Before the Taste of the World even started, the line of students anticipating entrance to the event was thirty strong. The excited chatter of the students in line only added to the magnetic energy of the vendors inside Taste of the World. Juan Calderon (’22) was all smiles as he told me “it’s exciting to be back. Last year was a total success.” With the event about to begin, I said goodbye to Calderon to make room for the throng of students about to descend on the vendors.

From guacamole to fried rice, this air of anticipation was apparent with all of the vendors. Irene Laws (’20) member of BSA said that “this year there is a lot more excitement within [BSA]” and there was also a lot more furor among students attending the event, as seen by the attendance.

The rate at which students entered the CUB garage could not keep up with the number of students still arriving.

If anything, the line got longer.

I approached a group of students waiting in line and Jacob Watkins (’22) told me he’s “really excited to try Irish food.” A common sentiment heard from Watkins and others in line was that they were not able to attend the event last year because of class. 

Another barrier to the event was its sheer popularity. Last year, the event quickly ran out of food, and to combat that this year the food budget was expanded. Despite the efforts of Tahira Perry (’21), the current chair of the Multicultural Student Council (MSC), this year also saw every vendor run out of food in less than an hour. However, Perry plans on expanding the event to a wider venue, as her vision for the event to act as a catalyst “to ensure that the event is expanding the horizons of our student body and allowing them to see the beautiful cultures of this campus which may not be highlighted every day.”

The cultural impact of this event is stated by Perry when she told me she hopes the various cultural organizations can “use it as a tool to introduce [students] to their cuisine but also to any events they may be having as an organization.” Perry also expressed her gratitude for her “partnerships with SGA and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion [which] have allowed us to impact the wide range of students that we have this year.”