Everyone got a "peace" of the pie at the International Student Organization's annual peace dinner last Thursday.
The Student Center ballroom was filled with guests ready to taste food from the nine countries represented.
International student organizations volunteered to serve popular dishes from their countries.
The event was about more than eating dinner, however. The $1 donation required of attendees will go to the World Food Program, which fights worldwide hunger.
"Every year, we have a peace dinner, and from the name, you know we are trying to do something for world peace," said Leon Qian, vice president executive of ISO and graduate student in electrical engineering. "We speak about world peace every day, but we have to actually begin to do something. So this is something to gather people from every country and cook and invite others to come enjoy."
Qian said promoting peace is not as difficult as it seems.
"You start by just bringing one dollar and one can of food, and if you wish to give an additional donation, you can, but by doing that you are already helping people out there," Qian said.
Vaishali Sharda, ISO president, said the organizations tried to publicize this year's dinner to American students.
"Especially here on campus, as many American students as I have met, they are very interested in learning about other cultures, and they really appreciate them," Sharda said. "And even international students, someone from Turkey is learning about India, so it's a mutual give-and-take."
Sharda said the event was started after 9/11 to encourage brotherhood and peace.
"We encourage American students to come and taste the food, but at the same time, it's just so there is some cultural exchange," Sharda said.
Food promotes peace by bringing people together, Sharda said.
"Food is the biggest representation of a particular culture, and it also tells you about the prevalence of crops in that country," Sharda said. "Food is one thing that brings students together because you sit at a table eating and talk and share your thoughts of that culture."
The peace dinner is an effective way of teaching students about other cultures, said Angela Serata, graduate student in industrial engineering.
"A lot of people come into college, and it's the first experience they have with people of other countries," Serata said. "I think food is a good way of introducing them because it's something we all have in common."
For international students, the dinner served as a way to learn American culture.
"I want to know other cultures and their food," said Chris Yu, student in the Intensive English Program. "You make a lot of friends here and learn about their countries and languages--not just English, but you learn a little bit about Korean, Spanish, Japanese culture."
The dinner proved that positive results come from different cultures coming together, according to Qian.
"The ability of one person may be limited," Qian said, "but when people come together, we can make change."
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