Food, music, gift giving, and friends chatting. That’s what was on the menu for the Asian American Student Union’s final event of the fall semester.
The potluck, which was held in the Global Village kitchen on Friday, Dec. 5, served to bring students together for a relaxing and enjoyable time before finals.
“Food is just the best way to bring people together; especially when we share it,” said Brian Ma, co-president of AASU.
With a variety of Asian dishes, including spring rolls, fried rice, Kimchi, seaweed chips, Aloe Vera juices, and even mac & cheese for the not so culturally inclined, there was something for everyone.
In addition, some students played music on their guitars and violins, while others played pool on a nearby pool table. Throughout the event, people could be heard talking and laughing around the room, and many took multiple pictures with their friends.
It has sort of become an AASU tradition, said Anh Dao, the other AASU co-president. They’ve been having the party for the past few years, and each time they’ve put somewhat of a different spin on it.
Ahn felt the potluck was successful in providing a window for everybody to get together and share and experience Asian culture. And there aren’t only Asians attending, either.
“[ONU] is not that diverse, [so this] gives an opportunity for those students who are diverse to reach out to each other and bond… We [also] have Indian, we have American/Caucasian, African American…everyone is joining together, so it’s a good environment,” she said.
This year, the spin was the white elephant gift exchange, said Brian. It was something fun and lighthearted that they thought would appeal to the students.
Attendees who wanted to participate brought a gift with them—something small and wrapped. Everyone was then randomly selected to go up and pick a gift. They opened it in front of everyone, and among many “ooh’s” and “ahh’s,” showed it off.
However, there was also the stipulation that a following person could then “steal” another person’s gift, instead of opening a new one, and some attendees definitely took advantage of that. At one point a male attendee had selected what turned out to be a Victoria’s Secret bag with Bath & Body Works products, and was thrilled when a female attendee later stole it from him, because he then had the opportunity to go back and pick something else.
Both Ahn and Brian said they felt very happy with the turn out, and look forward to seeing all of the attendees return to participate in AASU events in the future.