SAGA's International Casino Night

Written by Kritika Gurung

@issasaltier

Photo by Baoliang “Leon” Chen

On November 27th, 2019, Students Acting for Global Awareness (SAGA), hosted the first-ever International Casino Night. This event promoted the essence of its host society SAGA— a group of international and domestic students who come together to promote harmony and unity among the diverse student body. The society hosts numerous events throughout the semester, which work towards bridging the cultural gap between the international students and the domestic students.

The International Casino Night served as an active educational engagement among students from various backgrounds and cultures. The event catered to enthusiastic students who indulged in games from all over the world, such as dominoes, UNO, mah-jong, chess, ludo, and various card games. Students were provided with fake money to boost participation and to create an authentic ambience. "Casino Night was a great event. It was refreshing, and I got to experience a casino night in school.", mentioned Jaskaran Singh Anand, a second-year biology student.

The games were arranged and taught by volunteers from the African and Chinese societies. Additionally, the Music society played its part in serenading everyone throughout the evening. "It was truly an amazing experience. I played dominoes for the first time!”, said Jody Ann Johnson, a second-year biology student.

As the night came to an end, the winners of the games took home movie tickets, school merchandise, and chocolate loonies. SAGA members rejoiced in the success of their event, as Shreetee Appadu, SAGA ex-coordinator,  mentioned, "[t]he experience was great! It was our biggest event, and a lot of preparation was put in for it. We did not get as many people as we wanted but the few people that were there had a great time."  

Alissa Anderson, SAGA member, also stated that she really enjoyed the event and perceived other attendees did so as well. Due to the success of this event, SAGA has decided to make the International Casino Night a yearly event. 

Students looking for opportunities to volunteer with SAGA and stay active on campus while developing their interpersonal skills can visit the following website: https://smu.ca/international/saga.html.