This past Tuesday, Columbia University welcomed Assistant Professor Emily Balic from City College to discuss Sarajevo — a city now infamous for being one of Europe's last multicultural strongholds. The question Professor Balic sought to answer: how can a diverse community survive the obstacles of World War II?

"Sarajevo’s leaders responded to all of these numerous challenges, of war, occupation, genocide and civil conflict, by clinging to two aspects of the city’s traditional culture: one was a system of religious identities that persisted in the private sphere, and two was a civic urban solidarity, or what I call a “city consciousness,� or Sarajevo consciousness, that was rooted in Sarajevo’s Ottoman and Hapsburg traditions of political pluralism and cultural diversity."

An example of this “city consciousness� was put on display in Roone Arledge Auditorium on Saturday evening, as CCSC, ESC, and the Caribbean Students’ Association joined forces to unite Columbia’s many cultures at one event.

CCSC Vice President Deysy Ordonez-Arreola described “Passport to Columbia: A Global Affair� as an event meant "to show the diversity of the campus, both food-wise [and entertainment-wise], and the entertainment doesn’t just have to do with dance; we had amazing performers on violin and things of that sort. It’s just a community-building event that we put on every year.�

The U.S. News and World Report recently published a list of the most ethnically-diverse colleges, and Columbia placed highest amongst the Ivy League schools.

Chris Elizondo, Vice President of ESC, sees this diversity as a positive: "Each person brings to the table a different perspective in class, in dorm rooms, at dinner tables, and it really adds to what we are as a global community nowadays."

April Simpson, President of the Caribbean Students' Association, adds that "everything we learn on campus really intertwines with the people we know on campus, so I think that’s integral and it’s extremely beneficial."

While the benefits of a multi-ethnic society seem evident, the Columbia community, much like the people of the city of Sarajevo, has seen its share of racially-motivated controversies.

Ms. Ordonez, however, can see the light at the end of the tunnel. "Yes, there have been conflicts in the past among students, and among cultures and races and whatnot, but it is important that people become educated whether it’s visually or whether it’s just sharing a part of the culture, so that’s a form of education…I feel that overall, educating, sharing your culture, and being understanding of one another helps eliminate those issues."