The Indiana Association of Students of German held an event called Staatskongress at Ball State University on February 10. Sophomore Warren Central student and Secretary of State for the IASG, Karsyn Asher, organized the event.
Staatskongress is an event where German students and teachers can come together to learn more about German culture. According to German teacher Melinda Bowman, the daylong event is full of academic competitions, projects, dancing, workshops and goodies.
“A lot of kids are happy to just do all of the fun culture stuff, so it’s kind of what you make of it,” she said.
As described by Asher, the event was a lot of fun and was also a good opportunity to meet new people with common interests. It started in a large area where they talked about the various stations and activities that were going to be available throughout the day.
“I think [my favorite part] was the competitions and the different stations that we were able to do because I met new people and was able to meet new teachers and learn more," she said.
Cultural learning opportunities included lessons about German culture as a whole, how they dress and how they do things over in Germany.
At the event, there were a plethora of activities to participate in, including quizzes and games like Elfer Raus, the Germanic version of Uno, and Gummitwist, which uses an elastic band that players jump in and out of.
“They have quiz bowls where some schools compete with [their] German abilities like speaking, listening and pronunciation,” junior Jacob Brandt said.
According to Bowman students must currently be enrolled in a German class or have to have taken a German class in the past to attend Staatskongress.
Karsyn Asher will be Vice President of the IASG organization next year, and Jacob Brandt will be a representative on the student board.
“Karsyn and Jacob are exemplary German students,” Bowman said. “They’re active and engaged. I’m super excited that they’re going to be on the board because I know they will represent Warren Central, and they’re going to do a great job.”