White T-shirts, colored powder and a running hose at Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, made for “an awesome time,” University sophomore digital arts major Alex Kim said. An estimated 400 students and community members gathered Thursday afternoon to participate in this Hindu celebration organized by the University’s chapter of Students of the Indian Subcontinent.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=alex+kim@@@@http://pages.uoregon.edu/sis/@@
SIS’s stated goal is to educate the campus community about the diverse cultures of the Indian subcontinent and to form a network of students and community members interested in Indian culture. The group comprises students from India, Sri Lanka, Fiji and other Indian subcontinental countries.
“We wanted to hold an event in which people could actually get immersed and have fun, rather than just learn about the culture,” sophomore SIS coordinator Saraga Reddy said.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=saraga@@

The event, hosted on the lawn south of Knight Library, was certainly a hit, with a large turnout and what seemed to be a fun time for all. The first 80 participants received free white shirts to wear for the event. All the materials and snacks were provided by SIS. Buckets filled with various colored powders, a small wading pool, squirt guns, cups, hoses and anything that could be used to smear or spray dye on others was fair game in this all-out explosion of color.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this happening here; it should be held every year,” University student Mackenzie Ludwig said, moments before a hose was turned on her.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=ludwig@@
When the powder ran out, participants turned to soaking everyone in sight, eventually setting up a slip ‘n’ slide on a tarp.
Laughter and shrieks of surprise were plentiful among the water and colored powder flying in the air.
“It represents all the different colors that appear in the spring and the fun that is associated with the season,” SIS member Reesi Argopolo said.
Argopolo, who had been to a Holi festival in India, explained how in India, real dyes and paint chemicals are used.
“It can get dangerous if people go overboard with it, but we know when to stop.” Argopolo said, referring to students getting rowdy with the powders.
Publicity has not been great for SIS, but this event has certainly spread its name.  Facebook was the most common form through which people were informed about the event. The event, “Holi! (FREE),” was circulated throughout the University’s Facebook network for the past few weeks. It amassed a following of more than 2,600 students and community members.
The SIS has put on other events, such as its Diwali and Utsav celebrations held in the fall and spring respectively. Utsav, held in early April, is an event mostly composed of dances and performances from SIS members and members of the University’s Indian population. The SIS is open for anyone within the community to join and partake in other Indian cultural events.@@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEpHAv8S9vo@@
“We’re glad we could hold an event where people got physically involved with the celebration,” SIS sophomore co-coordinator Riti Gupta said.
More photos from the event can be found at the Emerald’s photo blog.
— Sam Stites