Regina Janvier/The Veritas News
ALANA held their first event, Turn Up, last week in Spange Parlor.
ALANA hosted its first event of the semester, Turn Up, in Spange Parlor on Thursday, Oct. 10. Students got together to play games, listen to music, and enjoy snacks to promote awareness of the group.
The primary goal of ALANA, which stands for African, Latino, Asian, and Native American, is to ensure that all students from different backgrounds feel accepted, appreciated, and celebrated for their diversity.
Spange Parlor was filled with laughter, joy, and music as close to 50 students came together to celebrate the school’s diversity.
One student enjoyed the event’s environment.
“I liked the atmosphere and being able to meet new people,” freshman Emil Diaz said.
Over the course of the last two years, ALANA has tried to change its direction from only dealing with social injustice on campus.
This year brings a new era for ALANA with a new executive board, made up of President Melissa Flores, Christina Saint-Pierre, Sidney Karr, Saint Mansaray, and Roodlyne Altidor.
Saint-Pierre said the new staff has high goals and a vision for the future of ALANA.
“We want students from all backgrounds to feel appreciated, loved, and understood,” she said.
Saint-Pierre believes ALANA has changed a lot since last year.
“ALANA has changed because we want to be able to educate people on different cultures instead of just standing up for social justice issues,” she said. “We feel that if students understand different cultures, then we have done more than just having their backs when things go wrong.”
The executive board has a vision for this year, but they also want to be unpredictable.
“This year with ALANA, we want to be unpredictable,” Saint-Pierre said. “We don’t want you to know what will be doing. We want you to expect the unexpected.”