The Boston University International Students’ Consortium hosted its second-annual Moonlight Harbor Cruise through Boston Harbor on Friday night, offering students from area colleges an opportunity to meet people from around the world.
About 500 students from nearly 30 countries attended the event, which was co-sponsored by student groups from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston College and Northeastern University. The Dean of Students Office, International Admissions, the Howard Thurman Center and the Orientation Office also collaborated with the event.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity to meet people from other schools,” College of Arts and Sciences student John Callaio said. “We thought it would be a good opportunity to immerse ourselves in different kinds of cultures.”
Students from the participating schools and other area schools boarded the Odyssey yacht at 11 p.m. on Friday, which left from Rowes Wharf and toured Boston Harbor.
The yacht featured two indoor decks with dance floors and food, and two outdoor decks where party-goers could enjoy views of the city. DJs on both floors played a variety of music, some of it from other cultures.
This was the second annual cruise hosted by the ISC, a BU student group that seeks to unite students from different cultures.
“Our basic goal is to unify both international and domestic students,” ISC President Bilal Bilici said.
Although he wasn’t certain exactly how many different countries were represented on the cruise, Bilici said he knew of students from Bangladesh, Brazil, Columbia, Cyprus, England, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States.
“It’s really popular,” Bilici said. “It’s more than my expectations.”
The diversity of the event attracted many to the cruise, which saw an increase in turnout from last year’s 461 to 505 this year.
Wellesley College senior Christina Wang said the large attendance was the main attraction for her.
“I really like being in an international atmosphere,” Wang said. “I think it’s really cool.”
Some, like College of Arts and Sciences junior Mona Aoude, came with smaller international groups from their universities.
“We came because we’re from the Lebanese Club and we just wanted to see how all the different international clubs would interact,” Aoude said.
The ISC was founded four years ago by six Asian students from Boston University. Bilici said the group has been a bit “Asian-dominated” in past years, a feature he is seeking to change. The cruise was just one example of his attempt to “diversify ISC more,” he explained.
In addition to the cruise, the ISC is planning a second BU World Cup – a school-wide soccer tournament – which Bilici said was very successful last spring. The group also hopes to sponsor a movie night and a charity event featuring musicians.
Bilici also plans to continue hosting the Moonlight Cruise.
But whether they participated as part of an organized group or on their own, attendees said they enjoyed the chance to socialize, dance and meet new people.
For others, like one BC student from the Netherlands, their favorite part was even more basic: the food.
