TOWAMENCIN- Model UN, a club at NPHS that simulates the interactions of the United Nations, held their annual cultural celebration on Friday, December 16th. A variety of the cultural clubs at NPHS gathered after school to celebrate and spread diversity. The S.A.L.S.A Club, Chinese Cultural Club, Korean American Cultural Society, Indian Cultural Club, German Club, and Muslim Student Association all attended the celebration, representing themselves with food and performances.

“We’ve been doing the cultural celebration for a couple of years, and it’s really a way to celebrate the diverse culture at North Penn. The different clubs bring their foods and share performances and things about their cultures,” said Clare Dentner, member of Model UN.

The Korean Cultural Society brought the Korean snack, Choco Pies, which are like Tastykakes. The Chinese Cultural Club had more of a traditional meal with Chinese food that included rice, vegetables, and meat, while Spanish rice with pork and tortilla chips and salsa were brought by the Salsa Club. The Muslim Student Association brought some festive cookies and dates for everyone.

“I know that in today’s politics there are many controversies, and this is a way of making everyone feel comfortable and welcome. I think this is our way of spreading diversity in our community. This is a nice event where everyone can come together and spread our differences. It’s also a learning experience with everyone’s posters giving a gist of their culture which can inform you about each one,” said Mr. Jim Bowen, club adviser for the Model UN.

Along with the informative posters on each culture, some students represented their club through a culturally related performance. The German Club started with a Christmas song that they sang in German and translated into English for some verses.

“I had such a fun time eating all the foods from the different cultures and performing for my club,” said Alyssa Selverian, member of German Club.

Ethan Konyk, representing the Latin Club, recited a poem in Latin. Singing a song in Chinese for the Chinese Cultural Club, Barbara Chen then played the guitar and sang a song in.

Representing the Indian Cultural Club, Manasi Nawathe did an Indian Bollywood dance, and Jinie Eom, president of the Model UN, and Ester Yoon performed a Korean song for the Korean Cultural Club. Traditional garments were shown off by Nawathe, wearing a traditional Kurthi, and Chris Chang, wearing his traditional hanbok, representing Indian and Korean culture.

“The Model UN puts the celebration together all ourselves, and I think it’s a candid way to have a diverse celebration. It’s an awesome event where we can celebrate our differences and get a gist of how each club works and what they work for every year,” said Bowen.

At the celebration, the Model UN continued their bake sale, which was also available to students during all lunch periods throughout the week, to help reach their goal of $500; however, the goal was surpassed, raising a total of $625. This money is going towards the Model UN’s upcoming conference in March.