at the general meeting.
"I really wanted to be involved in an international club because I think ASU is a great place with so many students that are from other countries, as well as Arizona being a large refugee resettlement state," she said.
Saunders said the club has a lot of opportunity to be well-established as an international organization at the downtown campus and in the community.
"It's a place where students can either be involved to become more culturally competent or to be able to share in their diversity if they are from a different country," she said.
Barbara Klimek, adviser of the organization and clinical associate professor at the school of social work, said the idea to start the club came from an international student who felt there was a need for something to connect the students.
"It became clear that there is a lot of support coming from students and the whole community here at the Downtown campus," she said.
The club is open to all students across the four campuses, Klimek said. The goals of the club include promoting globalization and diversity and providing information about international issues, which means it is important for American-born students to be involved.
"We kind of decided that the best idea would be to not just have a congregation of international students around the club but open the club to those who are interested in international issues and diversity," she said. "We are more for inclusion than exclusion."
Reach the reporter at savannah.harrelson@asu.edu and follow her on Twitter @savannahleeh
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