When students are asked about eating at the dining hall, sometimes a visible shudder rolls up their spines. One can only eat pizza and waffle fries so many times before the necessary practice turns to irritating habit.
Not so was the case last week at the dining hall's Chinese New Year celebration dinner. The dinner, organized by Shepherd University's Multicultural Student Affairs department, served as one of the various on-campus events to bring diversity to the forefront of student awareness. Kimberlee Small, a graduate student studying college student development administration, works with the Multicultural Student Affairs office to organize and put on these colorful events. Though modest, Small explained that for the most part, she puts in ideas for what the dining hall should serve for the events saying the meal for a Chinese New Year dinner "can't just be lo mein."
And the menu was just as diverse as Small hoped; included on the line were fried rice, Mongolian beef, egg rolls, chicken with snow peas, and that old favorite: General Tso's chicken. Décor around the dining hall also reflected the extra effort that goes into multicultural dinners. Zodiac-themed placemats boasted each animal of the Chinese calendar at the tables and chopsticks were available for the dexterously-inclined. Traditional paper lanterns, parasols and even exotic flowers added to the Eastern atmosphere, but certainly the main attraction for the event was the Dragon Lion dance.
The Wong People Dragon Lion Dancers, based out of Washington D.C., started their ensemble in 1985 and have since performed at various events including university dinners.
Photography major, Sarah Foye, announced the dancers as part of her participation with the Multicultural Leadership Team through Multicultural Student Affairs. The particular dance performed at the dinner served to drive away evil spirits and to usher in the luckiest of all zodiacs: the year of the rabbit.
That seems to bode well for those concerned about their grades this year.
The dance began with rolling drums as three musicians marched behind two men in a traditional dragon lion costume. For those who did not attend: the costume is like a puppet, consisting of a large paper mache head and a silk sheet that drapes over dancers who act as the dragon's legs. Yellow silk and white fur danced between tables as the dancers interacted with students trying to avoid the dragon's large, rolling eyes. Even those students trying to watch sports on one of the dining hall televisions were not immune to the mischievous beast.
The acrobatic dancers demonstrated their skills, rolling on the floor and making the dragon chase its own tail at times much to the mirth of the audience. Possibly the most impressive stunt involved the two dancers exchanging front and rear positions, and then the dancer at the head leaping up and back to sit on the other man's shoulders. Voila! The beast was standing!
"This is my favorite event of the year," said Foye. "The dancing is amazing – it's so rich in culture!"
It seems that Shepherd students have developed an appetite for dinners to entice the cultural palate. Several students appreciated the novel food and the dancers and look forward to similar events. Small reported that students should be on the lookout on February 1 for a Southern soul food- themed meal à ladining hall. The dining hall: not just burgers anymore.
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