Written by Mattie Powers // Graphic by Cooper Turman
Harding University partnered with the French Embassy from Houston March 16 to host “A Stroll Through French Culture” on campus, marking the University’s first event celebrating French Culture Month.
There were various stations set up in Cone Chapel for the event. The stands included a variety of art, music, theater and food that all originated in French culture. The event was for all of Arkansas.
French professor Robert McCready worked with the French Embassy from Houston to approve the event, seeking to provide many opportunities for people on and off campus.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to enjoy the camaraderie among us, but also to show the inter-departments of what we can do,” McCready said. “But every single booth, everything for the festivities had something to do with French culture. “So it would be French music, French jazz, French food, French art, etc.”
Bonnie Kee, accreditation and academic support coordinator for the Foreign Languages Department, helped with the event and said she hopes this impacted Harding University.
“Having our students and high school students from around here learn about French culture and be more aware of anything French will help, I think, Harding,” Kee said. “Especially [with] prospective students who are thinking maybe they want to major in French or some international active major.”
Another helper for the event was chair of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Kristi Bond. Bond said there were some components that made the event special.
“Well, it’s exciting for us to host an event that is so visible to the public and just brings in a lot of culture,” Bond said. “Some of the French students are going to be doing tables on culture from different countries around the world. We have a pharmacy teacher who’s from Cameroon, he’s going to have a table about Cameroon. There’s just going to be all of this cultural information and visuals and food that I think just gives students on campus that experience with some things that they don’t get to experience without leaving campus.”
