"One love, one heart, let's get together and feel all right." -- Bob Marley

With recent racial incidents on campus and continued oppression in South Africa, the Caribbean Student Association chose Bob Marley's "One Love" for the theme of their 12th annual Caribbean Experience. The event, which will be held at 5:30 Saturday evening in the HUB Ballroom, will include traditional cuisine, music and dancing from the West Indies.

The association consists of members from the South American countries Guyana, Belize and numerous Caribbean islands. In the belief that stereotypes can be broken through a broader understanding of West Indian culture, the Experience will present a generous overview of traditional Caribbean customs.

The evening will begin with a spicy meal prepared by club members. Those wishing to escape the blandness of cafeteria life will get a shock to their systems -- included on the menu are curreyed goat and beef patties. The beverage will be sorrel drink, a juice derived from boiling and then sweetening pods from the sorrel tree, club member Mark Walker (junior-business logistics) of Jamaica said.

Following the meal, live entertainment will be provided. A prepared dialogue inserted with calypso dance, and a reggae lip sync to "One Love" will display some of the rich West Indian culture.

The evening will also feature the live band Venum, which operates from Brooklyn, New York. The band consists of musicians from the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent and Haiti.

"It's called Venum because their sounds vibrate the body like the bite from a snake," Debbie Prosper (graduate-mass comm.) of Antigua said. During the band's performance the floor will be open for dancing.

Sibyl Strain (graduate-audiology) the club's treasurer and a native of the Virgin Islands, said West Indian music, which includes reggae, calypso and socca (a slower version of calypso) is often used for political commentary. Its lively rhythm has two purposes: enjoyment and education. "It's not all nebulous, it still has a political or social base to it," Prosper said.

The instruments traditionally found in West Indian music include bongo drums, guitars and maracas. Percussion and the bass guitar play a dominant role.

Although tourism has made the Caribbean famous for its exotic beaches, incredible scuba diving and adventurous wind sailing, Strain said the islands have much more to offer.

"It's more than fun and running under a palm tree," she said.

Strain said the islands are also special because of their diverse mixture of people.

"New York isn't a melting pot to me -- it's a tossed salad. I don't see community in New York, I see skepticism," Strain said.