,, Although his degree is in medicine rather than cultural anthropology, Dr. Nayyer Alis’ lecture on the roots of Islam was delivered to a standing-room audience in the teleconference center last week.

The lecture capped off four days of activities co-sponsored by the International Student Center and Club, events designed to bring multicultural awareness to the Cerritos campus.

According to club president Ikuko Takeuchi, the activities highlighted critical similarities and differences between some of the largest cultural groups that make up the population of the college.

“For example, most people do not know the difference between Chinese, Japanese or Koreans,” said Takeuchi, “they think of them all as simply Asians. “

Other campus clubs and organizations such as MEcHA and the Black Student Union attempt to bring attention and understanding of a particular culture, traditions and background to their members.

The Int. Students, however, try to acclimatize their members to the larger American culture while at the same time celebrating each individual’s own culture and background.

The activities kicked off with a three-day Foreign Film Festival held in the Student Center.

The Festival showcased such diverse films as the Chinese box office smash “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to the French sleeper hit “Chocolat” as well as other lesser-known but equally acclaimed films such as the Argentine drama “Evita,” the Mexican “Amores Perros” and the Indian “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.”

The International Food Festival was held on the second day in the Falcon quad, with club members each bringing their favorite ethnic dish from their own culture to share with visitors.

On the fourth day, the Cultural Fashion Show was held inside the Student Center with the students themselves modeling the latest fashion trends from their homelands.

“Their outfits don’t look too different,” said Liberal Arts major Shamilla Jackson, “I might wear some of that stuff myself.”

The lecture by Dr. Ali was titled “Islam: Myth and Reality” and attempted to answer some of the most basic questions people unfamiliar with that particular religion often have.

Although the lecture did not attempt to explore very deeply the current Middle East crisis, Dr. Ali did address certain issues and cultural stresses that cause of much of the strife in those developing nations.

A question and answer period brought to light several misconceptions regarding Islam’s beliefs, different cultures and its shared aspects with both Christianity and Judaism.

“All three religions have similar aspects,” said Dr. Ali “they teach charity, love and tolerance.”

The fashion show, food fair and movie festival are not new events to the Cerritos campus, but in light of current world events, it was thought that grouping them all together in one week would have more of an impact.