The Turkish American Student Association will be celebrating Turkish National Day with food and a movie about the history of Turkish democracy.
Thursday represents the 92nd anniversary of democracy in Turkey, and the Turkish American Student Association is hosting its own celebration in Athens.
The student organization is coming together for Republic Day of Turkey by eating food and watching an informational film while also socializing and celebrating with anyone who wants to join them.
After the end of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish government was declared a republic on Oct. 29, 1923, so this event is in celebration of that, according to Tuba Gezer, the secretary of the association, said.
“We are not actually following the classical way of celebrating that day,” Semih Bedir, the vice president of TASA, said. “We want to kind of gather with the American (and) international students in (Ohio University) and the Turkish students, and we will watch a movie and tell the historical background of (Turkish National Day).”
Mustafa Aydoğan, the president of TASA, said they will discuss the importance and meaning of the holiday while also having fun celebrating the national Turkish holiday.
“Turkish National Day is like the birthday of the Turkish republic,” Gezer said. “We will talk about our culture, and we will show a movie.”
The film is historical fiction and will teach attendees about the beginning of the Turkish democracy and why Oct. 29 is celebrated. However, Gezer said the event will also be an informal celebration of the day itself.
Aydoğan said there will be food at the event.
A Q&A session about the history of the Turkish Republic will also take place, Bedir said, to help teach people about the history behind this event.
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Gezer said she hopes the event will be an awesome way to teach different people about the history of Turkish culture and what this holiday represents to Turkish people.
The Turkish American Student Association changed its name this year, which was previously the Turkish Student Association, to try to encourage students from a variety of backgrounds to join rather than solely students of Turkish descent, Aydoğan said.
By changing the name, Aydoğan said the organization has increased the diversity of the members of the group if they are interested. TASA, he said, welcomes any person in Athens to become a member or hold higher positions in the student organization.
“(Any student at Ohio University) can become president if they want to. There’s no rule for like ‘You have to be Turkish to become vice president,’ ” Aydoğan said.
As of Fall Semester 2014, 35 undergraduate and graduate Turkish students are enrolled at OU according to the Office of Institutional Research. Aydoğan said the small Turkish population is one reason why they are trying to include people of all cultural backgrounds in TASA, so they can have a wide variety of students involved in the programs rather than simply limiting it to the relatively small number of Turkish students who attend Ohio University.
“Our aim is to create connection between Turkish students with American students and international students in OU,” Bedir said. “And the other part of our events is based on academics, so people can learn about things in Turkey or in the region.”
@_alexdarus
