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Hey, lihat, lihat! Ada artikel tentang gue loh! hehehe... nggak deng, ini artikel tentang Indonesian Night 2002 di St. Cloud dimana gue dan C Opie~~ menjadi MC. Dedicated to you C!

University Chronicle - Diversions
Issue: 4/22/02

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Indonesia Night presents culture via music, food
By Tracy Ust/Diversions Editor

More than 250 people gathered in the Atwood Brickyard Sunday for the latest in cultural events to take place at SCSU: Indonesia Night.

The night, sponsored by the Indonesian Student Organization and the SCSU music department, presented attendees with traditional ceremonies, food, music and fashion. Members of ISO, which has 40 total members, and volunteers worked to plan the night, which opened with the presentation of the Indonesian and United States flags.

Following the flag ceremony, the emcees for the event, Olivia Budhioko and Cecilia Chandra, thanked the audience for attending and described the traditional Indonesian opening ceremony.

The ceremony included Potong Tumpeng — a rice cutting ceremony — and Pukul Gong — a gong banging ceremony. Indonesia Night's VIP guests, including Darlene Grega, director of international student and scholar services; Dr. Chunsheng Zhang, assistant vice president for academic affairs and international studies; Steve Ludwig, vice president for administrative affairs and Stephen Fuller, professor of music and ISO adviser, were invited to the front of the room to assist with the opening ceremonies.

Budhioko said at the beginning of the night she and co-emcee Chandra were nervous, but as the presentations progressed, their nerves were calmed.

"At first we felt a lot of nervousness," Budhioko, a junior and member of ISO, said. "There were a lot of people here that we were serving to, but after awhile we started to feel pretty confident."

During dinner, which was cooked by committee members and volunteers, traditional music was played. The musicians, Asti Paath, Yogi Indaryani, Agus Indaryani, Audi Riza, Benky Atmaja and Randall Paath, told the stories behind each of the songs they sang.

It just so happened that Indonesian Night this year fell on a holiday in Indonesia. The day, April 21, is the day Kartini, the first woman in Indonesia to fight for women's equality, was born. Traditionally, the day is a day to honor women and in school, girls dress in traditional wear to honor the woman who inspired other girls to fight for equality.

Senior Francine Pramana said many times the day is also used as a day to honor mothers.

"It feels good to introduce our culture," Pramana said. "Back home (for this day), there is a dinner ceremony where the whole family gets together to eat and talk to say thanks to the mothers."

For Budhioko, one of the highlights of the night was having the VIP guests participate in the Indonesian culture.

"We invited them to help to honor them," Budhioko said. "They are very busy and for them to spend time to come to our events means a lot to us. We respect them for coming to our event and wanted to show that by having them do the opening ceremony."

Sophomore Stephanie Olson said that she decided to attend the event to get credit for a class, and learned a lot from the event – enough to recommend it to anyone who wants a cultural experience.

"It makes me more interested (in other cultures) and makes me want to learn more," Olson said. "The food and music are really good."