Life > November 10, 2005

By Christine Tamer

Contributing Reporter

In effort to promote cultural awareness, the Euzelian society organized a concert in Wait Chapel consisting of various forms of ethnic Asian dance on November 5. 

The event benefited the recent earthquake tragedy in South Asia which killed over 60,000 people and left millions dislodged.

The “Evening of Culture” included a spectacle of African tribal, Belly, Egyptian folk, and Middle Eastern wedding dances.  All were performed free of charge by professional North Carolina dance troupes.

Spearheaded by sophomore Ritu Bhattacharya, the concert had a three-fold purpose: to entertain, to educate and to donate. 

“We want to concentrate on exposing different cultures and give students the opportunity to interact with them. Our goal is to promote awareness and get students to participate,” Bhattacharya said. 

The Euzelian society was started nearly 150 years ago on the old campus in Wake Forest, North Carolina. 

The society was involved in debates of philosophical topics with the rival Philomathesian society. 

With the rise of Greek organizations on campus, the society went dormant for nearly 30 years after 1960. 

In 1994, the Euzelian society was revived and began to live up to its Greek-derived name meaning “the zealous pursuit of the good things in this life.”  This included integrating students in events and activities that furthered and diversified a growing intellectual capacity.

The society, however, is currently “dying”, according to Bhattacharya. “A lot of people are skeptical to join,” Bhattacharya said. “I want to get the vigor and passion of it renewed.”

Presently, the Euzelian society has only eight members but aims to recruit more students and make a great presence of campus.  The concert served as one way to reach this target. Senior Matthew Imboden recently joined the society and aided with the promotion of the concert.

“Ritu told me about the event and the society and I wanted to be a part of it.  I have been helping with publicity and have been encouraged by how well received this has been by the students here,” Imboden said. “The campus is always welcoming of another way to help out and are always ready to learn something new.”

The Euzelian society chose to sponsor a concert particularly benefiting the earthquake disaster in South Asia in order to integrate students into a wider international realm.

“We started planning in October when the earthquake happened.  Students didn’t seem to notice the tragedy or were numb to it at the time,” Bhattacharya said. With the goal to raise international awareness, Bhattacharya, a dancer familiar with the art, called professional dance companies all over North Carolina who agreed to donate their time in order to spread Asian culture.

“Students often hear about international foreign relations, but there is less in the news about the cultures of the people the around the world,” Imboden said. “We chose to benefit the earthquake because otherwise it might not have gotten much attention.  We are pleased with the success of all the other fundraisers for other tragedies, but this one will allow students to see things they are unfamiliar with.”

Sophomore Paul Suway said the success of the event “showed that we are a campus who cares about global issues and like to have a good time.” Although only about 45 students attended the concert, over $300 was donated to the Red Cross for the earthquake relief fund. 

“There weren’t as many students as we had hoped but I feel that this is the paving the path for the promise that future cultural events such as these will have,” Bhattacharya said.