International Student Tea invites All

With a month still left before spring break, many students are fighting the depression of winter term and are searching for something to cheer them up. This is just what the International Student Advisory Board was anticipating when they decided to host International Tea.International Tea will be from 8-10 p.m. this Saturday in Grainger Auditorium, provid- ing students a chance to forget about the bleak- ness of winter term for a night. The idea behind the event is to brighten up winter by bringing together both the international and domestic students in a tea open to the whole community.“It is the first year we are trying this, but essentially we as international students want to sponsor an event that will benefit the entire community, increase happiness and spread

some of our culture,” senior Thomas Clark explained. “Especially this year, now that winter is gone, students need something to cheer them up during the long and dark month of February. Abbot Casino was good, but we wanted to do something different that hasn’t been tried before.”At the tea there will be a variety of teas and snacks from all around the world. Senior Sha- quille Brown hinted at some of the selections.“The teas will be specific to different countries,” Brown said. “So there will be Russian caravans that are specific to Russia of course. I think we will have Earl Grey to represent England, and we will just have differ- ent teas from different countries and different snacks from different countries.”The food is not the only planned attraction for the event. There will be student performances in fifteen-minute segments from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. The performers, such as Mary Woo and Anika Ayyar, are going to be housed in the hall of Grainger and will serve as ambiance music for the event. Also, professional dancers from Portsmouth Ballroom will be coming to give free ballroom dancing lessons to anyone who wants to learn during the second half of the tea.

To help cheer up students during winter, the attire for this event is semi-formal. Christine Knapp, the International Student Coordinator, further explained this reasoning.“The students decided to make the attire semi-formal,” Knapp said. “They thought that in January and February when it is so cold and there aren’t a lot of planned trips since the weather is so unpredictable, so students are kind of stuck on campus, was the perfect time to have something fun and enjoyable to do with your friends on campus. Dressing up always makes you feel a little better in the winter so they decided to make it semi-formal.”Despite the name, International Tea is not exclusive to inter- national students. One of the International Student Community’s goals has always been to host an event open to all of Exeter’s community. Clark explained how International Tea is a way to bring domestic students and international students together. “This event, International Tea, is really meant to involve domestic students as much as international students and basically just give everyone a chance of having a good time while learning something about another culture,” he said.International Tea will not only be a chance for students to learn about different cultures. Many students have never at- tended a tea before, and the event will be an opportunity for these students to get a taste of how “teas” work.“I’m excited because I do know a lot of people that I’ve invited were just like, ‘Oh my god, I have never been to a tea,’ because they are in a dorm that doesn’t do teas or they are a day student, so a lot of people are excited for it,” Brown said.This is not the first time the International Board has hosted a tea. Last year the students organized a much smaller one, open to only international students and faculty members. Knapp described how that event encouraged the international students to do the same on a larger scale.“We have been trying to think of a way that international students could host an event for the whole campus community,” Knapp said. “Last year, one of the students on our board came up with the idea of having a tea. So, last spring we tried it on a small scale, on a Sunday afternoon in Powell Hall. We hosted around sixty people and it was a big success.”“The people that came really enjoyed it so we realized we could do it on a larger scale,” she added. “Last spring after that event we met with student activities and we said we want to do this for the entire campus community. So we got a date on the calendar, February 15.”“We did the promo ad on our own, we have a very strong say in what gets put on the menu,” Brown added. “Whatever we want, Ms. Knapp will try her best to get it as long as it is in the budget. So I guess it is a balanced effort, but we do a lot of work.”Overall, the Tea will be an unforgettable one, and all stu- dents are encouraged to attend.

“Everybody should come, its open to the entire school com- munity,” Brown said. “There will be a chocolate fountain, and food is being catered so we know the food is going to be good. So, dress up and come and eat and enjoy what we have to offer!”