Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

Sheldon Zhai, Founder and President of Multico-UW

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter.

Can you explain what Multico is for our readers?
Multico-UW is a diverse theater group that puts together sketches based on personal experiences regarding racism, prejudice, and discrimination. The ultimate mission is to use theater to educate and expose the UW student body to our different perspectives. We would like to continually branch out and recruit a few more people interested in performing and directing a few of their own original, real-life sketches focused on bringing awareness to issues spanning gender, sexuality, and multiculturalism. Once we have a base set of sketches, we look forward to co-hosting shows in the Spring semester.  Our first show is at the annual suicide prevention event at East Campus Mall in April.

How did you become involved in Multico?
I initially was a part of Multico in high school at Madison West. Once I got to the University of Wisconsin campus, I noticed a lot of ignorance on the campus regarding social and cultural awareness. After witnessing injustices targeted towards me and others, I decided it was finally time to take initiative and do something instead just being a passive bystander.  I decided to found Multico-UW on campus.

Describe the process of transferring Multico on campus? What has this involved?
In the beginning it was difficult to establish a core group of members that could consistently devote two hours a week. Once we got past the busy work and worked towards some goals, things began to settle down.

What is the best part of doing Multico?
The best part about doing Multico is doing something on this campus to tie the community together and promote mutual understanding.

Do have a favorite memory from your time in this organization?
My favorite memory of Multico so far has been a casual dinner at Kabul where we all just hung out and got to know each other better.

Is there a way people can get involved if they are interested in helping out?
Absolutely! We are a registered student organization so you can find out more about us on the CFLI organization website. Otherwise, you can contact me by email if you are interested in joining or organizing a partner show with us.

Katie is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications.