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Cultural student associations from Syracuse University filled Goldstein Auditorium with an array of dishes from all over the world and converged for what was essentially the ultimate potluck at this year’s International Festival.

For just $1 on April 24, students could buy a taste testing ticket and sample foods from South Asia, China, the Philippines, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and more.

African Graduate Students Network

AGSN supports African graduate students at SU and SUNY-ESF, both professionally and culturally. It helps students network and develop their careers while also connecting them to familiar culture and values, said Marcellin Adjoumane, AGSN’s treasurer.

“This organization helps incoming graduate students from Africa to feel like (they are) in a community and family, and find opportunities that may not be accessible to them in any other ways,” Adjoumane said.

AGSN offered soup from eastern Africa, fried rice and Ugali, all of which the organization specifically chose to show the range of cuisine in Africa, Adjoumane said. He added that, in addition to all the food options, he was excited to share the colors of Africa — bright pink, yellow and green — commonly seen in attire and accessories, some of which were displayed on AGSN’s table.

Caribbean Students Association

The Caribbean is rich with beautiful music, clothes and history, said Layla Bradshaw, a sophomore from St. Croix. CSA brings this passion to Syracuse — it’s a place for students of Caribbean descent to both connect with one another and educate others about the culture and diversity in the Caribbean.

“Part of what our organization aims to do is to share our culture with the community, and we do that through Caribfest and other little activities we throw,” said Makayla Tucker, a freshman from Bermuda. “We’re really open to others joining.”

For their spread of food, CSA chose the Dominican dish of Pastelón Plátano Maduro as well as sorrel, saltfish cakes and lemonade.

Maya Goosman | Digital Design Director

Chinese Union

Zeming Lu, president of CU, said he wanted to change perceptions around Chinese food and for people to taste something other than dumplings for a change. For its International Festival choices, CU featured dry hot noodles from Wuhan and sesame paste, both of which are street foods, Lu said.

Many organizations expressed pride in their respective cultures, and Lu said he was most glad to see different cultural groups celebrate together at an event like this.

“We have gathered a group of international students from China, and we definitely offer them some comfort by doing events … like an international festival.” he said.

European Students Association

Food and meals are central to the culture in France, said Clara Faure-Dauphin, president of ESA. The organization’s snack selection featured popular dishes like tiramisu, crepes and charcuterie with salami, prosciutto, gorgonzola and grapes.

“The fact that we are making food and sharing it with other people, that embodies French culture in itself,” Faure-Dauphin said.

But ESA doesn’t just focus on France — the organization hung multiple flags from countries like Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Azerbaijan at their table, each of which represented a member’s nationality. Faure-Dauphin said that ESA’s goal is to create a little community on campus, connect European students and help them find a bit of home, even in central New York.

Filipino Student Association

FSA created a fiesta-themed table for the International Festival — vibrant colors, cascading banners and of course, many Filipino flags. Enrique Ramon Prejula, the vice president of FSA, said the group wanted that theme to carry over to the foods they served, so they chose pancit bihon, a dish often present at Filipino celebrations, as well as pastillas for dessert.

Prejula said he was most excited to show International Festival attendees the hospitality that the Philippines is so widely known for. The Filipino and Filipino American community on campus is still relatively small, he said, but FSA is happy to welcome anyone who wants to learn more about Filipino culture.

“What I’m excited to share is the vibrancy and the hospitality of Filipinos,” Prejula said. “There’s 7,100+ islands in the Philippines, and despite all the islands, the Philippines is one big family. … We always carry our flag with us no matter where we go.”

La Société Francophone

Affiliated with the language, literature and linguistics department, La Société Francophone hosts various events throughout the year, such as cooking demonstrations, to get people excited about Francophone culture. Unlike the other organizations present at the International Festival, La Société Francophone represents many different cultures and nationalities, said the organization’s treasurer, John Moses, who comes from Quebec.

“We represent countries from every single continent on the Earth, other than Antarctica, … representing a whole plethora of cultures and foods and languages that are all part of this Francophone community,” Moses said.

The organization served crepes, Martiniquan punch and poutine, which Moses said he had a good recipe for. La Société Francophone opted for these foods in particular, because each item is from a different area of the world — Europe, the Caribbean and Canada, respectively.

Maya Goosman | Digital Design Director

Latin American Student Association

Representing over 10 countries in Latin America, the Latin American Student Association aims to create a Spanish-speaking community, students at the organization’s table said. While LASA is just getting started at SU, students said they hope to do fundraisers for local Latino organizations and host events to share their culture with the campus.

LASA served tacos at the International Festival because they are so easily customized, students at the organization’s table said.

South Asian Student Association

Although the organization is representative of South Asian students on campus, Aliya Huseni, the vice president of SASA, said that anyone can experience, learn about and enjoy South Asian culture through their events. SASA has hosted Garba, Diwali and Holi, and it plans to put on a celebration for Eid al-Fitr in May.

SASA presented three classic South Asian foods: chicken tikka, vegetable biryani and mango lassi. Huseni said that the organization chose these for their International Festival menu because they are shared food staples among South Asian cultures.

“We do our best to represent all religions, all cultures of South Asia on campus,” Huseni said.

Published on April 27, 2022 at 1:08 am