By Tim Leeds
An authentic Greek dinner will be served at the Montana State University-Northern Student Union Building Saturday, April 1 at 5 p.m.
Jim and Sheila Treperinas and their niece, Evangalia Kotsikurou, will be the major cooks for the dinner.
Gyros, baklava and other Greek desserts will be served at the dinner. International Club members will serve the cuisine, and a video show of Greece is planned after the dinner. Seating for the dinner is limited to 150.
Kotsikurou, a native of Greece, is a member of the university's International Club. The dinner is being held as a fund-raiser for the club's graduation party May 6.
Mavis Filler, advisor to the club, said 10 of the club's 13 members are graduating this spring, so they wanted to do something special to celebrate.
"We've never had this many graduate before," she said.
Filler said members of the club have many of the same problems. She said they're so far from home, if any feel homesick there isn't much they can do.
She said finding work is also difficult, since they can't get work permits as exchange students and have to receive special dispensation to get jobs off campus. They also can't receive work study, since they aren't U.S. citizens, so finding work on campus can also be difficult.
Filler said the university has been helpful finding work for the club members, especially in the food service, physical plant and daycare facilities. With budget shortfalls for the university, she said, some of these opportunities are decreasing.
Filler said since members of the club have so many similar problems and experiences, they feel more like a family than a club.
Tickets for the dinner are $5. They are available at Cowan Hall, room 213 at MSU-Northern; downtown at Cavalier's, 321 Third Street; or from International Club members. Tickets can also be purchased by mail; send a check for $5 payable to International Club to: Mavis Filler, MSU-Northern, PO Box 7751, Havre, MT 59501. Tickets will be mailed back.
