by Stephanie Guerrero
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

Students enjoyed a night of culture and music at the 4th Annual Dancing in the Melting Pot dance held Feb. 9. Alumni Relations and Multicultural & International Student Services organized the dance.

More than 100 students attended. Free snacks, a variety of music and a big dance floor kept students entertained from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Sameer Pande, MISS coordinator, believes the dance provided an informal atmosphere for students to interact with one another.

"We have students from more than 60 countries here, and the dance is a great way to meet different people," Pande said. "It has evolved, but we would like to have more students come. We try to make sure the general student body mixes with international and minority students. We plan events for all the students."

When Denise L. Shipley MISS coordinator, Lori Melendez, coordinator in alumni relations, and Pande formed a committee to plan the dance, they wanted to keep the students' perspectives in mind.

The coordinators worked with other student organizations and asked students to help select music and suggest changes to improve the dance. Coordinators encouraged students to bring their own music for the dance.

"We just really hope to get the students involved every year because the dance is for them," Shipley said.

Linda Contreras Bullock, MISS director, supervises the dance every year. She said the first year the dance was hosted for international students, but the dance has been open to all students for the past three years.

"My office focuses on programs to educate UH-Clear Lake students about other cultures, and we want to help build relationships among the students," Bullock said.

For many new students, the dance is a place to make friends. Lisa James remembers her first semester at UH-Clear Lake. She did not know many people on campus, but coming to the dance helped her meet new people and make friends. Now she is the vice president of the International Student Organization and enjoys helping new students feel at home on campus.

"The dance is a lot of fun," James said. "We just cut loose; it is a great way to meet people. It builds a sense of community that goes beyond cultural differences."

"The goal all along has been to build relationships among different groups on campus," Bullock said. "Each year we get more and more of a diverse turn out. We just want students to have fun and enjoy themselves."

The dance is held every spring and is free to students.

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