Various campus organizations and members of the TCU community will join together next week to spread the philosophy that “every Frog counts” during CommUNITY Week.
The seven-day CommUNITY Week, composed of 16 events, will begin Saturday when International Student Services inaugurates the week with the International Banquet.
New to the week this year is the event We All Eat Rice. Representatives of Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic, Multicultural Greek Council and National Pan-Hellenic Council are teaming up with the Alex Turner Show to host the event on Monday.
Sophomore political science and strategic communication double major Luke Harville said he worked to coordinate and plan We All Eat Rice as the vice president of programming for IFC. He said he was excited for the opportunity to help the campus realize that the individuals of TCU are Horned Frogs first.
Each organization will be making its own type of rice, Harville said. IFC will be giving away Cajun shrimp and gumbo.
Harville said he looked forward to We All Eat Rice for the opportunity to help close the gap between individuals of Greek organizations and individuals who are not. He also said he looked forward to help break the stereotype that he and other IFC men face on campus.
“Fraternity men can do good and are not just the stereotypical frat boys you see causing trouble,” Harville said. “We actually care about the school we’re at and care about the community.”
April Brown, assistant director for Inclusiveness and Intercultural Services and co-chair for CommUNITY Week, said We All Eat Rice was the crux of the week because of the philosophy behind the event.
“‘We All Eat Rice’ is built in a way to show that we are all connected because everyone probably eats some form of rice,” Brown said. “It would be hard for me to find a person that has not eaten rice in their life. Even if it’s something as simple as eating rice together, we all have a similarity.”
Brown said the program was great because Turner’s radio show could allow people who could not be present to be a part of the community’s activities.
In addition, the annual International Banquet will kick off the week, Brown said.
The International Banquet will feature The Drum Cafe — an interactive, team-building organization that travels nationally to perform and teach the importance of community, she said. The Drum Cafe had previously come to the university as a part of last year‘s Connections program, she said.
The banquet also will double as a fundraiser to help with relief efforts in Japan, Brown said.
Jason Wallace, the program coordinator for IIS and CommUNITY Week’s other co-chair, said CommUNITY Week, did not just highlight the global community.
“It’s an eye-opener. Oftentimes as TCU students, faculty and staff, we get placed in our bubble and kind of set with our everyday lives,” Wallace said. “We just get so busy that we don’t realize the things that may not only be going on across the world but just right across campus.”
CommUNITY Week Events
Kick-off: International Banquet
When: 6:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Moudy Building, Open Foyer
Cost: $12 individual, $20 couple. Tickets available at Jarvis Hall.
The event is a fundraiser in response to the Japan crisis.
We All Eat Rice
When: 7 p.m.–10 p.m. Monday
Where: Campus Commons
*Covered by the Alex Turner Show
Cost: Free
For more information about community week, visit diversity.tcu.edu
