According to Director of International Studies Carolyn Sorkin, an observable tension between international and American students was one reason for the creation of a weekly dinner discussion series which brought over one hundred members of the University community together on Wednesday, Oct. 24.

“We wanted to create a site through which students can discuss their differences, their similarities and come to a better understanding of one another and of themselves,” she said.

As the first Wesleyan World Wednesdays (WWW) event, which took place on the day that marked the United Nations and Amnesty International’s Day for Darfur, Lagu Androga ’07, an asylee of Sudan, spoke on the current political situation there.

Sponsors of WWW—the Office for International Student Affairs, the Office of International Studies and the Office for Diversity and Academic Advancement—hope that the dinner discussions will give the Wesleyan community a better understanding of current events, global issues and study abroad opportunities.

“Local is global and global is local,” said Dean for Diversity and Academic Advancement, Danny Teraguchi. “And when you study abroad the local issues are also local back at home. You can stay engaged here at Wesleyan just as you were engaged abroad.”

“Wesleyan World Wednesdays has a two-fold mission,” Sorkin said of the event. “It is a combination of bringing out the internationalness that is here at Wesleyan and also bringing to Wesleyan more information about the rest of the world.”

Co-hosted by Students Taking Action Now for Darfur (WeSTAND), the event also raised funds for the group’s Darfur Stoves Project, which provides fuel-efficient stoves to refugees living in refugee camps. Last year, WeSTAND donated 30 stoves. The event also helped WeSTAND recruit members.

“The event definitely made people much more aware of the situation in Darfur and of the long history of tension in the region,” said Meera Bhardwaj ’10. “It was great to get insight from a Wesleyan grad from Sudan about the long civil strife between the North and the South. I think that Wesleyan World Wednesdays makes people much more aware of the world we live in and what people can do to change it.”

“The more totally varied events that we can have in the early stages here the better,” Sorkin added. “That way people will get the idea that we are very open.”

On Nov. 7, WWW will co-host a screening of the movie “¡Salud! ¡Salud!” along with the Minority Association of Pre-medical Students (MAPS) and the Career Resource Center. The movie is a documentary about Cuba’s health care system and the country’s quest for global healthcare. Following the screening, a doctor from Middlesex hospital will host a discussion.

“I think Wesleyan World Wednesdays will give an understanding of world issues,” said Mikako Tai ’11. “It is an opportunity to think deeply about issues and to come up with solutions about what we could and should do about them.”