The BIPOC student clubs Asian and Pacific American Student Union, Mecha and the Hispanic Public Relations Student Association’s group Unidos are collaborating to host a night market on campus in late May.
APASU hosts an annual night market during the spring term. Mecha and Unidos had ideas for their own markets during the same term but decided that collaborating would be the best way to showcase cultural diversity in one event.
Each club serves its purpose in contributing to cultural awareness. APASU celebrates Asian and Pacific American culture. Mecha was originally a Chicano-led organization created during the movement toward educational rights. It has since branched into different clubs like Muxeres to reach a wider audience outside Mexican heritage to include those with Latin American backgrounds. Unidos is UO’s chapter of HPRSA with a student-led firm that builds community in working with real clientele to practice what they learn in class and apply it to their work with clients.
“The night market is great because it allows opportunities for multicultural organizations to come together and celebrate each other,” Unidos Co-President Samantha Lomelli said. “I think that the night market offers a space and time for culture to flourish, be highlighted, recognized and celebrated with everybody in the community.”
The night market expects to have food vendors, artisans and performers. Students from each club will be volunteering to work with the vendors to help things run smoothly. Traditionally, at APASU’s night markets, the club invites food vendors offering Asian cuisine. With Mecha and Unidos representing Hispanic and Latinx backgrounds, the members aim to diversify the vendors with the inclusion of Hispanic foods.
“Originally, Mecha wanted to have a mercadito [little market] because we felt like we haven’t done anything with Latin American vendors,” Mecha External Director Maria Gaspar said. “As conversations went on, that’s when I got a hold of Unidos, a smaller club on campus. I felt it would benefit both of us to collaborate and bring in more Latinx people.”
The clubs also plan to invite local artisans who specialize in crafting items reflective of their cultures. Gaspar is coordinating Mecha’s invitations to performers within the Hispanic and Latinx community to showcase a cultural dance live in front of the audience later in the evening. The clubs also plan to provide activities. This provides attendees with a diverse array of cultural experiences, ranging from food to art.
While plans are not yet set in stone, the club members are working together to ensure the night market’s success, with hopes that everyone leaves with a greater sense of cultural awareness than when they arrive — as that is the basis of the event.
“I think it’s important that we don’t just stick with Latinx organizations,” Gaspar said. “It’s important that we branch out and push students to create connections among other ethnic groups. I think there’s value in that. With us all being BIPOC, I think it’s also important for us to build community.”
The night market marks the first time these clubs have worked together on such an event. Members from all clubs are hoping for the event’s exposure to attract students to join and engage, recognizing that each club has something to offer everyone in the campus community.
“The reason I thought this was a good idea is because we haven’t been collaborating much with other organizations like this. Maybe in tabling events here and there,” Gaspar said. “We don’t really have connection with other cultural groups, and that’s something important to do because we can be more aware of their culture and they can be more aware of ours, so it’s a mutual gain.”
Gaspar said this event will play on each club’s strengths so each club involved is utilized effectively. APASU will coordinate food vendors with Asian cuisine, Mecha will coordinate with performers displaying cultural dances and Unidos will contribute to creating the publicity of the event.
The clubs’ board members believe that this event will be beneficial to all students on campus because it serves as a cultural celebration for everyone to get involved in and immerse themselves in culture, if only for one night.
Lomelli said that she is excited for attendees to come and explore new cultures, even if it is just eating cultural foods and listening to cultural music.
“Especially if you’re not exposed to this kind of culture every day, it’s a great way to dip your toes and try new things,” Lomelli said.
While the club members are excited for the event itself, they believe an event like this provides value to all students interested in joining clubs.
“I think it’s always a good starting place,” said Logan DeBusk, the internal outreach coordinator at APASU. “I think it can be intimidating to join a club where people already know each other and have their friends. So when it’s a big event like this, people can be better introduced to them.”
Due to the night market being a cultural event hosted by cultural clubs, the clubs are actively looking for students who are still trying to find a space on campus that relates to their identity.
“I would highlight the multicultural aspect that APASU likes to emphasize,” Lomelli said. “They like to immerse you in their culture with their music and entertainment and as much fun as that is, it’s definitely educational. It has a great sense of community and celebration.”
When DeBusk started his college experience, it was a large campus event centered around Asian culture that caught his attention, sparking his interest in the Asian clubs available for him to join on campus.
“Having that separate community where I can talk about my own experiences that we can all relate to has been very nice,” he said. “At the event, everyone can show up and explore the different clubs to see where they fit in best.
DeBusk emphasizes the cultural significance of events like the night market within an academic setting, highlighting their importance in showcasing BIPOC students that there are spaces where individuals can find community and representation with other students who share similar academic and cultural experiences.
“It’s especially important to work with people our age who are connected to the school and also part of cultural identity-based organizations,” Faiire Platt, the other co-president of Unidos, said in commenting on Unidos’s publicity work for the event. “It’s nice to know that what we practice as students and what we practice as a club is really paying off because we’re helping people with things they don’t account for when we’re trained to account for those things, and it feels like real-world practice.”
Platt values this event greatly as the co-president for Unidos because the night market offers the ideal opportunity to do something that lies at the heart of Unidos, which is combining culture and public relations skills. These clubs hold significance within an academic setting.
“With clubs like this, having the opportunity to reconnect with your roots or meeting people with similar lived experiences is real special,” Johan Jaimes, the account executive for Unidos, said. “Sometimes it is tough to find people you relate with.”
Jaimes hopes that other clubs will be inspired by the collaboration involved in organizing this event, encouraging them to host more events like the night market to display different cultures in one setting.
“I think this is a great starting point. It’s a great place for other clubs to see that we can cross-culturally collaborate,” Jaimes said. “Just because you don’t come from the same backgrounds, doesn’t mean you can’t put on something cool.”
Members from each club work diligently to finalize the details to make this event a success so that everyone can derive value from it in different ways, such as gaining cultural knowledge, enjoying diverse foods, joining clubs or forming new friendships.
“I know it’s going to be super fun,” Lomelli said. “It’s a great celebration so everyone should come in a good mood, be ready to have fun and get excited for it.”
