By Nicole Ervin
Drake’s Anime Club partnered with students in the Japanese language program to put on an event celebrating the traditions of the ancient country.
They learned that creating a well-rounded look into another culture is harder than it appears.

The students presented Karaoke Café and Culture night. Karaoke is a popular pastime in Japan, especially in the business community. Traditional Japanese street food was served, along with a kimono fashion show.

While the anime club’s goal is to promote Japanese culture on campus, many Drake students studying Japanese language and society don’t think they show a complete picture.

Senior Jonathon Moore is a writing major at Drake, but he has studied the Japanese language since high school.

Though the students may not appreciate the anime club’s perspective, Japanese professor Chinatsu Sazawa thinks the club does a good job of incorporating other aspects of Japanese culture.

Those involved in the Japanese learning program at Drake fear they will lose funding and hope events like these will get more students interested in the program.