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Syracuse University dining halls opened their doors early to members of SU cultural organizations this weekend. Between 8 and 9 a.m., students prepared over 800 portions of cultural dishes for Sunday’s International Festival.

“It was annoying at times … so much food to bake, we’re hot, we’re sweaty, but we did it,” said Caribbean Student Association vice president Janese Fayson. “We love our organization and we love this event. We do it every year.”

The International Festival, organized by the Center for International Services, hosted 12 cultural and regional student organizations this year. The annual event is a chance for students to try food from different regions and watch cultural performances.

Meriel Stokoe, coordinator of programming, events and activities, said the office makes the event possible, but the student organizations do all of the work. The organizations tell the office what ingredients they need, and the office procures them what they need as well as a kitchen to cook in.

The Muslim Students’ Association spent weeks deciding what food to contribute to the festival, said vice president Mian Abdul Hamid. Because Muslims aren’t tied to a specific region, the organization wanted to represent their diverse community.

The group made dishes from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, including vegetable tagine, Persian dolmeh and karak chai. Hamid said it was nice to see different groups coming together for the same purpose.

“Many students when they come in here as a freshman, especially from those who are from minority backgrounds, they tend to fall into sort of a confusion that ‘OK, I don’t think I belong. I don’t know where my people are,’” he said. “We welcome everyone with open arms.”

Cassandra Roshu | Photo Editor

12 cultural and regional student organizations serve over 800 portions of cultural dishes for Sunday’s International Festival.

Fayson said seeing different cultures come together is special and uniquely SU. One of Fayson’s friends was with her at the table visiting from Florida, and said the festival was different than anything at her school.

“(In the Caribbean Student Association) they look like me, they understand me, they understand similar experiences,” Fayson said. “Obviously, we all come with our own personal baggage, but in terms of experiences — so similar.”

Fayson, who is from Miami, Florida, said coming to SU was a shock. Having people on campus that “get it” made a huge difference.

Jaime Mauricio Luna, a member of the Mexican Student Association, said the event is an opportunity to share his culture with the Syracuse community. The association’s mission is to build a community for Mexican students and break stereotypes.

SU does not have a lot of Mexican representation, Luna said, so he also had trouble finding community during his first couple of years at college. Now that he has joined the association, he wants to build a community for the next generation of Mexican students.

“Through food, people are able to just enjoy a good meal and also be able to talk to us a little bit and learn about why we made the food,” Luna said. “We’re able to just converse a lot on what we’re doing here on campus and what Mexico is like.”

This year was sophomores Victoria Chen and Alexander Reid’s second time at the festival. Last year, they loved the food and experience of exploring new cultures, so they were excited to return.

“Going to so many different places all within five feet of each other is crazy,” Reid said. “Being able to expose yourself to different cultures and communities is really important, especially in today’s climate. It’s just a way for people to connect — no matter if you’re part of these communities or not.”

Chen agreed and said it is important to expose yourself to new cultures as a student. Stokoe said these events are important because they provide a voice for participating students. Syracuse has rich cultural diversity, and the event allows people to share in it, Stokoe said.

“People always ask me ‘What are the favorite things about my position?’” Stokoe said. “I always say, by far, it’s students. I get to meet students from all around the world and every day just by talking to someone from a different part of the world, I learn something.”

Published on April 14, 2024 at 9:29 pm