It is so easy to get caught up in the rapidness of college and to lose sight of the different people and cultures that are there, said a member of the Chi Alpha Campus Ministries.

The fourth annual World Fusion Day celebrated different cultures, religions and diversity Thursday at Marshall University.

“World Fusion Day is a time for all the different types of people and cultures to come together,” said Clay Shriver a member of Chi Alpha. “I think students are going to be able to take back the diversity that’s on campus.”

When you come to events like World Fusion Day, you are forced to recognize the amount of differences there are on campus and the different ways that you can learn about them, Shriver said.

Sheng Lu, a second year INTO student from Beijing, China, said this is an important event because locals have a lower chance of knowing things about foreign students’ culture.

“As an international student, we can share our experience and our culture to all the local people and let them know more about our culture and other cultures,” Lu said.

Acceptance is a large part of this day because people are not only being exposed to things they never knew but are becoming educated on them as well, said Lena Salameh, co-president of the Muslim Student Association.

“I think that World Fusion Day is fusing people together, and I think the best part about it is students can understand that we are all the same, but some of us are different, based on our cultures and how we express ourselves,” Salameh said.

Exposure is extremely important in today’s society, said John McFee, a sophomore in the John Marshall Emerging Leaders program.

“Without exposure to different cultures and ideologies, we aren’t able to learn from and adapt ourselves to a rapidly changing world,” McFee said. “As a member of JMEL, we are constantly discussing what it means to be a leader and part of our ‘curriculum’ is learning to listen to those we lead and learning from and acknowledging their experiences.”

Students from the tri-state area do not have exposure to the different types of cultures that are on campus, said Sharon Napier, a Bridges International community volunteer.

“I hope that Marshall will just take away the incredible diversity that’s here on Marshall’s campus,” Napier said. “I hope they take away some interest and want to learn more and get out of their comfort zones.”

Tiara Brown can be contacted at [email protected].