If you’re a member of either the Multicultural Club or the IB class, you’ve probably already heard about the changes in the Multicultural Assembly this year. If you’re not in any one of these factions (although I recommend both), then here’s some background information.

Multicultural Club is one of the largest and most diverse clubs on campus.  The organization’s constitution aims to “establish and promote cultural awareness on the QHHS campus, to celebrate our cultural diversity, and to bring cultural multiplicity to QHHS.” The club, amidst other colorful events like Culturefest, hosts the Multicultural Assembly each year. This year, the club will be hosting the 20th Anniversary Assembly. The biggest difference in the Multicultural Assembly and ASB’s assemblies lies in the content: the Multi-Assembly has culturally-based performances from a variety of different countries, while ASB’s assemblies have performances from certain campus groups like band and hip-hop. However, this year there are some new additions to the regular Multi-Assembly lineup.

Changes this year are a result of scheduling issues. Last year, Black Student Union wanted an assembly of their own to promote the variances in black culture, but administration did not grant their request. BSU brought the issue up to administration again this past month, only to be met with dismissal. Spanish Club, another culturally-based club, had its own Cinco de Mayo Assembly to showcase performances like the Cuban Mambo and the Folklorico. While both of these clubs wanted/previously had assemblies, administration only wanted one assembly to fit the school calendar and their scheduling needs. As a result, neither Spanish Club nor BSU were granted permission to host assemblies for their own clubs, and the task of hosting all three clubs in one assembly fell to Multicultural.

In particular, each assembly will now be 90 minutes. The logistics of this are to be worked out, but it’s agreed that each club will present at least five of their best performances and have additional crowd games and activities to keep the audience entertained.

While disappointed at being unable to showcase all of their performances, all three clubs are determined to make the best of the situation. Club presidents from Multicultural, BSU, and Spanish are determined to make this year’s 20th Anniversary Multi-Assembly the best yet.