CADEN HAYNOR / ASST. NEWS EDITOR

This semester, USD Dining has hosted multiple culturally-inspired food events in the Student Life Pavilion (SLP). At the events, they serve various dishes at the food stations, brought in live bands, played music  on speakers and decorated the cafeteria in order to reflect the theme of each event. 

Celebrations for the Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Holi and a night for New York have all been held in the SLP. Toreros, specifically underclassmen, flocked to each of these events, forming lines reaching as far back as the SLP entrance to feast on the dishes written in the menus shared through email and on Instagram before each night.

USD Dining’s decision to dive into the vast intricacies of representing a culture’s food through various dishes has sparked some backlash among USD students.

USD Auxiliary Services is the department at USD that provides additional supportive operations to the school, including cafeteria services. They explained their goals behind these dinner events and how they see how it aligns with the school’s mission.

“Many of the special event dinners are in alignment with the university, its core values and goals —  for example; USD is a border university, has a partnership with the National Hispanic Institute and San Diego is famous for its vibrant and delicious Latin cuisine,” Auxiliary Services said. “USD Dining strives to celebrate these unique attributes of our campus and city through the food and events we prepare for our students.” 

When first-year, Ryan Pennington attended the dinner dedicated to Holi, a Hindu festival primarily celebrated in India  and  Nepal, he  did  not  think the food lived up to his standard of authentic Indian cuisine.

“The tikka  masala  specifically   was   not  as  authentic as what I have had in the past,” Pennington explained. “I would say it’s because Indian food relies on spices and those foods did not have any. Whenever the menu  gets  released,  you’re  like, ‘Whoa, this actually looks fire.’ But when you try it, it doesn’t live up to your own standards because you’ve had it before.”

The ways in which USD dining has incorporated music and decorations have also been brought up by students. USD first-year Kanye Johnson gave his opinion on the music at these cultural events.

“I want to know who’s controlling aux, because I don’t think a lot of the music is politically correct,” Johnson explained.

As hungry  dinner-goers flock to the cafeteria on these special nights, searching for their most anticipated dishes from the menu at each station, some  students  wonder about the efficacy  of  the  intentions  behind these events. 

Anna Pollon, a junior at USD, explained her take on the cultural food nights.

“While I appreciate SLP trying   to  expand   people’s   pallets for cultural food, oftentimes it is done   in a  tasteless  way,”  Pollon  explained. “I think  instead  of  making  a big show of one culture’s  cuisine, they  could   just  incorporate  it  into a  station  that  rotates  weekly. It’s  nice  that they’re changing it up though.”

Kyra Lefebvre, a USD first-year   who   frequents    these   events, also    speculated    about  the   message  these   nights   convey.

“When you group those cultural nights into the rotation with arbitrary nights, it makes me question whether the school sees those groups as a culture to celebrate or just a theme,” Lefebvre said.

Not all students have been critical  of   USD  dining’s  efforts  to celebrate through these events. Lefebvre acknowledged dining services’ efforts to celebrate USD students with her outlook on these cultural celebrations.

“I certainly appreciate the effort,” Lefebvre said. “I definitely see what the school is trying to do in uplifting underrepresented groups and cultures.”

While dining services has held nights representing some different cultures, there are still some that they have not celebrated yet this school year. Ellie Baker, a USD first-year student, wishes that Dining would continue to branch out with their events.

“I would love it if they had a Mexican culture night,” Baker stated. “It would be really nice to see my culture represented.”

During the Lunar New Year  celebration,  the  SLP served Asian   cuisine  and  invited  people to perform a Chinese dragon   dance   around  the   dining pavilion. Camryn  Adams, a USD first-year and active member of the Filipino Ugnayan Student  Organization, expressed her opinion on this night.

“I think it was a fun way to learn about Chinese culture,” Adams stated. “They definitely did their best with the resources that they had.”

USD dining has also held multiple other specific food nights at the SLP, including breakfast for dinner and a wing night. These nights have had event-specific menus that change the dishes at each food station, aimed at providing a short departure from the traditional cafeteria food that many USD students eat every night. Dining services has also hosted multiple holiday celebrations this school year, including Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with menus containing traditional holiday dishes for each night. 

Pennington expressed his appreciation for these holiday nights.

“I like that they do the holiday dinners because there are a lot of people who don’t get to celebrate,” Pennington said. “It’s fun to see everyone celebrate like a family would.”

As these SLP events have raised  doubts   of  authenticity  and accurate representation, USD dining has given students the opportunity to submit feedback. USD  Auxiliary Services shared  how  students can submit feedback and where to find it.

“We provide a survey for students  after every  special event at Pavilion Dining and welcome student feedback on themes, menus, entertainment  and more,” Auxiliary Services said. “The   survey  is advertised  at the  dinners  and  also promoted via  mass  emails to  all  students.”

As these nights have continued, some students have thought up possible solutions for the next time USD dining holds a cultural event. Kanye Johnson provided a suggestion for USD dining to incorporate on their next themed night.

“Maybe instead of introducing a large selection, they should focus on one dish that they want to specialize in,” Johnson suggested. “I just don’t think whatever is happening right now is working for everyone.”

USD Dining has announced upcoming events such as the Strawberry Festival on April 10. They also plan to hold a Plant Forward  Night, an Easter Dinner, a Country Fair and another Breakfast at Dinner event. These events will take place through April and May. As some   students   simply  appreciate  a  change   in  the  menu, other USD students question the importance of these events.

SLP’s Lunar New Year celebration feautured Chinese dragon dancers. Photo courtesy of Auxiliary Services at USD/flickr