By Simon Olagbaju

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This year’s International Student Council has more than doubled in number and hopes to continue the trend into the next year, said current ISC president Sarita Gustely, a vocal performance and international studies major.

“Last year we had about 20 members and this year we’ve grown to about 50,” Gustely said. “By the end of next year, we hope to have about a hundred active members, since these individuals will connect us with more campus communities.”

This year, ISC has brought together seven different international organizations: the African Student Association, Omani Student Association, Indian Student Association, Chinese International Fraternity Alliance, Brazil Without Borders, the Japanese Culture in Kentucky Society, and an upcoming Indonesian Student Organization, according to UKNow.

“Last year we didn’t have much representation of international student organizations and we hadn’t actively worked with student government,” Gustely said. “In the past, we had our festivals and events as more of a social experience to meet people from different cultures, but now the ISC is working on not only having a good social atmosphere, but also learning and spreading the education of different cultures.”

Gustely said that ISC plans to work closely with the international student organizations and will also hold fundraisers to support any events they hold.

“We came up with the idea of having representatives of these organizations at our monthly meetings,” said finance and accounting junior Omer Tariq, the ISC vice president. “If organizations want to promote something or we want to discuss a certain topic, representatives will stop by. It’s a great way of networking.”

The new connections and “tremendous” growth in members due to K Week recruitment has meant increased participation in on-campus activities, Gustely said.

One event that the ISC believes will help them in their mission is the upcoming 2014 Culture Fest, Gustely said, on Oct. 18.

ISC is leaning toward more educational activities, Gustely said, like the Culture Fest’s requirement that students receive stamps from all of the available culture tables in order to take a photo in the festival’s booth and leave their fingerprint on a map to show where they come from.

”It will be an opportunity for people to share their individual stories about their cultures,” Gustely said.