Events celebrate cultural diversity
Taste of Diversity and International Banquet show students the world
Jessie Burch
Issue date: 4/23/10 Section: Scene
Last Friday, from 2-4 p.m., the Trinity Diversity Connection (TDC) and their 12 associate groups hosted Taste of Diversity on the Coates University Esplanade.
Each group had a booth with food and an activity that corresponded with their culture.
"We wanted to promote people's understanding of other cultures through music, activities and actual knowledge of some facts," said Minh-Thi Pham, a junior from Vietnam who is the Program Coordinator for TDC.
The groups that had booths included the Asian Sub-Continental Association (ASA), and the Black Student Union (BSU).
Marcus Bowen, junior and president of the Black Student Union, ordered banana pudding and peach cobbler for the event.
"In the South, they're kind of considered comfort foods, so we wanted people to relax and have fun," Bowen said.
Laney Redus, senior and treasurer of the GCS, sat at their table making wire jewelry based on Celtic knot work and serving fish and chips and chocolate stout cake.
"The jewelry represents some of the traditional Celtic artwork, and fish and chips is one of the most common foods you'd find in any of the English colonies. And chocolate stout cake is just delicious," Redus said.
The Hindu Student Union (HSU) and the Jewish Student Association (JSA) booths were popular as well.
Stephanie Barbour, first year, said, "I liked the Falafel [from JSA] - it was so good! You can always find something good to eat at all of them, I think."
Arepas-corn tortillas filled with a sort of chicken guacamole-was the food served at the Latino Exchange (LX) booth.
Gabriela Garcia, senior and treasurer of LX, said, "I've been trying to get LX to serve something Venezuelan for years!"
The Muslim Student Association (MSA), Sexual Diversity Alliance (SDA), Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), Chinese Culture Club (CCC) and Korean Student Association (KSA) also hosted booths with questionnaires, skits, games and food.
"This year we wanted to give people an incentive to stay and get involved," Pham said. "To get a shirt, people came up to the microphone to say hello in three languages or why you love diversity or something like that."
In line with that goal, questions about different cultures represented by the booths were printed on bingo cards, which students were encouraged to fill out by getting the answers and signatures from the correct booths.
The bingo card could then be exchanged for a raffle ticket to be entered in a drawing for gift certificates to international restaurants in San Antonio.
"I think it was super successful - there were a lot of people and everyone was having a good time - not only with the food but with the activities," said Nadia Megahed, senior and TDC officer.
Each group had a booth with food and an activity that corresponded with their culture.
"We wanted to promote people's understanding of other cultures through music, activities and actual knowledge of some facts," said Minh-Thi Pham, a junior from Vietnam who is the Program Coordinator for TDC.
The groups that had booths included the Asian Sub-Continental Association (ASA), and the Black Student Union (BSU).
Marcus Bowen, junior and president of the Black Student Union, ordered banana pudding and peach cobbler for the event.
"In the South, they're kind of considered comfort foods, so we wanted people to relax and have fun," Bowen said.
Laney Redus, senior and treasurer of the GCS, sat at their table making wire jewelry based on Celtic knot work and serving fish and chips and chocolate stout cake.
"The jewelry represents some of the traditional Celtic artwork, and fish and chips is one of the most common foods you'd find in any of the English colonies. And chocolate stout cake is just delicious," Redus said.
The Hindu Student Union (HSU) and the Jewish Student Association (JSA) booths were popular as well.
Stephanie Barbour, first year, said, "I liked the Falafel [from JSA] - it was so good! You can always find something good to eat at all of them, I think."
Arepas-corn tortillas filled with a sort of chicken guacamole-was the food served at the Latino Exchange (LX) booth.
Gabriela Garcia, senior and treasurer of LX, said, "I've been trying to get LX to serve something Venezuelan for years!"
The Muslim Student Association (MSA), Sexual Diversity Alliance (SDA), Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), Chinese Culture Club (CCC) and Korean Student Association (KSA) also hosted booths with questionnaires, skits, games and food.
"This year we wanted to give people an incentive to stay and get involved," Pham said. "To get a shirt, people came up to the microphone to say hello in three languages or why you love diversity or something like that."
In line with that goal, questions about different cultures represented by the booths were printed on bingo cards, which students were encouraged to fill out by getting the answers and signatures from the correct booths.
The bingo card could then be exchanged for a raffle ticket to be entered in a drawing for gift certificates to international restaurants in San Antonio.
"I think it was super successful - there were a lot of people and everyone was having a good time - not only with the food but with the activities," said Nadia Megahed, senior and TDC officer.
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