In what organizers hope is the start of a lasting campus tradition, Tulane University welcomed over 200 students to its Longest Table event as part of International Education Week, inviting peers to sit down and share a meal at a comically long table on the Berger Family Lawn.
Since 2000, IEW has been an annual event promoted by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education. The week-long event encourages individuals and institutions across the country to host events related to international education and global exchange.
The event comes soon after new data found that United States is welcoming fewer international students than previous years. The biggest loss of international students was from China.
Designed to foster relationships and encourage meaningful conversation, the Longest Table offered an open, shared meal experience. The event was hosted by Newcomb-Tulane College, the Division of Student Affairs, the Center for Public Service, the Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity and the Office of International Students & Scholars.
“We really wanted to figure out a way to bring more community together … around conversation and connection,” event organizer and associate director for civic engagement and expression Kaitlyn Poe said.
The theme of this year’s IEW is “Convivencia: The Art of Building Global Community.” Menu items featured traditional New Orleans flavors, including chicken and sausage jambalaya and okra with corn and bacon. Last year’s theme was “Displaced Identities, Postcolonial Legacies and Creating New Narratives.”
“We wanted to really center in on New Orleans traditional culture,” Poe said. “There’s rice, coleslaw, okra, bananas foster cupcakes … all that good stuff.”
Tulane students, faculty and staff volunteers hosted the event.
“The event looked really fun and like a cool community opportunity; building that sense of community at Tulane is really important to me,” first-year volunteer Virginia Unglesby said. “All my [volunteer work] so far here has been organized in general and fulfilling.”
The event offered a unique chance to slow down and connect with someone new. Students were assigned a table and encouraged to sit with people they did not know.
“I know it is hard for some people to find where they belong, so I think this is a great way [for Tulane to foster community],” senior volunteer Lorelei Bailey said. “With the training, they told us that they weren’t going to sit friend groups together, so that people able to meet people.”
IEW will feature other events this week, such as a keynote from Martha González, a Grammy-winning musician and cultural theorist on Wednesday, and Tulane Language Day on Thursday, with activities that celebrate international food, music, performances and Tulane organizations.