Published: November 17, 2010

Four cultural organizations at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) joined forces for one night: Euronight. The Polish Student Organization (PSO), the CIAO Italian Society, the Hellenic Society and the Gaelic Society collaborated to create a night that blended traditions from all four cultures.

“Our goal when we created this event last year was for Euronight to become an event that celebrates European Culture at Fordham. And our hope was, and still is, that this event continues to become bigger and better for years to come,” Maria Hanakis, FCLC ’11 and president of the club,  said.

Mocktails, provided by PARty, were served throughout the night. The Hellenic Society provided Greek dishes, such as chicken souvlaki, tzatziki and Greek salad.

The DJ, Paul Sieradzki, was selected by the Hellenic Society to compile a playlist representative of each club. Last year, the club performed a traditional Greek hora, or dance. This year, the dance was also incorporated into the event.

Although the Gaelic Society is a fairly “young club,” according to president Kevin Mangan, FCLC ’13, it also contributed to the event. They provided finger foods and beverages.

PSO is a cultural club made up of the general student body. Nick Sulicki, FCLC ’12 and president of PSO, said the club’s underlying mission is to spread both awareness and knowledge of the Slavic culture, specifically Polish culture. As one of the main cooridinators of the event, Sulicki said he has made sure each club is equally represented through the event. Sulicki stated, “Euronight was the idea of our member in charge of public relations and advertising, Christina Rivera.”

Sulicki said, “The idea started out as a simple party that PSO could host, but I thought it would be great if other European clubs could work with us so that it could be bigger than originally intended.” This year, PSO contributed a wide array of polish food, including pierogi. Also, glow sticks were provided to add to the festive atmosphere.

Maria Vasaturo, FCLC’11 and president of CIAO, said, “Euronight is a great opportunity for the cultural clubs to revel in the wonders of the different cultures.” She also said CIAO is a new club that strives to create a community that recognizes and promotes Italian culture in America. As the second president of CIAO, Vasaturo said she “hopes to expand this club into a society that has significance in our Fordham community.” She said that partnering with an established club, such as PSO, allows her to do so. For the event, CIAO provided variety of Italian dishes such as eggplant parmesan, chicken francaise and penne alla vodka. Gift cards to Starbucks and Barnes and Noble, as well as a dinner to an Italian Restaurant, were provided by CIAO and raffled off at the event.

The Hellenic Society, also known as FCLC’s Greek club, also participated in the event. Hanakis said their mission is to give students a taste of the Greek Culture through dinner outings to Greek restaurants, plays, museums and marching in the Greek Parade.

Hanakis said, “We always wanted to bring an extravagant celebration of European culture to Fordham, and so we figured nothing could be better than all of the European cultural clubs collaborating and throwing an event together.” Vasaturo also stated, “America prides itself on being a melting pot [of cultures] and Euronight is similar to that idea.” Through this cultural collaboration, all four cultures are appreciated and celebrated equally.