By EMERALD WRIGHT-COLLIE

Contributing Writer

Spain, East Africa, Turkey and Italy are just a few of the destinations students can choose from within Allegheny’s study abroad program. In recognition of International Education Week, Allegheny reminded students of these opportunities they have to explore the world.

International Education Week is not an Allegheny-specific initiative; rather, it is recognized internationally. The week’s purpose, according to the official web site, is to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.

Allegheny’s own version of International Week includes a series of events hosted by ACCEL during the week of Nov. 15. The purpose of these events is to promote cultural awareness and to help people explore the world.

ACCEL’s international program hosts a series of events the week of November 13 to the 17. These events consist of different activities for students and members of the Meadville community.

“We promote cultural ideas and diversity for students to really learn about Allegheny and to raise awareness,” said Jenny Kawata, director of the International Program.

An international photo contest, held on Tuesday of this week during lunchtime in the Campus Center lobby, displayed 128 photos of widely diverse places, from Africa to India. The photos were organized into four categories, “People,” “Other,” “Places,” and “Built,” and were featured on display boards.

The photographs depicted scenery from and lifestyles of different countries all around the world.

“The photos that place first, second and third from each category get displayed in room 303 of the Campus Center,” said Linda Litzinger, secretary at the ACCEL office.

Photo subjects ranged from citizens of Africa to the outdoors of Nicaragua. One picture, taken by Nicholas Christensen, ‘13, in the spring of 2012, depicts a group of citizens in the streets of Ecuador.

Students walked around the Campus Center lobby with paper and pencil in hand, deciding on which picture to vote for from each category.

“I wanted to see all the pictures that Allegheny students took while traveling,” said Andrew Nunn, ‘16. “I picked the tiger photo because it was incredible that they were able to get that close to the tiger while it was yawning.”

He was referring to a photo taken in Japan by Kento Hashimoto, ‘16. The picture is now hanging up in CC 303.

The program of events will continue this weekend with the annual International Dinner, hosted by the International Club in Schultz Banquet Hall. The dinner features a fashion show and dance performances for entertainment.

“The dinner serves around 250 people from Allegheny students to Meadville community members,” Kawata said. “It’s all about trying something new and developing an appreciation for it.”

This dinner encourages people to embrace different kinds of cultures by partaking in the food, fashion and performances of those cultures.

The International Office also took advantage of the week as an opportunity to showcase the variety of summer EL (Experiential Learning) programs available to students. During the photo contest, tables representing all the EL country destinations were set up in the Campus Center lobby.