Global Village exhibits diverse cultures

By Lauren Tsugawa

A cultural extravaganza with food tents, food trucks, live performances, face painting, street vendors, and a dunk tank on a sunny day—what's not to love? This past Sunday, students gathered on Market Street to celebrate "One Love" at the Multicultural Center's annual Global Village event.  

"For the MCC, the purpose of Global Village is to celebrate diversity in culture," said junior Gustavo Magana, one of the main coordinators of the event. "It brings together a wide variety of students, performers, and clubs, as well as other organizations like SCAAP and campus ministry, and allows us to showcase who we are to the community at once all in one big place."

This year's theme, "One Love," was chosen all the way back in August when the intensive planning for Global Village began. Borrowed from Bob Marley's famous song, "One Love" was the perfect phrase to encapsulate the feelings of this event.

"It just seemed right," continued Magana. "Because of all that song encompasses and what the mission of the MCC is: unity among the community."

The street was lined with over 20 tents representing the various clubs of the MCC including The Asian Pacific-Islander Student Union (APSU), Barkada, Igwebuike, MECha-El Frente, and the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), in addition to local vendors from around the area. Each tent displayed cultural facts as well as information on their club's activities, and many sold a variety of delicious ethnic food and drinks. Korean BBQ plates, Boba drinks, durian fruit, yakitori sticks, and tacos were among the many mouth-watering options.

When asked what her favorite part of global village was, freshman Kourtney Wong quickly replied, "The food!"  

Laughing she continued, "And this is a great atmosphere. Not a lot of campuses have this kind of cultural diversity and unity at the same time."

In addition to celebrating diversity, each year, Global Village donates a portion of its profits to a different local charity. This year, their proceeds went to Loaves and Fishes, a non-profit organization in the bay area that helps to feed underprivileged families. With a lot of hard work and a lot of hungry students, the MCC raised over $500 and counting.

"I love Global Village because all the clubs come out and work together," said sophomore and MCC representative for Kamana'o ‘O Hawaii, Sammi Tasaki, "It's even better with all the great food people get to eat and with all of the performances."

Global Village is only one of many events put on by the MCC each year. In addition to these large scale events, the individual clubs hold meetings in Shapell Lounge each week.  

"All the clubs are very welcoming," said Magana. "You know you don't have to be Filipino to go to Barkada or Mexican or Latino to go to MECha. There's a lot of different races in each club and everyone is very welcoming."

The MCC, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary is also open to students during regular school hours.  

Continued Magana, "Everyone is welcome walk into the MCC itself during the day. It's a really cool space, and the couches are amazingly comfy. So just come hang out and talk."

Contact Lauren Tsugawa at ltsugawa@scu.edu or at (408) 554-1918.