With a mix of the old and the new, Randolph-Macon College students recently celebrated Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors. On a warm, late-summer day in Mary Branch Circle, more than 60 students splashed each other with water, then covered each other with brightly covered powder during a Hindu event called Holi. The lively program was sponsored by RMC’s International Interest Group (IIG), a community of students committed to recognizing and appreciating all cultures.

Photos: Holi Festival 2016

Joy, Welcome, Connection
Holi, celebrated by Hindus in India and throughout the world, is an ancient rite more than 2,000 years old. During this festival, revelers cover each other in water and colored powder to celebrate the beginning of spring and to commemorate various Hindu legends. It is traditionally celebrated in early March—but Yellow Jackets celebrate it at the beginning of the school year.

“We chose to have this event in the fall to bring in the new school year,” says Jennifer Jeu ’17, a chemistry major, accounting minor, and IIG member. “It’s a fun event that gets people out of their rooms. Participants enjoyed a beautiful day outside and learned a little bit about a culture they may not have known about before.”

Tran Tran ’19 is a computer science and mathematics major from Quangnam, Vietnam. This was her second year to participate in the Holi event.

“Holi is a good opportunity for me to make friends,” she says. “When I first started at RMC, I was pretty shy, but I got involved in IIG, and I went to the Holi festival. It was so much fun! Thanks in part to Holi, I have come of my shell and become much more sociable.”

Abigail Kasko ’17 is a sociology and anthropology major and psychology minor. This year she took photos of the event.
“I enjoyed focusing in on the faces of the participants,” she says, “and seeing their joy as they let loose.”

Tammi Reichel, study-abroad advisor in the Office of International Education, says, “The Holi Festival colors have deep significance in Indian culture. We have adopted the colorful part of the festival as a celebration of joy, welcome and connection.”

International Students at RMC 
The OIE supports international students’ adjustment to life at RMC and in the United States. From International Student Orientation before classes even start, to one-on-one meetings with the Study Abroad Advisor, staff in the OIE help international students integrate into the vibrant intellectual and social RMC community.