Anna de Oliveira—Staff Writer 

For several years, the club for international students at Dordt University, Students Without Borders (SWB), has hosted two distinct events showcasing the ever-growing international community on campus. This year, SWB was unable to host their Curry Craze due to COVID-19 restrictions. With a new semester starting, however, SWB has begun planning for the annual Cultural Fair occurring on February 20th, 2021.  

SWB faced many challenges on the journey to host this year’s event after they were unable to host the Curry Craze that serves as a first semester fund-raising event. With that, a creative new way to fundraise for the cultural fair was necessary.

One solution was to create masks. In an interview with one of SWB’s event coordinators, Mariel Barrientos explained that although several ideas came up on how they would fundraise, making face masks stuck the most.   

After careful consideration, the team decided to create masks using traditional materials from several cultures that will be represented at the event.

“These masks were handcrafted with fabrics from countries including West Africa, Indonesia and Japan.” Barrientos said.

 Each mask will come in a sanitized bag, along with a small note explaining the significance of each different material.

This project was done in cooperation with the theatre arts department, who “so kindly” allowed SWB to utilize their sewing machines and the costume shop. SWB also worked with the global education office, who have sponsored their events in the past, and partnered with the business club to sell their masks on campus.

The Students Without Borders club hopes these masks will not only help fundraise for future events but will bring more cultural awareness within campus. These masks can be found at any business club establishment, such as the Bunsen Brew or 55th. Defender Dollars can be used for purchases.

Students Without Borders is an international club open to all nationalities, and its mission is to create opportunities for cultural engagement on campus, whilst keeping everyone healthy and safe.