PRESS RELEASE - APRIL 29, 2014

ASCC-ISO Poster Contest Celebrates Diversity

April 29, 2014

By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer

This past Tuesday, American Samoa Community College (ASCC) student Sarojni Singh emerged as the 1st place winner of an Art Poster contest sponsored by the ASCC International Student Organization (ISO) to promote the concept of “Unity among Diversity”. The contest was one of several activities the ISO held over the spring 2014 semester to raise awareness of the importance of accepting social diversity.

Established in fall 2013 under the leadership of ASCC Dean of Student Services Dr. Emilia Le’i, the ISO’s mission is to provide a strong support system for international students attending ASCC. The organization strives to enhance diversity through cultural and social activities, and among their first projects were a pick-a-thon and a food drive for Hope House in March. In addition to regularly meeting to discuss way to promote diversity at ASCC, ISO members also provide academic support to one another.

In keeping with the ISO mission, the Art Poster contest gave the many young artists at the College an opportunity to showcase their talents by creating a piece that carried the message of the importance of social diversity. The organization also received assistance from local artist Mr. Mark Ashley Faulkner, who judged the winning submissions. “Originality and creativity were very essential in this contest,” said ISO advisor Mrs. Tala Leo. “It allowed students to be creative and think outside of the box what the theme ‘Unity among Diversity at ASCC’ means to them.”

Mrs. Leo said factors used in judging the contest submissions included the quality, design, composition and technique of the art piece. “Most importantly,” she clarified, “the art work needed to clearly represent the theme. It needed to be easily understood not only by the judge, but also by viewers.” With her piece judged as the strongest of the works submitted, Ms. Singh received a cash prize during a brief recognition ceremony on Tuesday to announce the contest winners, who also included Laura Saifoloi in 2nd place and Fi’a Vaeoso in 3rd place.

With their first full semester of activities now completed, Mrs. Leo said the ISO looks forward to coming together in the fall to continue promoting its message of social diversity. “A lot of people casually acknowledge that diversity is a good thing without really understanding the struggles that have taken place and continue to take place to achieve it,” she reflected. “It’s about respecting differences and seeing diversity as a strength rather than a problem. In a world where differences cause so much conflict, there’s no such thing as too much acceptance of diversity.”

For more information on the International Student Organization, contact Mrs. Leo at 699-9155, ext. 461.