The office of International Student Affairs hosted Oktoberfest on Sept. 29 to celebrate the arrival of the fall season. The annual event is always a hit, and this year over 700 students attended the event.
“With all of our international students, we want to exemplify the different cultures we have represented here on campus,” said Brooklyn Jones, the vice president of the event and an International Student Ambassador.
To mimic the traditional German festivities, ISA served bratwursts, pretzels, German candy and beers of all varieties but without the spirit – apple beer, ginger beer, root beer, even butterbeer. Students also got to sample German sweets such as Kinder chocolates and gummy candies.
The event’s activities included sack racing, a beer stein holding contest, and a brat-eating contest. The highlight of the evening ensued when a student won the eating contest by consuming eight bratwursts in less than three minutes.
Signs on display at the event sported interesting information about Oktoberfest, adding an educational element. They stated fun facts such as “Paris Hilton is permanently banned from Oktoberfest!” and “At the festivities, you cannot begin to drink until the mayor says ‘O’ zapft is,’ translating to ‘Time to party’ and they open the first keg.”
“A lot of what ISA does as a whole is educating our domestic students about our internationals because we have such a large population of them here,” Jones said. “We want to celebrate them and make them feel welcome here in America.”
Over six million people go to Oktoberfest each year, and the ISA hopes students at SUU continue to flock to their own celebration as well.
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Story and photos by McKayla Olsen
mckayla.olsen@gmail.com
