DaeJa Young
Students gather for a night of multicultural food.
The excitement surrounding the World’s Table celebration was palpable around Hofstra University on Friday, March 7. The scent of freshly prepared dishes wafted from the multipurpose room in the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center. By 6 p.m., the room was packed with hundreds of students eager to try new food. The World’s Table was a festival held to celebrate diversity by serving meals from different cultures.
This event was the first of its kind at Hofstra and was coordinated by three different organizations: the Student Government Association (SGA), International Student Enrollment (ISE) and Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion (IEI). This was an interorganizational effort aimed at uniting students.
The idea for the festival was driven by parents who wanted to cook for their kids. This idea evolved into the World’s Table over time as it was transferred from ISE to IEI and SGA. Many parents also had a hand in selecting and preparing the food. Branka Kristic, director of Parent and Family Programs and an organizer of the event and others encouraged the idea of diversifying the food to encompass meals from around the world.
“We asked Hofstra parents to bring their own dishes [from] their own background and [from] their own region to connect cultures but also our community,” Kristic said.
A myriad of dishes were served, giving students options from around the globe. Throughout the many rice dishes, one of was biryani, a Southeast Asian dish including a mix of chicken, yellow rice and different spices. The dish was a smashing hit and ran out quickly. Macaroni and cheese was also popular and paneer, a South Asian cheese, was a great addition.
Students had fun trying new foods and many found different dishes that stood out to them.
“[There was] coconut milk lime rice,” said Gabriella Krawczyk, a freshman computer science major. “It was in a square and it had this red sauce on top of it. That was probably my favorite.”
There was also a soup station where attendants could mix red soup with noodles and green vegetables, such as fennel. The noodles were soft and were a perfect complement to the soup, making it another popular station among students.
Though the food was delicious, some students were left wanting to know more about them. While names, allergy information and dietary information were provided for each dish, there was limited background information available.
“In the future, I would hope that they would stick little flags [in the dishes] so I know where the foods are from,” said Jae Hwa, a senior computer science major.
Student rapper, Xavier “OfficialX” Bell, performed at the event. Bell, a senior music business major, showcased his original song “Stomp.” After the performance, he described his experience.
“I was very nervous,” Bell said. “DaeJa [Young, the Equity and Inclusion Chair of SGA] asked me not too long ago to perform, and I wasn’t expecting it to be many people … but it’s over now, and it seems like some people enjoyed it.”
Before the event, 150 students registered to attend. By the end of the night, over 300 students were present.
“We wanted to bring everybody together,” Kristic said. “It’s not only international students. It’s not only multicultural groups. It’s everybody. Good food is always the best way to connect people.”