SID organizations host Taste of the World event.
During Mission Week, student association Bridging the Gap collaborated with other campus organizations to host the Taste of the World event on March 1.
The event was sponsored by Student Inclusion and Diversity (SID) and Adult Student Life (ASL) to celebrate the diversity on the St. Joe’s campus. Other participating student groups included the Black Student Union (BSU), the Asian Student Association (ASA), the Latino Student Association (LSA) and other organizations within SID and ASL.
“The purpose of the event is really to give individuals a chance to share a piece of their culture,” said Natalie Walker Brown, director for SID. “I think food is one of those things that brings people together and is the easiest way to open that dialogue.”
Taste of the World allowed students of different backgrounds to come together to appreciate the other cultures that are represented on campus. The night involved student performances and raffle prizes, but the buffet of food served by members of the SID and ASL organizations was the main part of the event.
“It’s important to have Taste of the World and events like this on campus because so often people feel like diversity is being shoved down their throat,” said Alim Young ’19, vice president of Bridging the Gap and coordinator of the event. “I feel like this is a way to say it’s important to shove diversity down your throat in a very literal sense.”
Young said the event’s main purpose was to encourage students to experience other cultures one step at a time.
“Trying different cuisines is a very small part of exposing yourself to different parts of the world,” Young said. “[But] it’s a segway into something greater. If you’re willing to try the food, how much more are you willing to then meet the people? If you’re willing to meet the people, how much more are you willing to then understand those people?”
Brown also said Taste of the World has been effective in fostering interactions between members of the St. Joe’s community that may not typically happen.
“My favorite part about this evening version of Taste of the World is looking around and seeing so many different kinds of students coming together,” Brown said. “This is really the personification of living with and for others and showing the level of diversity that we have on campus.”
For Sofia Fallas ’18, the event not only helped her learn about other cultures, but it also allowed her to connect with her own Costa Rican background.
Although Fallas is not a member of any of the organizations, being able to eat food that her family makes made her feel more at home on campus.
“This is the first time I’ve been in a room with so many different people from so many different backgrounds at Saint Joseph’s,” Fallas said. “This was the first time I almost felt at home sincerely. It was a beautiful feeling to have.”
During the second part of the event, some of the SID organizations gave performances, including poetry readings, singing and a preview of the Caribbean Student Association’s upcoming fashion show. This provided another opportunity for the organizations to express their cultural identities.
To Young, this event is both an important and fun way to celebrate the diversity on campus and expose students to the different cultures that are around them.
“From there, we realize there are fewer differences than we think and more similarities,” Young said. “We’re all human, and we all walk. We just walk through life in a different way.”
