Written By Nicolas Francis
Edited By Olivia Trupia
League of Storytellers
A few weeks ago, August 31, 2026, the Office of Multicultural Affairs held its Annual Multicultural Cookout. This year’s cookout was at the Geneseo Community Center (Formerly Geneseo Interfaith Center). This was an evening of powerful Student exchange for the various cultures we have at this college. Those in attendance included the Multicultural Center, Hillel at Geneseo, 89.3 WGSU-FM Geneseo’s Voice of the Valley, C.A.S, Intramural & Recreation, the Community Center of Geneseo, and the Office of Residence Life. And some standout guests of honor were Melinda Treadwell, President of SUNY Geneseo; Agya Boakye-Boaten, Dean of Arts and Sciences; Clifton Harcum, Director of Multicultural Affairs; Dr. Hannah Harnestand, Coordinator of Jewish Life; and Dr. Rodman King, Chief Diversity Officer. Our reporters on the ground, Amaya Hendersen and Arleene Lema, were even able to get some exclusive interviews with some of these standout guests.
As for the general layout of the building, our reporter Amaya stated that he felt the versatility of the space (Tables, couches, spaces to eat, places to relax and play games or watch TV) was an amazing setup for such a special event. He also stated that one of the best aspects was the live music provided by Geneseo’s own 89.3 WGSU-FM. Since “the music is entirely curated by students,” he feels that it really sets the vibe as a casual place for people to hang out and get to know one another. Many of the students and faculty members communicated the idea that events such as these seek to foster community building. It also gave students as well as staff an opportunity to connect outside the classroom or the office. And something we absolutely have to mention from the cookout. The food. This was an exceptional litany of food from all different cultures and religions. There were burgers that were Kosher, Hot Dogs that were Halal, Potato Salad, and of course, brownies.
In our exclusive interviews with some of the attendees, we learned a lot about the lifeblood of our college. Community and culture. Firstly, we were able to get an interview with the Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Rodmon King. He told our reporters, “Any opportunity to bring people together…is the thing that undermines bias, stereotype…actually engaging with others’ opinions, ideas, and different types of people. I think it’s great to have these types of events.” We were also able to interview the man who made a lot of this day possible. Clifton Harcum, Director of Multicultural Affairs. Harcum is currently in his 4th year here at SUNY Geneseo. While talking about his job and the Geneseo community, he said, “What I do is bring people together. I provide…cultural enrichment opportunities for students by bringing in engaging speakers, off-campus excursions, and getting people connected… helping students…feel like a part of the community here, especially if you come from a marginalized group.” When our reporter Arleene Lema asked him how he started with the Community Center of Geneseo, he stated, “[Sarah McLean (Community Center of Geneseo, Board Chair) and the Community Center] have always been good to me, the students, especially the culture clubs. We work together to support one another. Yeah, it’s all about feeling it…and that’s the vibe that I like to bring to multiculturalism. We are all different. And that’s fine. Let me be me…that doesn’t mean that we all can’t get along, learn from one another, and respect each other.” He further explained that one of the culture clubs that often uses this space was the Hillel Club.
This led our reporters to interview Co-Presidents of Hillel Talia Weidberg and Charlotte Coker. Weidberg told us, “[The community center] is where Hillel meets for Shabbat. So our home base is the community center. We have services every Friday night…followed by dinner and activity. And then we also have other events. We’re going apple picking this Sunday for Rosh Hashanah. But our main thing is celebrating the culture.” Coker continued further that “it’s…a really great resource to have. It’s something that reminds me of home, and I didn’t think I could do it in college because there is also no synagogue in the area. You would have to go to the University of Rochester to celebrate.”
Also in attendance were members of WGSU-FM (89.3), whom we were also able to interview. We first asked WGSU-FM (89.3) Operations Manager Kyle Bulger about the station and what it stands for. Bulger said, “WGSU highlights…independent artists…we play a 24/7 rotation of music that’s sent to us every week from labels and independent artists, trying to get their music played on campus radio. Because [college radio] is currently one of the biggest outlets that allows expression for independent artists….It’s really valuable to have a college radio station that might allow students to hear something they wouldn’t otherwise hear: human-made music from people who are, you know, independent, trying to make their mark in the music world, trying to get their self-expression out there.” We also managed to talk to a member of the Sports Programming at WGSU-FM (89.3), Brenna Cumming, about some of the radio shows on WGSU-FM (89.3). She told us, “Liam and I, we co-run the sports department, so we have a talk show on Monday nights. It’s called Chalk Talk, and basically just talk sports for, like, an hour. Like, Geneseo sports, local sports, national sports…really anything…it gets really fun when…we’re in, like, NFL playoffs…March Madness…stuff like that. Liam also does the play-by-play for the Ice Knights game. So, yeah, it’s really fun…[I’m] really close with these guys now, because of the radio.”
Overall, the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ Annual Multicultural Cookout was an overwhelming success this year. We were able to get some great interviews with many different communities and cultures and also gain a better understanding of our own Geneseo campus community.
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