Minority organizations gather at Eat and Greet
Minority organization representatives gathered at a multicultural Eat and Greet potluck on Tuesday night.
Before digging into the meal, representatives from minority student organizations introduced their groups, the dish they brought to the potluck and the main events they run at MU. They also shared their meeting times and locations.
“There are a lot of minority organizations that do so much on this campus,” Multicultural Issues Committee chairwoman Alex Holley said. “We wanted to bring everything together. It’s a networking event so you can meet other organizations, get other contacts and see what they’re doing.”
MCI vice chairwoman Lakeisha Williams said these new contacts might lead organizations to plan future events together.
“We all share the common thread that we’re minority students, and we all have similar goals and purposes within our organizations,” Williams said.
About 60 students came to the event.
National Pan-hellenic Council treasurer Brennan Duvall said the Eat and Greet was worthwhile.
“I feel that anything working on interracial relations is very important,” Duvall said. “If I can come out and meet the people who are working for the same cause, and drop a few words of wisdom, it's working toward a greater good.”
Legion of Black Collegians vice president Lisa White said she realized a variety of minority organizations were interested in teaming up with other groups. The different student organizations can support each other in minority struggles, White said.
“Power is in numbers,” White said. “Any organization that may be going through the same thing can gather together to make a collaborative effort to change the problem at hand. That way it can be best for everyone on campus.”
MCI asked attending organizations to bring food to share, and many decided to bring cultural dishes, Holley said. For example, the Muslim Student Organization brought hummus and pita bread, the Missouri International Student Council brought baklava and the Jewish Student Organization brought matzah ball soup.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity for people to experience different dishes from different cultures,” Williams said.
JSO treasurer Belinda Kocen, of former Maneater staff, said she loved trying the different foods.
“Anything that was left on the table I grabbed to try,” Kocen said. “Food is always part of culture, so by understanding the foods people eat you get to understand some of their culture as well.”