On Wednesday, Jan. 14, The Office of Multicultural and International Student Services (M.I.S.S.) held the event “Taste of Africa in the LSC Mall area.
M.I.S.S is an organization dedicated to increasing awareness and education on cultures from all over the world.
“Our whole goal is [to] spread awareness and education about many cultures and diverse groups that people may not know much about,” Ashley McDonough, program coordinator of M.I.S.S., said. “We also love when students of those cultures can teach us something new.”
At the event they served African food such as doro wat, an African stew, and African banana peanut cake. They also gave away school supplies.
The event started at 12 p.m. and was scheduled to run until the food ran out. McDonough said M.I.S.S. ordered enough food for 100-150 people, and the food was gone in less than thirty minutes.
“A great success, in fact, quite possibly one of our most successful programs,” McDonough said.
Many students from the continent of Africa showed up to the event, but students of African descent and many non-African students attended. Of the African students, many said they were grateful that the university had a program dedicated to their homeland, and some even said that the program made them feel more at home in this country.
The students of African descent said though they had never had this stew before, they recognized the flavors and could see how it would fit into the culture their families came from.
Many of the students with no African background enjoyed learning more about Africa. According to McDonough, some facts they discussed that people might not have known are that Africa is the second largest continent on Earth, and Egypt and the Nile River are in Africa.
The event also featured pictures of traditional African masks and traditional dress. Pictures of Africa cut into the different regions, including the islands off of Africa, were also featured.
M.I.S.S.’s next event is on Jan. 26 celebrating the Chinese New Year in the LSC room 320 from 12-2 p.m. They are giving away traditional Chinese give-a-way door prizes, and lots of information about Chinese culture. They encourage students come and participate in cultural awareness.