On March 26, as the sun shined outside, the University Diversity Collaborative’s (UDC) second annual World Expo was busy serving up diverse food and entertainment in the Thwing Atrium.

With a carnival theme that President of UDC Brittany Chung described as “to better include diversity groups,” the event came together well and showcased many of Case Western Reserve University’s multicultural and other groups, including La Alianza, the Taiwanese American Student Association (TASA), Cru, the Filipino Student Union (FSU), the Feminist Collective at CWRU (FCC) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

As I entered Thwing, I was greeted by the sound of booming African drums accompanying a group of impressive African dancers from the Djapo Cultural Arts Institute.

UDC provided everyone with eight free tickets for food upon entrance, so, equipped with my tickets and an empty stomach, I set off to try some food and get cultured. There were multiple tables chock full of food, information and friendly faces ready to answer any questions about their club.

The Taiwanese American Student Association (TASA) served Baozi, a soft steamed bun that had a delicious pork vegetable filling. I moved on to La Alianza’s table which served maduros, fried sweet plantains that are a staple accompaniment in many Latin countries. After being drawn to their table by the smell, I headed to the Filipino Student Union to have lumpia, a thin fried spring roll filled with meat and vegetables and pancit—somewhat spicy noodles with vegetables. To end my dinner I went to the Office of Multicultural Affairs area, which served Middle Eastern, Italian and Indian food. This included satisfying stuffed grape leaves, two kinds of samosas and cannolis from Presti’s.

Aside from the cultural tables, I visited the Feminist Collective’s table to play a fun round of feminist trivia. Throughout dinner CWRU’s only all-female acapella group, Solstice, performed some new hits and added a nice musical ambiance to the event. However I wish they had incorporated more diverse songs into their set.

Overall, the World Expo was not only entertaining, but informative and led to engaging conversations with representatives of the different cultures. “The event went well and people really enjoyed it,” said Chung. “We are now looking forward to making things bigger and better for next year.”

“Next year we can expand the event, work with other Student Executive Council organizations to make it even better. After all this is a great learning opportunity about our diversity groups and their missions, to better incorporate the Cleveland community, and have more staff and faculty attend with their families,” said Chung.