CMU's Multicultural Academic Student Services office to host Arab food festival
Food is prepared and served for the Gather for the Culture event in the Towers Eatery, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. The menu consisted of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, sweet potatoes, shrimp, and okra with sausage served with white rice and pound cake for dessert. (CMLife | Alivia Cranick)
As part of Central Michigan University’s observation of Arab American Heritage Month, the Multicultural Academic Student Services (MASS) Office is set to host an Arab Food Festival where students will be able to indulge in an array of authentic Arab dishes.
Alfred Harper, Assistant Director for Multicultural Student Education, said the festival will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29 in the Bovee University Center Terrace Rooms A-D.
He said the MASS Office is collaborating with Chtoura Mediterranean Grill to provide attendees with a variety of Middle Eastern foods. The menu is set to include items such as hummus, fattouch salad, kebob skewers and more.
Harper emphasized that the event will also highlight Middle Eastern music and conduct a panel discussion in partnership with CMU’s Arab Student Organization. The panel will include speakers from different countries, who will discuss their experiences and challenges they have faced in their professional fields as Arab Americans.
Harper said that the university has celebrated Arab American Heritage Month for several years in an effort to recognize Middle Eastern culture on campus.
Harper said that food festivals serve as an avenue to connect students to different cultures. By attending these events, students can learn to combat their misconceptions and implicit biases by learning directly from the source.
“Food is a very universal opportunity [to bond],” Harper said. “I think that having authentic Middle Eastern foods [available] is an opportunity for our campus community and student body to try different flavors and understand the significance of each item is very important.”
Harper encouraged everyone who is able to go to the event to attend it, saying that attendees will get more than just a free meal from the festival.
“This is an opportunity to allow them to be exposed to something different, to step outside of their comfort zones and try something new,” Harper said. “They get to learn about another culture and individuals from that community and connect over something that brings us all together, which is food.”
