Miramonte celebrated students’ cultures during the Cultural Festival on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Held in the Wellness Center from 4 to 7 p.m., the event featured ethnicity clubs from around campus, such as South Asian Student Union (SASU) and Middle Eastern Student Association, as K-pop and Bad Bunny played in the background.
Miramonte’s student body consists of a plethora of cultures, many of which were represented through booths, posters, food, and music. The food on each table was most consistent in how the culture was shown. Unique flavors from all over the globe were lined up, such as baklava from the Middle East or tteokbokki from Korea.
As good food brought students together, conversations about what people wanted to try and take away from the experience came to life. “I want to share the best parts of Indian culture with students around me and make it known that truly anyone can make or eat Indian food, because, at the end of the day, it’s just incredible,” junior and co-president of South Asian Student Union (SASU), Sierra Caragol, said.
Sharing food and tradition with peers can bring an inviting feeling to the room, as seen at the festival. Students could explore new flavors and backgrounds while showing traditions to peers. People from heritages from across the globe came together for a night, creating an atmosphere rarely seen during school hours. “[This event] changes the normally competitive atmosphere of Miramonte to a new and more loose one where we are all here to celebrate each other,” junior Mason Grissago said. Students gathered around the Wellness Center to share their favorite dishes and the experiences that shape their identities.
Many found ways to relate to students around them through shared experiences as they shared themselves and their food, customs, and history. “Having a community in [the SASU] makes my peers and me feel like we can share our experiences as minorities and be ourselves,” Caragol said. A range of clubs exists for many cultures at Miramonte, and joining can make students feel seen, heard, and understood. The student body is always looking to celebrate, so if a culture you identify with is not present within the list of clubs, creating a club is always an option.
Looking ahead, many of these clubs hold weekly meetings for students to share food, history, and stories specific to a culture. Students in these clubs meet during lunch to remind each other they are not alone in their culture and have an on-campus support system as they go through high school and beyond.
