Unity Show hosted by Ethnic Student Council

After months of hard work and dedication learning dance routines and planning for one of the largest events of the semester on campus, the Ethnic Student Council held their annual Unity Show in the Charles V. Schaefer Jr. Center's Canavan Arena on Friday, April 18th. This year's winner of the dynamic show was the American Culture Club.
The Ethnic Student Council's signature Stevens program has grown to become one of the highest attended and most exciting events held all year. There are eleven Recognized Student Organizations under the Ethnic Student Council, a subcommittee of the Student Government Association. These organizations all have a shared purpose of educating members of the Stevens community about their respective cultures. The Unity Show is a program designed to celebrate the differences among the many cultures represented in the student body of Stevens, as well as attempt to find common ground and unity among all groups.
Participating in the Unity Show were ten of the eleven ESC groups including the American Culture Club, Black Student Union, Chinese Student Association, Filipino Association of Stevens Tech, Indian Undergraduate Association, Korean Student Association, Latin American Association, Malaysian Student Association, Pakistani Student Association and the Stevens Italian Club. Also participating in the show was the Mu Sigma Upsilon sorority and Pulse.
The hosts of Unity this year were two of the newly-elected ESC executive board members Abby Osei-Amoako and Justin Eusebio. The show this year was judged by Anthony Blazini, Associate Director of Residence Life, Usama Shaikh, Assistant Director of Residence Life, Deborah Berkley, Dean of Sophomore Year Experience and Director of the Stevens Technical Enrichment Program, and Anthony Ortega '07, the previous ESC President.
During the awards ceremony at the conclusion of the show, the outgoing ESC executive board was recognized by ESC President Eileen Parra for their effort in planning this year's performance, and for their dedication to the organization throughout the past year. The newly elected ESC executive board, led by President-elect Neha Govil was also introduced. The awards began with the Stevens Italian Club, who was presented with an award for recognition as the newest organization in the Ethnic Student Council. Next, the award for the Most Improved Organization was given to the Chinese Student Association. The third award of the evening was for Most Active Organization which was given to the Black Student Union.
Finally, after some humorous build-up by Eileen Parra, the winner of the Unity show was announced. Michael Bertucci, one of the choreographers and performers of ACC's performance, spoke on behalf of the organization and exclaimed, "Ryan Lynch had a dream, and now it has been realized!"
Ryan Lynch '06 was one of the founding members of the American Culture Club and was in attendance for the event. "I can't believe it. Who would've thought that the organization would have come this far so soon," he said.
The performance by ACC featured a trip through time from the 1950's and the time of Elvis Presley to the 1970's and the hits of Michael Jackson to the 1980's with a performance to the music of Madonna and all the way into the future with the portrayal of the Britney Spears comeback tour.
Katie Weatherall, the only graduating member of ACC to perform in the organization's act said, "We've been working really hard every week since January and we've been so close the past three years. I am so excited and appreciative for the win and it was the best honor I could have possibly received my senior year."
This year's show was unique in many ways, but was no different from years past in that attendance was very high and the arena was loud and buzzing with excitement and pride. Beatrice Wilson, a senior who attended the event said, "I thought the show went very well and I enjoyed every act. Everyone did a great job of representing their organization extremely well." Next year's Unity show surely will be highly anticipated by many on campus.