St. Francis College proudly held its 13^th annual Community Day to celebrate the many cultures and ethnicities that make up the College on Sunday, April 18. Students, faculty, staff and administrators came together for a three part event that begins with an all-inclusive, spiritual mass. The day continues with dancing, singing and spoken word performances that reflect the diversity of backgrounds of the population. Last is a multicultural buffet with a variety of homemade dishes from around the world.

“Every day of the year our students are a part of a fantastic multicultural interchange. On Community Day, we go a step further and showcase and share different aspects of all of our unique cultures,” said Psychology Professor and event organizer Jennifer Lancaster. “The mass that begins the day truly reflects our diverse community; all forms of spirituality are celebrated and respected in this “religious” celebration.”

This year’s mass was celebrated by Father Joseph Fonti, director of the Sts. Peter and Paul Spirituality Center, with prayers offered by students in more than a dozen languages.

Immediately following the service there was a brief welcome by both college faculty and student leaders. Students from around the globe then performed songs, dances and other forms of artistic expression representative of their countries and cultures.

Among the groups were a community group of performers ranging in age from 11 to 18 called Ambassadors for Christ. They were led by St. Francis alumnus Bobby Tucker-Haynes and performed “Expressions of Praise,” a movement and interpretative dance number. One past member of this group, after attending Community Day, decided to attend SFC as a student. Members of the Haitian American Society and the Arab American Society performed traditional cultural dances and the SFC Dance Team presented a three part performance entitled “International Dance Showcase” which incorporated several forms of music and dance. The newly formed SFC Step Team showed off their skills in a performance called “Step it Up.”

The diversity of St. Francis College has been noted by several publications including U.S.News & World Report which ranks the College one of the most diverse Baccalaureate Colleges in the North.

Community Day is sponsored by The Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology, the Office of the President, the Office of Student Activities and the Student Government Association.

St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond.
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St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
www.sfc.edu