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WEB FEATURE: Group celebrates Turkish culture
When Worlds Collide
Aubra Whitten
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: News
Just as Turkey serves as a bridge between two continents, the Mississippi State University Turkish Student Association hopes to join Turkish and American cultures here at MSU and the local community.
Faculty adviser to the TSA and head of landscape architecture Sadik Artunc said the association provides opportunities to educate both the Turkish and American communities.
"[TSA] provides opportunities for education and information to the Turkish community of the America and Mississippi cultures, customs and opportunities," Artunc said.
Artunc said this exchange allows Turkish students a chance to experience the culture instead of just receiving an education.
TSA also helps students build on their experience at Mississippi State, Artunc said.
"It provides opportunities for the Turkish community and supporters to develop friendships and networking that will continue beyond their education while at MSU," he said.
The association's treasurer, genetics graduate student Ercan Selcuk Unlu, said that as a Turkish student, he wants interaction with national and international students.
"I believe that it is very important for all students to know other cultures," he said.
"While we introduce our culture at MSU, we also learn about other cultures."
One of the ways the TSA seeks to include the Starkville community is through hosting events pertinent to their culture.
TSA president and physics graduate student Kemal Efe Eseller said one of the main events that the association tries to promote is Independence and Children's Day. Independence Day marks the beginning of the first Turkish Parliament, called the Grand Assembly, on April 23, 1920, he said.
Eseller said the holiday is intended for children of all nationalities and has been celebrated around the world since 1979.
Celal Gungor, a TSA member and graduate student studying forest products, said Children's Day developed from the work of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a commander who founded Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.
Faculty adviser to the TSA and head of landscape architecture Sadik Artunc said the association provides opportunities to educate both the Turkish and American communities.
"[TSA] provides opportunities for education and information to the Turkish community of the America and Mississippi cultures, customs and opportunities," Artunc said.
Artunc said this exchange allows Turkish students a chance to experience the culture instead of just receiving an education.
TSA also helps students build on their experience at Mississippi State, Artunc said.
"It provides opportunities for the Turkish community and supporters to develop friendships and networking that will continue beyond their education while at MSU," he said.
The association's treasurer, genetics graduate student Ercan Selcuk Unlu, said that as a Turkish student, he wants interaction with national and international students.
"I believe that it is very important for all students to know other cultures," he said.
"While we introduce our culture at MSU, we also learn about other cultures."
One of the ways the TSA seeks to include the Starkville community is through hosting events pertinent to their culture.
TSA president and physics graduate student Kemal Efe Eseller said one of the main events that the association tries to promote is Independence and Children's Day. Independence Day marks the beginning of the first Turkish Parliament, called the Grand Assembly, on April 23, 1920, he said.
Eseller said the holiday is intended for children of all nationalities and has been celebrated around the world since 1979.
Celal Gungor, a TSA member and graduate student studying forest products, said Children's Day developed from the work of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a commander who founded Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.
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Aytug Gencoglu
posted 4/25/08 @ 5:49 PM CST
If anyone wants to find out more, you can reach the Turkish Student Association website on:
http://www.tsa.org.msstate.edu/
Or you can reach any of the quoted students through Facebook or by our msstate. (Continued…)
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