Several on-campus clubs collectively hosted the annual and well-beloved Night Market in the clock courtyard from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5. This year’s market featured the biggest club collaboration in the event’s history, with a total of five clubs involved—the Andrews Filipino International Association (AFIA), African Student Association (ASA), Andrews University Latino Association (AULA), Korean-American Student Association (KASA) and the South Asian Student Association (SASA).
Clark Barayuga (sophomore, exercise science), the social vice president for AFIA, said, “Organizing it took a lot of time. I now realize there were parts we could’ve planned out better for a smoother start. But overall, I really liked the event and had a lot of fun sharing a part of AFIA with the campus.”
The courtyard was decorated with strings of fairy lights and booths were set up in a circular shape, allowing people to easily roam from stall to stall. Each booth featured its own cultural delicacies, with tickets being sold at a dollar apiece. Food sold included tteokbokki (spicy Korean rice cakes) and pancit (Filipino rice noodles and vegetables), desserts like flan (a Mexican milk-based dessert) and homemade cupcakes and drinks such as guaraná (a Brazilian fruit-based drink). Food was so popular with those who attended that multiple clubs ran out of it before the end of the event.
Students and officers alike were pleased with the market. Many enjoyed the food and the warm and inviting atmosphere.
Daena Holbrook (junior, engineering), the cultural vice president for AFIA who baked those amazing cupcakes, said, “One of my favorite experiences was seeing how excited people were to eat Filipino food! I’m sure the other clubs share the same experience with their amazing foods.”
Besides the delicious food, all were seemingly very touched by the spirit of togetherness generated by the event.
Natalia Poloche (sophomore, biology) said, “Honestly, Night Market was such a cool event where I was able to appreciate different cultures and see how diverse our campus is!”
Emily Rogers (sophomore, exercise science) summarized the event as a “‘get-together’ where all [cultures] form one family. One world, one family.”
It seems that Night Market was another success this year, one the club officers were proud of.
Jacob Elanko (junior, marketing), president of SASA, thanked the community, saying, “It was great to see such a huge turnout. We had a lot of community members on our end helping SASA, so we [really] spent close to nothing on this event.”
Abby Shim (senior, biology) added, “This year’s Night Market was probably the best one I’ve been a part of so far. We also got to include ASA this year, which was awesome! I’m very proud of my cabinet and the other clubs we collaborated with. It wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s help.”
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.