For the second year in a row, Model United Nations is organizing International Night, a night of culture, games and food for students. Their most prominent fundraiser is expanding in 2023 as the club looks to include more organizations and represent more cultures present at Pleasant Valley.

International Night will take place on November 30th, 2023 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Currently, about 20 groups, representing over 15 countries, are expected to participate. These include Singapore, India, Brazil, Germany, Ireland and many more. This is an expansion from last year’s International Night where only 13 countries were present.

Each group will present their culture in a unique way. Groups will have posters representing their countries, and ethnic food, games, music and performances to display the unique aspects of the cultures.

Junior Ryan Pottratz, an executive for the Model UN club, is organizing International Night this year. “My plans are for people to showcase and share their cultures through stands, food, games and or performances. I hope we’ll have a nice turn out because it’s really good for people to see and be aware of cultures that aren’t theirs,” Pottratz explains.

While International Night is set up as a fundraiser to be enjoyed by its attendees, it serves a valuable purpose for PV. International Night gives students the opportunity to increase their cultural appreciation.

Cultural appreciation is when people develop an understanding of a culture and honor their beliefs and values. This is valuable for schools striving to be accepting of everyone, like PV.

By informing students of the customs and traditions of other cultures, students are able to interact with each other with more respect. “I think it’s important for our school’s positive environment because diversity helps everyone. We live in Iowa which isn’t the best at diversity and it’s important for people to see other cultures that exist,” said Pottratz.

To maximize the number of countries represented, Model UN has opened the event to other organizations.

While the majority of groups will be students from the Model UN club, efforts have been made to include separate clubs. Most prominently, Amnesty Club and the local chapter of the National Hispanic Institute have been invited to participate in the fundraiser, giving them both the opportunity to expand their organizations.

International Night also provides an opportunity for language classes to further explore the culture of the countries whose languages they are learning. This year, the Japanese 4 class is organizing a presentation about Japanese culture.

Model UN president Andres Bravo Garza sees potential in International Night becoming an annual event. “This year, with the fundraiser committee and more people available for the event, IN is going pretty smoothly when it comes to planning, and I see this event becoming a big PV event in the future,” commented Garza.

International Night provides many opportunities for students to learn about the diverse cultures present at the high school. By expanding participation in the event, more students are able to represent their cultures and teach people about the importance of having a variety of cultures.