Month: October 2015

Lights dazzles and connects with crowds across the globe

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This piece originally appeared on The Odyssey.  It was republished with the author’s permission.

Canadian singer-songwriter Lights has the undeniable magic of the Aurora Borealis in her bones. When she performs, she illuminates the stage with her incredible energy and positivity, drawing in fans across the world—her LIGHTS ARMY. Some of these fans have been following her throughout her entire career, which astonishingly started at the young age of 15. Now 28, and a new mother, Lights is going stronger than ever with her latest album—“Little Machines”—having been released last year. Recently, Lights came through Pittsburgh for the Thrival Innovation and Music Festival before she heads out on tour with The Mowgli’s. With her stopping by so close to Chatham, I decided to reach out for an interview.

Indigo: You were first signed when you were 15. How did that feel, being so young?

Lights: It was exciting for me when I was young but also kind of chaotic. I think I had been writing for so long on my own and suddenly I was introduced to co-writers and producers and A&R. It was really eye-opening for me and I was really thankful that it folded after a year when the label I was with at the time merged with another one. I kind of fell through the cracks, but was quickly picked up by Sony Publishing as a writer. But it made me quickly realize that if you don’t have a vision for your craft and what you’re all about as an artist, someone else is going to put that vision there for you. And if that hadn’t folded, someone else would have continued trying to develop me into something. So that gave me the time afterwards to really concentrate on songwriting and my music and my genre, and really find my pocket. And it actually took years after that, until I found that, but I was able to get it out in my own time as opposed to under the supervision of the label.

I: A lot of musicians who started at an early age tell stories about problems with the industry. Did you ever feel taken advantage of or mistreated as a young artist?

L: I never felt pressured into anything. I think everyone was just trying to make something happen with the talent that I had and that they saw in me. And they tried to figure out what to package you as because if you don’t have that sense of self, they’re going to need to package you as something because the world needs a grid. Then you can know what you are all about. So they’re just doing their job in the sense of just making sure that you’ve got your thing going. But in such an early stage of a career there was no money to be made or way I could’ve been taken advantage of. I never felt like that. It was just people trying to develop an artist and figure out where you’re going to get. And that takes a long time. There’s actually some young people—people like Lorde, for example. She’s got this great sense of self and power as individual, and that’s amazing. Not many people have that at a young age. So that’s always my first advice for young people getting into the music industry: find out what your sound is and what your vibe is and what you want to say to the world; what you want to wear and what you want to make your show like. And then someone’s going to want you for that.

I: How did you choose the name Lights? You even changed your name to it legally, what prompted you to do that?

L: It was a nickname for a long time. And it’s just a shorter, easier version of my last name. And legally changing my name made my life so much easier in terms of legality. And it’s awesome. Why the hell not? You only live once. May as well add another name into the picture.

I: You play a variety of instruments. Which is your favorite to play? Which do you feel is your strength?

L: I’m probably the most natural on acoustic guitar. I’ve been playing that the longest. But live I play a lot of synth. There’s a lot of creative freedom when it comes to building a patch on the synth. You can do anything. There are no boundaries. You can make whatever sound is in your head or whatever fits the vibe. And that’s why I love the synth. It doesn’t really come down to playing talent. It comes down to creativity and understanding. The way that the synth works because you’re really just doing chords. And I play piano live and I play electric guitar, and I play bass when I need to, and I play drums when I need to—not live, but when I’m in the studio and I’m recording. It’s easy to pick up one instrument after you’ve already learned another. I can play a lot of instruments, but I’m not incredible at one single instrument. I disperse my time on all of them to get what I need out of them.

I: One of your early and unique pieces of merchandise was a limited run comic book. And you made a series of comic-style videos a few years ago—the Audio Quests. Even now, your posters that you sell have a comic-style to them. It’s something very unique about you as an artist. Was it something intended or something you just came up with as you went along?

L: I think the most obvious thing is that I’m a big fan of graphic novels and comics. I still read graphic novels and manga. I don’t have the time that I used to, to collect individual comics, but it’s inspiring to me because it’s such a surreal environment that you end up in. You can read a book and be teleported somewhere else and that’s the beauty of art. That’s the beauty of music. And that’s the goal—they have to give you that vacation. And it’s nice to open your mind and believe there’s something bigger out there when you create art. It keeps you happier and it keeps you young and keeps your mind open. I never want to be too fully stuck in the real world.

I: How did the LIGHTS ARMY come about? What all does that entail?

L: I’m pretty sure that the fans named themselves. People were like, “Should we be ‘light balls?’ Should we be ‘glow sticks?’” But then everyone just settled on LIGHTS ARMY because it spurred from the name “soul-dier” because “Drive My Soul” was a song that moved a lot of people. They felt like they were soul-diers in the LIGHTS ARMY. And they’re dedicated and they care so much and they’re so strong and powerful. They can do a lot of good and make a lot of change when they band together and I know that. It’s been incredible watching them grow with me. We’ve grown together. I’ve seen relationships form within LIGHTS ARMY. I’ve seen people get married and people become best friends and people get pulled from the dark side. It’s really incredible to see. And they do this little “LA” symbol with their hands that’s cute as well.

I: How has being a mother changed your career—if at all?

L: I get asked a lot about how it has influenced my music and I have to say it hasn’t because everything that was written for “Little Machines” was written before I had a baby. I was pregnant for a lot of the recording process, but you have no idea what it’s like to become a parent until you become a parent. I think it expanded my horizons a lot while I was writing though. It really forces you to look at everything from the big picture because you know you’re having a baby. You know your life is going to be different. You just have to decide in what ways. And I didn’t want to let go of my music career. I didn’t want to let go of everything we built and the things that I love so much about life. I knew it had to remain part of my world and I just had to find a place in my mind where I could find a balance. And I’ve been making it work ever since and it’s incredible. There’s a freedom that comes with being a parent. It’s a powerful reminder that if you fail, you have something powerful that’s got your back the entire time. And the biggest catalyst for bad decision-making is the fear of failure. And if you’re not afraid of failing anymore, you’re free to create the art that you want to create and let it carry you wherever it’s going to take you.

I: Is it hard to leave for tour now that you have a family?

L: She [Rocket—Lights’ daughter] has to come on tour with me every time I go. I haven’t had to leave her yet.

I: “Little Machines” was a long time in the making. What did you do in the interim?

L: There was a three-year gap. After “Siberia” we toured the world basically. It took us to Australia, all of North America, Europe, the UK. We were just touring constantly and I was unable to find a balance at the time between maintaining productive creativity between tours and on the road. So when it came to the end of that record cycle and into the time that I had to start writing again, it had run a little dry because I hadn’t been practicing. Songwriting is a muscle just like anything and if you let it go cold, you have to rework it back into use. And so I was really frustrated when I started writing again. I didn’t know what I wanted to say, I didn’t know what I wanted it to sound like, and I didn’t know where I was in music. And that’s what it became all about—this transition back into the enjoyment of creating music and back into that feeling of excitement when you sit down with your guitar and write something. It took 43 songs to get there. I wrote 43 songs and 11 ended up on the record. And it was just the process of that. It was painstaking at times and very deeply emotional at times and really frustrating. There were nights where I thought it was all going to be gone. But those kind of nights have to happen because it forces you into a solution and I started to work the muscle in different ways and just stopped writing for a minute. I started doing poetry and I started doing painting, and just flexing the different facets of my creativity and working myself back into the feel of enjoying art. And then suddenly at the end of 2015, I realized that we had 11 killer songs. That suddenly just happened, and a month later we were in the studio recording and the record came out that fall.

I: “Little Machines” branches out a bit from your usual sound and experiments with other styles. Where did you end up drawing inspiration for “Little Machines?”

L: A lot of it was what our live shows have turned out to be. Our live shows are really really dynamic and powerful and my band is incredible. So you suddenly are subconsciously thinking about how you come off live. Like my first record, when I hadn’t really toured ever, I was just making music. So when that didn’t translate live, we were kind of like, “Oh this part could be better live. This part could be more dynamic live.” That starts to influence the way you write. With “Little Machines,” a lot more organic elements were introduced as well as synthetic elements. I love the blend because that’s what feels the best live. That’s what creates the most dynamic live. We have live drums, live guitar, analog synth—and that’s very powerful live. So that all became the base point for the production on “Little Machines”—this sort of classic, electronic sound that is really dynamic.

I: Which song is your favorite on the album?

L: I think the most powerful one for me is “Up We Go.” It came at a time when I really needed it and actually took a few months to write because I was really at the bottom of my creative inspiration. I began that song and months later, when I found myself kind of drunk, standing up in the tub, working on music by myself in a hotel room, the record just started pouring out in the moment of inspiration. That was the transition from a very dry time to a suddenly inspired time. So that song did exactly what it’s about for me. And when I play that live, everyone goes up. It’s good. It’s a good feeling. Because I think everyone experiences that feeling of, “From down this low, It’s only up we go.” That’s what you really want to believe and I think it’s true.

I: You’re no stranger to festivals. You’ve even come through Pittsburgh before to play the Warped Tour Festival. So how was Thrival in comparison to the festivals you’ve played before?

L: Thrival was awesome. We’ve played Pittsburgh quite a few times. I think we do on every tour we do. And the shows in Pittsburgh are always fun for us. I have really good memories of energetic crowds and really great fans. So I was expecting no less. You never know what you’re going to get at a festival because there are fans there to see other artists. That’s the beauty of it, but that’s also sometimes an intimidating thing. We had Manchester Orchestra fans. We had Ghostface Killah fans. I had my fans. It’s a blend of people watching you and it’s quite intimidating playing in front of fans who aren’t there to see you. And that’s when you have to step up and put on a killer show. And that’s what we did and it was really fun. The crowd was right along with me and it made me love Pittsburgh even more.

I: Now that Thrival is over, you’re headed on tour with The Mowgli’s. Are you looking forward to that?

L: Yeah! I think it will be good. We’ve never done a co-headline before so it’s a first for us. And it will be interesting to see how it goes down. Both of us are so different. And we have these different fanbases—but I think our fanbases are similar in the respect that our shows are happy and fun and uplifting. I think it will be one big party. I think it’s going to be a blast.

Make sure to catch Lights on her US tour with The Mowgli’s this November and December for an experience of cathartic proportions.

Foodie on the Half Shell: Party food edition

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So I know I said I’d stay away from doing the whole recipe thing in my column, but I am totally breaking the rules. This is actually a public service announcement, and you all should be happy, because this had to be said.

Your party snacks suck. IF YOU EVEN HAVE SNACKS AT YOUR PARTY. Seriously people, just because you are under the age of 30 doesn’t mean you can’t have a good party with some nosh action.

It’s Halloween party season and I am here to advise you all on some easy and lovable snacks to serve at your next costume party. Don’t worry, you can still have your I.C. Light and Doritos, but a dip won’t hurt!

The best kind of dip in the world, according to me, is crab dip. Even those crazy people who “don’t like seafood” will eat crab dip if there is enough cream cheese involved. So here is my Spicy Crab Dip:

What you will need for a big party:

4 Tbsp. of butter

1 small minced red onion

2 cloves of minced garlic

2 minced jalapenos

1 ½ cups of cream

8 oz. of cream cheese cut into pieces (I prefer a light cream cheese to cut the calories)

1 ½ cups of sharp cheddar cheese

1 Tbsp. of smoked paprika

1 Tbsp. of cilantro to sprinkle on top and make it fancy

1 ½ cups of lump crab (add more if you want a very thick dip)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Alright, time to get your hands dirty. Melt the butter over medium heat then add the onion until it is translucent. Now add your garlic and jalapenos along with the smoked paprika. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer. Now add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Now fold in the cheddar cheese, whisking to combine. Lastly, fold in the crab, stirring for a couple more minutes until it is hot throughout. Finish with a few pinches of salt and pepper, and garnish with cilantro. This is super easy to serve if you put in a crock pot with a plate of pita chips and veggies to dip.

Hearty Vegetarian Nachos (a hit for the carnivores and herbivores alike):

1 bag of tortilla chips

1 can of black beans

1 bag of veggie crumbles cooked and seasoned with chili powder

2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese (more is always okay. Always.)

1 small red onion chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 avocado chopped

Pickled jalapenos

Salsa and sour cream for daysss

This is simple. Put the chips on a cookie sheet. Put half of the beans down, half of the veggie crumbles down, half of the cheese on top. Now repeat. You should have two layers of cheesy goodness. Pop in the oven with broiler on low for about 5-8 min. Please check regularly. When it is all gooey, take it out. Spread the red onion, bell pepper, avocado, and jalapenos all over the nachos. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. I like to put big spoonfuls of salsa and sour cream right in the middle of the nachos so it easy access for dipping OR buy some ranch dressing in a squirt bottle and drizzle it all over the nachos in a fancy pattern.

To add to these delicious dishes, buy some cookies, some Doritos, and ask your bestie to bring some stuffed mushrooms and you are in business. You only need to pick one of those recipes, and you have already improved your party by 100%. Please eat responsibly.

Did you try one of these recipes out? Hashtag #FoodieOnTheHalfShell on Instagram!

Chatham offers trendy new flavors with the opening of the Carriage House smoothie bar

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On March 26, 2015, Chatham’s Student Government (CSG) met with administrators and Chatham’s architect to discuss changes on campus—including the relocation of the post office and bookstore. When discussing the future use of The Carriage House, it was suggested that a smoothie or juice bar could be added. The proposal gained moderate support and was put into motion.

Rob Coyne, the general manager of dining services at Chatham said, “Residence Life was looking for something to attract students to come to the Carriage House. They had received a lot of feedback from students wanting a fresh fruit smoothie and juice bar.”

When the remodeled Carriage House was opened, there was space for a smoothie bar in the main room. The Carriage House Smoothie & Juice Bar was later opened on September 24. For the first day, the hours were restricted from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. but have since been switched to the usual hours of operation from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

When asked if it was hard to pull the smoothie bar together in such a short amount of time, supervisor Stephanie Cervi said, “It was not hard at all; we were very organized.”

The menu of the Carriage House Smoothie & Juice Bar offers many options. These range from the Eden Hall Bliss juice (Eden Hall tomatoes, spinach or kale, and fresh-squeezed Granny Smith apple juice) to the ‘Fu Smoothie (silken tofu, fresh bananas, local honey, and organic soy milk) to the Melon Cuke Mint juice (watermelon, cucumber, and mint), and more. There are even options that allow students to create their own drinks from a list of optional ingredients. Students can also always add a “boost” to their smoothies (green tea matcha powder, energy, protein [whey], or immune support).

“Some of the smoothie recipes (the Cougar Cooler and the Going Bananas) were from the McGrady Café Smoothie Bar that was opened when the AFC came on line,” said Coyne. “The others are based on popular trends in smoothie bars. The juice recipes were developed with help of Delicious Raw, a Juice Bar concept as part of the Hello Bistros’ (Eat’n Park restaurants) partnership within downtown Pittsburgh.”

Cervi said, “It’s a great option for all customers. Vegans and vegetarians seem to really enjoy it. The athletes enjoy getting a drink after practice or before going to the gym and adding protein powder to their drink.”

The current menu offers 11 options—seven smoothies and four juices, with two of the smoothies and one of the juices being CYO (choose your own).

“We will tweak the menus around seasonally available fruits and vegetables. We will also make menu changes based on guest feedback,” said Coyne. “So far we have very positive comments around the smoothie and juice recipes.”

Chatham Women’s Soccer continues to raise the bar

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The Chatham Women’s Soccer team continued to move forward as they faced Bethany College on Wednesday, October 7. As a President’s Athletic Conference (PAC) game, the women tried their best to bring the soccer PAC record to 1-1 for the season, and they succeeded. Having scored three goals to Bethany’s one by the time the first half was over, the game seemed to be in Chatham’s favor. However, as the second half began, the Cougars began to become a bit pressured by Bethany’s slightly more aggressive play style.

Bethany scored once again at the midpoint of the second half, but Chatham retaliated by scoring a goal of their own, bringing the game to 4-2. Chatham played a defensive game from that goal on, making sure they were able to box Bethany out and stop them from scoring again, keeping the final score of the game at 4-2; the goals of this game being scored by Kassianna Politis, Megan Sieg—with one assist by Skylar Benjamin—and Cassandra Small.

The game versus Bethany was a big one for the Cougars, in more ways than one. Not only did it help them continue to improve the Chatham University record for goals in a season, which is currently 40, but it also was the game that allowed the team to break the record for “Most Games Won in a Season,” by any Chatham Women’s Soccer team in the past. This means that during the season, the women’s soccer team has broken two records and tied one.

“It’s pretty exciting to know that we broke those records,” said first-year player Katie Sieg. “But now we just have to keep working harder each practice and improve every game.”

“It feels great breaking those records,” said sophomore Megan Sieg. “Our team has come a long way and it’s amazing to see all the improvements that we have made this year, so far.”

First-year Morgan Stamm had this to say about the season so far: “It’s an awesome feeling knowing that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. We are winning with finesse, and in doing so, we are making a better name for the Chatham University Soccer program.”

The Cougars continue their season with a current 7-2 record, pushing forward as their season winds down through the month of October.

For more information regarding Cougar Women’s Soccer, visit gochathamcougars.com

“All the Bright Places”: A brief interlude on romanticizing suicide

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This year has been a bustling one for young adult fiction, and a common topic that has found itself at the surface of these novels intended for teenagers is illness. Ever since the popularization of “The Fault in Our Stars,” young people have flocked to novels that show aspects of hurt, distress, and even death. Authors have glorified death in order to get more readers. Thanks, John Green, for the misconception that illness helps you fall in love.

Jennifer Niven, a writer of mostly adult fiction, has tried her hand at this blossoming young adult trend and has brought suicide to the forefront of her piece, “All the Bright Places.” The novel centers in on two teenagers, Violet Markey and Theodore Finch, who meet and end up engaging in a serious relationship after standing on the same sixth-floor ledge of their high school in order to attempt suicide. This is the glue of the plot. Unfortunately, it is not taken as seriously as it should be. While it is a hard, sad truth that some school officials in the real world do not take these attempts as seriously as they should, the adults in Niven’s novel are portrayed as callous, unemotional creatures with not so much as a heart for their students. Plus, the supporting cast of additional characters are just as bad as the educators are. It is upsetting that there is very little support for these two very ill characters.

Mental illness is often glorified in literature, and I am in no way discrediting “All the Bright Places.” It is an absolutely gorgeous novel. The diction is beautiful, the plot is solid and relatable in some senses, and the novel itself explores all facets of a young adult relationship. However, I feel that this novel just further shows that there has been a fetishization of ill individuals in current literature. Readers often feel that this makes the narrator more vulnerable, but should that not be shown by indirect characterization? Niven sort of shies away from this skewed way of thinking and has these characters wanting to get better throughout the novel, but the main pull of this book is that it focuses on illness and how being sick can get someone to love you. It does not give the actual written word justice.

“All the Bright Places” is going to be made into a major motion picture after countless reviews have said what a heart-wrenching story it is. Sound familiar? Illness and suicide, especially, resonate with people. People crave death in literature, and while these two main characters embody the probable archetypes you could have in any young adult novel, they are further complicated by being suicidal. While it is done tastefully, it still fulfills my argument that writers today are focusing too hard on making the reader “feel” things. My advice to the writers? Stop romanticizing mental illness. Don’t rely on gimmicks to make your pieces better. You don’t need it, and neither do people with mental illnesses.

Going Global: Doctors without borders

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On Sunday, October 4, international aid service Doctors Without Borders withdrew from the Afghan city of Kunduz after 22 individuals (12 hospital staff and 10 patients including children) were killed and over 37 were wounded in a US airstrike that destroyed their hospital earlier in the weekend.

The US military promised full transparency as it looks into the incident, and NATO is in the process of conducting a preliminary, multinational investigation.

After the incident the Pentagon swiftly released a statement saying that the airstrikes were targeted at insurgents who were firing on US service members from the vicinity of the hospital, and a statement from Afghanistan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi claimed that up to 15 insurgents were firing from the hospital.  The Associated Press reported video footage showing automatic weapons resting on windowsills within the compound.

However Doctors Without Borders denied this, and spokesperson Kate Stegeman asserted that, “only staff, patients, and caretakers were inside when bombing occurred.” The Taliban later released a statement confirming that its fighters were not in the vicinity at the time when the airstrike took place.

Doctors Without Border released a statement saying, “[The bombing] constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”

“If there was a major military operation going on there, our staff would have noticed. And that wasn’t the case when the strikes occurred,” Christopher Stokes, the organization’s general director, said in an interview with CNN.

Top human rights officials at the United Nations have even gone so far as to  say that it could be considered a war crime.

Police Blotter

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A false fire alarm sounded in Woodland on Friday, September 18, at about 7 p.m. Fire trucks were called, but it was discovered that the alarm had been triggered by an air freshener.

Police were notified about a domestic dispute on campus at about 3 p.m. on Monday, September 21. Police advised the students involved to end contact with each other.

A student playing a game of pickup basketball in the AFC gymnasium on Tuesday, September 22, tripped and fell into the bleachers. Police were notified of his injury at about 10 p.m., and he was transported to UPMC Shadyside, where he received stitches.

By the people, for the people: CSG weekly update

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On Thursday, October 1, the Chatham Student Government held their weekly meeting, during which they discussed the changes that could make the University a better community.

Donald Aubrecht, Chief of Chatham’s Public Safety of four years, spoke first at the CSG meeting. He first discussed the Saturday Shuttle that goes to the Eden Hall campus. According to the staff, students are not taking advantage of using the Eden Hall shuttle, and therefore they believe that funding could go towards something else on campus.

Dean of Students Zauyah Waite argued that, “if students don’t know about this transportation, then they can’t utilize it.” Administration has agreed to find ways to broadcast the Eden Hall shuttle through Moodle or my.Chatham so that all students are aware of it and can see its schedule.

Next, Chief Aubrecht talked about students getting to know the officers. By doing so, officers are encouraged to support students.

“All of the officers try to attend the sporting events [and] Easter egg hunts, so that the students can get to know the officers,” he said. “This will help students to build personal relationships with these officers and to feel comfortable with them,” he added.

The campus police department is trying to be beneficial to students and make sure that they are safe. CSG Executive President Sarah Jugovic raised the question about how public safety can help students when they are off of Chatham’s campus. Chief Aubrecht stressed that no matter where the students are, help will always be available through the University’s campus police and other police departments around the city.

“The campus police are not there to antagonize students,” said Aubrecht, “but to help them.”

The last but also drastic change that was discussed in the CSG meeting was the enrollment at Chatham. Amy Becher, Vice President for Enrollment Management, spoke about how the enrollment is increasing at a significant rate. According to the data, the Class of 2019 is the biggest enrolling class in the University’s history. This year, there are 295 first-year undergraduates whereas last year there were only 154 first-year undergraduates. Since the University has transitioned to co-education, more women as well as men have applied to Chatham.

Becher cleared the air about Chatham being a Division III school. She emphasized that this means that no extra money is given to students who play sports, and no athletes benefit more than non-athletes.

However, enrollment, as well as the student athlete population, is expected to grow largely within five years. Phoebe Armstrong, a representative for the Class of 2016, raised the question, “What is the carrying capacity here at Chatham?” The campus is known for its small community and classroom sizes. Some of the CSG members expressed their concerns that because of the University’s growing numbers, housing would become an issue and class sizes would grow.  Their concern was largely due to the fact that small class sizes and personal attention from professors is a part of what attracts many current and prospective students to Chatham.

The CSG members were assured that there would be no expansions of the University to accommodate more people.

The CSG meets every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Conover Room, and all meetings are open to the student body.

Chatham students participate in pro-choice rally in Market Square

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Monday, September 29, was a dreary day to say the least, with consistent rainfall from morning until night. This, however, did not stop Chatham students from trekking through the storms to show their support for Planned Parenthood.

With the recent government defunding of the organization, a group of students chose to attend a rally in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh. For several of the students, it was the first rally they had ever attended. They marched to the Pittsburgh office of Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey—who voted to block a bill that would allow the government to keep running because it also continued to fund Planned Parenthood—to view speakers from Planned Parenthood share their stories.

The Chatham community has exhibited great support for Planned Parenthood and their message—doing everything from setting up tables with informational material to writing cards to local legislature in support of Planned Parenthood. Students even wore pink for a Chatham Pink-Out on September 29, even if they could not attend the rally itself. An overwhelming wall of support came from this pink-out, as many students participated in this on-campus statement.

Though the Chatham turnout was small, the rally itself was full of local Pittsburghers giving their support to Planned Parenthood.

Chatham holds annual cultural dinner

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On the evening of Friday, September 25, the quad was set up in a picnic-style fashion. Chatham students, faculty, and staff sat at round tables chatting with one another. Unlike most Chatham picnics, however, instead of hot dogs and boca burgers there was a chance to indulge in international delicacies. This is was the annual Global Focus picnic, sponsored by the Laughlin Global Citizen Living Learning Community.

The food at the picnic included many ethnic dishes. The start of the buffet had a variety of salads from an Asian Cucumber Slaw to an African Chickpea and Peppadew salad.

Moving up the buffet to the entrees, there were the Brazilian Black Bean Stew and the Hispanic Lime Portabellas Soft Tacos, which also included a vegan option.

“We love the donuts,” said seniors Kelly Nestman and Tiffany Schmidt.

However, those donuts were actually Sopaipillas. Sopapillas are a fried dessert pastry derived from Spanish roots.  The Sopapillas were served with ice cream and topped with cherries and whipped cream.

The planning of the cultural dinner was a combined effort of the Office of Residence Life and Student Activities, Student Affairs, and Parkhurst Catering.

“Our goal was to offer a diverse collection of food to supplement the student’s homemade dishes,” said director of catering, Scott Steiner.

The cultural dinner offered students the opportunity to share and prepare a dish from their country or even an old family recipe.

Many of recipes have been passed down from generation to generation.  Senior Sarah Weinschenker made Sausage Balls, a German-American dish that is usually eaten during the holidays and is very simple to prepare.

First-year Melanie Landsittel prepared homemade pasta and sauce. Her family is from Naples, Italy, and this is how they prepare pasta. Landsittel’s pasta  ran out almost immediately.

Assistant Director of Career Services Crystal Vietmeier had a chance to try the pasta.

“The sauce alone was excellent,” she said.

Many of the international students prepared dishes from their home country.  International student Eleonor Nilsson made Swedish meatball in honor of her home country, Sweden.  Swedish meatballs are commonly eaten during the holidays but can appear during regular dinners.

“It is a old-fashion Swedish meal and simple to make,” Nilsson said.

Rachael Dymski, who is the Graduate Resident Director of Rea and Laughlin House and who was the main organizer for the cultural dinner found it to be a success.

“I am very happy with the turnout and very impressed with how well all the dishes turned out,” she said.