APASA Night Market celebrates food, fun, togetherness
McCarthy Quad hosted one of the Asian Pacific American Student Assembly’s biggest and brightest events of the year Thursday night.
By SHOURI GOMATHAM
McCarthy Quad lit up Thursday night with sounds, tastes and colors galore at the annual Asian Pacific American Student Assembly Night Market.
Hundreds of people and many vendors took part in the two-hour celebration — one of APASA’s biggest annual events of the year. Attendees visited interactive booths from campus and community organizations, checked out cultural performances, and tried a range of foods and desserts from local spots.
“I hope that we’re not only able to share our culture through food and performances, but I’m hoping that after a difficult week of midterms, everyone’s here to have a good time with their friends,” said Tina Nguyen, a junior majoring in business administration with an emphasis in finance and an executive director of APASA.
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APASA is a cultural organization within USC’s Undergraduate Student Government. Aimed at fostering “unity and growth within and beyond the APIDA Trojan community,” APASA works in both advocacy and event programming.
“Coming to college and being so far away from home can cause a lot of us to be very homesick,” Nguyen said. “But I’m hoping that with a community like this, where we’re all able to bond, talk to new people, find new friends in our community … we’re able to feel like USC is our home away from home.”
“Night Market is a great cultural mixing pot if you want to dabble into a little bit of everything. Hopefully all the performances, all the events and all the food here helps everyone … explore something new,” said Jesse Chen, a junior majoring in computer science and the musical and financial director of Trogons, an East Asian a cappella group that performed at the Night Market.
Trogons performed “群青” by YOASOBI during their two-song performance at the Night Market. (Aubrie Cole / Daily Trojan)
Performances included two songs from the Trogons, a martial arts presentation by USC club Shinkendo, and numbers by K-pop cover dance team Spade A and Japanese drumming ensemble Kazan Taiko.
“It’s easy to get lost in the busyness of everything at college,” said Jonathan Fan, a junior majoring in cognitive science and a member of Gamma Epsilon Omega, an Asian-interest fraternity on campus. “It’s easy to lose touch with your culture, your family or your background. An event like this is just a reminder of how important those things are.”
Food vendors at the event included boba spot Cup of Cha and restaurants Himalayan House, Emporium Thai and the Filipino staple L.A. Rose Cafe. Long lines of eager students waited for a chance to try out fun and fresh sweets and drinks, like mango sticky rice and sugarcane juice.
“It’s a good introduction to other cultures for Asian food. It’s free. Everyone gets to try it out,” said Susan Khong, a junior majoring in legal studies and internal administrator of Spade A. “It’s nice to get a taste of Asian spices. It’s nice to have familiarity.”
Beyond offering attendees the chance to engage in a variety of exciting games and crafts from across the world, the booths invited students to join campus cultural organizations like the Korean American Student Association and the Asian Pacific Cinematic Association — many of which aim to mobilize the APIDA community toward local and international community service initiatives. Booths also invited students to try their hand at games to earn tickets for more food and prizes.
“Us coming together is really beautiful in the sense of creating inclusivity,” said Saira Binepal, a junior majoring in biopharmaceutical sciences. Binepal is also co-president of SC Project RISHI, a student-run nonprofit that devises sustainable solutions for under-resourced communities in India. “Hosting an event like this really brings awareness to the extent of which our school is diverse.”
