On November 5, Polish student hosted their 4th annual PSA Night at the Butler Reception Hall so that Polish and non Polish students would be able to learn about Polish culture.
The President of PSA, Nancy Lesnicki says, “We want people to come to PSA night whether they are Polish or not. Some people feel that they are not included and cannot come even though they are not Polish, but that is not the case.”
“Each year, we try to expand and get bigger and better. We want to make sure that we share our love of Polish culture with other people, and being Polish is not a prerequisite of joining our club,” Lesnicki continues. During PSA night, they had a variety of Polish food to serve to the students, Polish folk and modern music was played, and a folk dance performance from the High-lander Region.
Lesnicki says, “Luckily this year we were able to get a band. One of our members Patrycja Las, was able to get her brother and his friends to come and perform for PSA night. It is so hard to get people to come out and perform.”
“Students in the past were very hesitant to come and dance and perform for PSA night, but today one of our students was willing to help and even dance and show us folk dance from the Highlander Region,” Lesnicki continues.
During PSA Night, different groups from different Polish regions were represented.The officers and members wore Polish attire from the region that they come from. Lesnicki adds, “We wanted to make sure that every group and area was represented and encompass as many Polish groups as possible. Each region has certain clothing and dialect and we believe that sharing folk as well as modern aspects of Poland were traditionally important.”
PSA Night had been occurring for the past four years and has always taken during fall semester.“Formally planning PSA night can vary.We had started to plan the vent since summer. We look at past events and see what kind of suggestion we have in order to im-prove the event. We want to continue PSA night as an annual event, and hopefully make it bigger and better as the years go onas well as getting more community involvement in our club,” Lesnicki continues.
The students who attended PSA night had also enjoyed their experience at PSA night. Sebastian Dziubek, an Accounting Major at SXU says, “Attending PSA is a good way for me to meet other Polish people that go here, and a way for non-Polish people to get a taste of our culture. This event has persuaded me to try and attend other cultural events at school.”
Marc Tolentino, an Accounting Major at SXU says, “As a non-Polish student,I love to attend events like PSA night because I am able to learn more about different cultures. Our university is so diverse and I think that having the opportunity to learn more about other cultures is very important.”
Overall, the event was a great success. PSA Officers at PSA Night Polish Student Association Students that were Polish and Non-Polish attended, and was given a lot of support from their community.“Spreading awareness of the Polish culture was our goal, and we want students to know that being Polish is not a prerequisite to join our club or attend our events,” says Lesnicki.
“We want to continue building this event, and maybe even do collaborative work with other organizations. We have tried to in the past, but have been unable to due to different schedules and different obligations that each organization has to accomplish,” continues Lesnicki.
Although PSA Night will only be hosted during fall semesters, PSA has other events for students to attend if they are interested in learning about the Polish culture.