The typically quiet O’Neill Plaza transformed into a lively hub on Thursday evening, lined by tents adorned with string lights and surrounded by the wafting aromas of cultural dishes.
At this year’s “Night Market,” hosted by the Southeast Asian Student Association (SEASA), 16 cultural clubs were invited to showcase their diverse cultural foods and traditions.
“This has been an annual event, but every single year we are trying to make it bigger and bigger and more inclusive, not just around like the Asian Caucus clubs, but wanting to expand it a little more,” said Denissa Ariestanto, SEASA AHANA representative and CSOM ’26.
The featured dish at the SEASA table was nasi goreng, an Indonesian fried rice. According to David Chieco, SEASA co-president and CSOM ’24, students could earn a sampling of the rice by partaking in a children’s game of pen and bottle.
“You have a glass bottle and a pen that’s attached to some string, and you have to squat down to get the pen into the bottle,” Chieco said.
Chieco said that for SEASA, this annual event provides a great opportunity for the club to share Southeast Asian culture with the Boston College community.
“We really give a place for Southeast Asian students … especially since it’s a culture that’s not really focused on a lot in history or in modernity,” Chieco said.
In the past, SEASA co-hosted Night Market with other organizations, but the club wanted to emphasize ownership over the event this year, according to Chieco.
“We’re trying to give SEASA more popularity,” Chieco said. “We want other Southeast Asian students or just any students, in general, to know that there is a club here for them, and to bring awareness to what we do and who we are.”
The Night Market also featured clubs relatively new on campus. Jessica Pelaez, founder and president of El Centro and MCAS ’24, said she originally formed the club in the spring of 2022 because she wanted more representation of Hispanic culture on campus.
“El Centro is an organization that combines indigenous roots with just being ethnically Hispanic,” Pelaez said. “I noticed that there wasn’t [an organization] that highlighted indigenous roots … so I just wanted to make sure that those [cultures] … were seen and heard.”
El Centro’s table featured garnachas, a taco-like dish that Pelaez said is popular in many Hispanic countries.
“They’re called different things in different countries, but … to us, that’s just an easy, quick meal, for when you don’t have much at home,” Pelaez said.
Among the vast variety of culture clubs represented at this outdoor event was the Hawaii Club, with a canopy stationed close to the front of O’Neill.
“We’re kind of a smaller culture club on campus,” Brandon Lai, co-president and CSOM ’24, said. “We look to spread Hawaiian culture throughout BC, mainly through food events.”
The Hawaii Club treated passing students to shaved ice.
“Shaved ice is a big thing in Hawaii, I would say, because of the weather, and there’s a lot of family businesses in Hawaii that run shaved ice shops,” Lai said.
The Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) offered bánh da lợn to students in exchange for a round of traditional Vietnamese gambling.
“It’s very sweet, kind of like a cake,” said Andrew Pham, VSA co-president and MCAS ’25.
According to VSA Culture Chair Joseph Ikossi Le, MCAS ’26, students were challenged to a betting game, where they could pick one of six symbols.
“Using fake money, if your symbol was rolled on, you make money and you can win a coconut bowl or you may have dessert,” Ikossi Le said.
Like the other clubs represented at the Night Market, VSA used its platform at the event to showcase its culture and unite people through food.
“We’re here to increase community and help people find a sense of belonging on campus,” Ikossi Le said.
