Sikh Student Association cultural night to feature traditional Indian food, dance

The Sikh Student Association will host its seventh cultural night on Friday, along with its first-ever bone marrow drive at the event.

“The cultural night will be a place and time that brings students from other colleges together,” said Harinder Sran, a third-year psychology student and social director of the Sikh Student Association. “During college time, it’s easy to drift away from our identity, but the cultural night ties us back together.”

At the cultural night in Ackerman Grand Ballroom, Sikh students from UCLA and neighboring colleges will come together to educate students about Sikhism and Punjabi culture. The association will work with the UCLA chapter of the Bhagat Puran Singh Health Initiative, a student-initiated health organization founded at UC Davis and California State University, Sacramento to hold the bone marrow drive.

Nitasha Kour, a fourth-year biology student and president of the Sikh Student Association, said she is expecting 200 to 300 students to attend based on invitation responses.

Kour said the cultural night will feature a bhangra party, Indian food and photo booths. The event will also include a spoken-word performance, two dance performances, two hip-hop performances and a singing performance.

Kour said she hopes the activities at the cultural night will encourage understanding of Sikhism and break cultural stereotypes.

Simran Kaur, a third-year biology student and community service director of the Sikh Student Association, said she thinks some people have misconceptions about Sikh culture. She said she thinks some people connect Sikhism with terrorism, especially after the 9/11 attacks.

“There are misconceptions about Sikhism and Punjabi culture,” said Navjot Sandhu, a fourth-year neuroscience student and vice president of the Sikh Student Association. “Some people don’t know who Sikhs are and why they are wearing a turban.”

Sandhu said the Sikh Student Association aims to revive the Sikh identity in a fun way so that more people will want to learn about the culture.

“When people see a turban, we want to make sure that they know there’s a significance behind that. It is the customary headwear of Sikhs,” Sandhu added.

To participate in the bone marrow drive, students need to register at the drive and get their cheek swabbed, Sran said.

“It is hard to find a match for South Asian people because not many have registered to donate,” Sran said.“If we can do that – help change a life – that would be amazing.”

Kour said the Sikh Student Association welcomes all UCLA students to attend the free event and participate in the bone marrow drive.

“The door is always open,” Kour said. “It doesn’t matter if you have a different religious belief.”