Author: Jacob Goldstein
On October 19, the Intercultural Community Center (ICC) hosted “A Taste of Oxy” in Herrick Interfaith Chapel. The event featured a free multicultural dinner buffet, student photography and a mixture of student and professional entertainment. The event was sponsored by the Pilipino United Students Organization (PUSO), the Associated Students of Occidental College, Residence Life and Housing Services and the Dean of Students Office.
Program Assistant (PA) for the ICC Lindsey Fuller (sophomore) was the head PA for the event. “‘A Taste of Oxy’ is a program geared towards providing a venue where aspects of various cultures are experienced through food and performance. We hope that students are exposed to new things and are encouraged to learn more about different cultures,” she said.
The event began with a large, multicultural buffet diner, featuring everything from pad thai and taquitos to hummus and pita. Food was donated by 10 campus cultural clubs, including PUSO, Mecha/Alas, BSA and APIA. 18 Eagle Rock restaurants and businesses also contributed to the event, including Blue Hen, Swork, Spitz and Trader Joe’s. Auntie Em’s Kitchen donated chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for the dessert table. Though there was more food than students, the excess did not go to waste. The ICC arranged to have the leftovers delivered to a local homeless shelter.
The dinner portion of the event showcased the work of student photographers Ryan Bowen (senior), Chelsea Lewkow (sophomore) and Tope Sosanya (senior). Tying in with the theme of the event, the students’ photos focused on a wide variety of ethnic and multicultural subjects. Many of the photos were taken while abroad.
Ronni Toledo (sophomore) enjoyed the food selection and the lively atmosphere. Toledo remarked on the importance of events such as “A Taste of Oxy” in building a sense of community among students. “It’s a really meaningful event to bring people together and show off some Oxy talent,” Toledo said.
Around 7:30 p.m., the crowd was directed upstairs to Upper Herrick for the performance section of the event. 16 performers took to the stage in front of approximately 200 people. The line-up included both students and professional guest performers.
The night started with a performance by the United Capoeira Association, which included Oxy students Alicia Egan (junior), Tariq Hines (junior), Sarah DeNicola (junior) and Jamie Thalman (sophomore). Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art in which participants take turns fighting within a circle. They showcased both group and individual sparring for the audience.
Thalman thought the performance went well. “I was extremely excited to perform at ‘A Taste of Oxy,'” he said. Thalman detailed the amount of preparation that went into the performance. “It’s something [the United Capoeira Association] has been working on for a full month. We’ve been practicing three times per week with the expectation of showing it to the Oxy students,” he said.
The evening also showcased Oxy singers, musicians and spoken word poets. Emily Isenberg (junior), Siobahn Heard (senior), Mike Adams (senior), Monikah Baltimore (first-year) and Doug Locke (sophomore) performed songs. Brandon Oliva (junior) was accompanied by guitarist Ellis Raskin (sophomore). Both Noah Tavares (first-year) and Mandla Godledale (sophomore), who were accompanied by Sonia Palmer-Ghose (sophomore), played guitar and sang original songs. Conor Anderson (first-year), Kai Allen (sophomore) and Tope Sosanya (senior) recited spoken word poetry.
The evening continued with performances by the Occidental Folk and Historical Dance Troupe, which included group members Professor Alan Knoerr, Cira Ortiz (senior), Sam Palumbo (senior), Erin Brown (senior), Abby Klein (sophomore) and Vanda Ayrapertyan (senior). There was also a rap/rock jam session involving several students, including Scott Jeffers (junior), Julian Mitchell (sophomore), Miles Painter (sophomore), Zachary Lundgren (sophomore), Marti Kallas (junior) and Alexander Altman (junior).
For Heard, the event was particularly meaningful. Performing at her fourth consecutive “A Taste of Oxy,” she chose to sing a spiritual piece that she said she has “been singing for years in church.”
“It was really amazing,” Heard said of performing for her fourth and last time. “It is like coming full circle.”
In conjunction with PUSO, “A Taste of Oxy” also celebrated Filipino American History Month. Filipino American History Month is a national event that occurs every October. Ariane Salvador (senior), one of the chairs of PUSO, explained that PUSO was eager to get involved with “A Taste of Oxy” to raise awareness of Filipino American History Month among the student body.
“‘A Taste of Oxy’ has been an important event every year,” Salvador said. “Because it falls within Filipino American Heritage month, we wanted to represent our club and our culture.”
To kick off their week of events celebrating Filipino American History month, the club brought spoken word poet and Filipino hip-hop artist Bambu to “A Taste of Oxy.”
After the event had concluded, Fuller expressed her happiness with the outcome. “I’m beyond happy with the event . . . I’m ecstatic!” she said. “I’m proud to have created an event that brought a bunch of separate communities together to celebrate as one. I think it reminded the Oxy students that although we come from different places, all cultures eat and express themselves artistically—so why not do it together sometimes?”
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