'Being humans together': Diversity on full display at this Passaic County high school
HALEDON — Nory Derius left her textbooks in her locker on Friday to take up a righteous cause.
She and more than 100 of her fellow students at Manchester Regional High School acted as ambassadors for the day, each choosing a foreign land to hold a torch for. They discussed history, feasted on ethnic food and flaunted their dancing skills.
For Nory, a high school senior, the multicultural fair was a chance to support a Caribbean nation that could benefit from good PR.
“There’s a very negative image of my country because of the political situation,” she said of Haiti. She and her family emigrated from its capital, Port-au-Prince, less than four years ago.
“I just want people to know that it’s one of the most beautiful countries ever — in the world,” Nory said.
Thirty-two nations were represented at the fair, which featured a disc jockey and a photo booth. It was the first time that the event was held at the high school since the 2018 school year, said Bernadette Orsita, a world languages teacher who organized it.
Students of all grades volunteered to perform dance compositions and to prepare trays of food, such as empanadas, fattoush — a Middle Eastern salad — and yes, even hot dogs.
Tables were arranged around the perimeter of the high school gymnasium.
Most of them were used as information kiosks, where students wearing costumes indicative of their cultures displayed artifacts and heirlooms to explain the nations they represented. And suspended from the tall ceiling were the many flags of countries showcased at the event, from Bangladesh and Brazil to Peru and the Philippines.
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Even the former nation of Circassia had a delegation.
Mariam Abey, a high school senior, and Taya Ishak, a junior, represented the onetime country, which was conquered and occupied by Russia almost 160 years ago.
Students who were not directly involved in the fair were also able to participate.
Instead of going to their English classes, they went to the event. They carried with them faux passports — index cards that they asked to have stamped each time they visited a table.
Orsita said the students needed at least five stamps on their passports to enter the food line.
The high school first held the fair in the 2013 school year after Orsita said she found success doing a similar event, but on a smaller scale, to celebrate Spanish-speaking countries.
“I love bringing people together,” Orsita said. “I love bringing cultures together.”
Manchester Regional, which serves Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park, is arguably the most diverse high school in this area. More than two-thirds of its students are Hispanic, according to state data.
Principal John Coviello said he was impressed with the fair and that it “covers all the bases” as a community-building event. “We’re all being humans together,” he said. “That’s what these types of celebrations bring out — we’re all human. We need to celebrate what makes us different and the same.”
And on any other day, high school freshman Matthew Pelar may have paused before putting on a kilt. But he said he was proud to show off his Scottish heritage at the fair and to teach his classmates about the Eilean Donan Castle, built in the 13th century.
“I like to see what these cultures represent,” Matthew said. “We’re not so different, after all.”
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Manchester Regional High School NJ culture fair shows diversity
