Onigiri, pandan custard, popcorn chicken, manakeesh and other Asian dishes decorated the Scripps College Bowling Green on March 22 as approximately 400 students flocked to the 5C Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Night Market.
Hosted by Claremont Taiwanese American Student Association (TASA), members of nine 5C Asian affinity groups operated booths serving snack-sized selections of food from their respective cultures.
Lines of hungry students cascaded from each of the nine booths: Thai Students Associations of the 5Cs (THSA), Claremont South Asian Student Association (SASA), Claremont Chinese Students & Scholars Program Association (CSSA), Claremont Colleges Shanghai Culture Club (SHCC), Japanese Student Organization of the Claremont College (JSOCC), Southwest Asian North African Alliance (SWANAA), Tea Circle and the Cantonese (Canto) Club. In addition, the 5C circus club performed an acrobatics routine.
This was the third night market TASA has hosted since TASA co-presidents Dahlia Wang SC ’24 and Jennifer Hu SC ’24 and vice president Niketa Kou PO ’25 took office.
“We have worked with Frid-Aid for the past three night markets, but with increased collaboration in the past semester,” Wang, Hu and Kou said. “This was the first night market where we had a suggested participation fee that would go to Frid-Aid, while in the past, we had QR codes at each table and a raffle.”
Frid-Aid on the Quad shares art like prints and stickers and collects mutual aid funds for redistribution. Attendees paid a suggested $2 for entry and collectively raised $1,024. Frid-Aid is working to redistribute these funds to individuals and families fleeing Gaza.
“Seeing how well our fall 2023 Night Market fared showed us the platform that we have with the event and this semester we decided to increase mutual aid efforts in recognition of current global events,” Wang, Hu and Ou said.
Students checked out reusable bowls and utensils, though they were encouraged to bring their own. Many students brought colorful and creative bowls, many of which reflected traditional Asian heritage. They also collected a commemorative sticker, a staple for every night market, designed by Wang.
“[The night market] is a really good way for Asian cultures to be represented in a way that’s accessible for all 5C students,” Emma Wei SC ’27 said.
Attendees were given a bingo-style three-by-three grid with each clubs’ booths which were stamped off as they sampled each type of cuisine.
Edible highlights included TASA’s popcorn chicken and boba, SASA’s bhel puri and cocktail samosas, SWANAA’s manakeesh, Tea Circle’s cold brew green and white tea, JSOCC’s cold soba noodles, THSA’s pandan and thai tea custard and SHCC’s shaomai. Many items, such as the red bean mochi in the JSOCC booth, sold out within 40 minutes.
“I’ve been hyping up the red bean mochi to everyone,” Wei said.
“[The night market] is a really good way for Asian cultures to be represented in a way that’s accessible for all 5C students.”
Many students expressed their appreciation for the night market itself, emphasizing the importance of diversity and representation.
“Other than cultural exposure and appreciation, the night market also brings awareness to these Asian clubs that some students might not have known existed,” Sharma said.
CSSA, SHCC, SWANAA and the 5C circus club were new additions for this year’s night market.
Students noted that Asian representation is often limited to that of East Asians. The night market gave South, Southeast, West and Southwest Asian cultures wider exposure.
“It’s a really nice place … to encourage diversity in all Asian groups because there’s often a stigma that [results in] only East Asians [being] paid attention to, which is true,” Emma Tom PO ’26 said. “And I think this [event] allows for their representation and it’s a great way to learn about other cultures.”
The event provided crucial visibility to the sizable APIDA community at the 5Cs.
“This is my first exposure to the night market,” Iram Abrar PO ’26 said. “I feel like the 5Cs specifically have a very large Asian population compared to other colleges. So I think it kind of lets you see the big Asian population here.”
SANA club member Ayna Sharma PZ ’25 expressed her excitement about showcasing Desi culture.
“I’m most excited about sharing non-stereotypical Desi dishes with the 5C community,” Sharma said. “Yes, we did serve samosas, but we also served bhel puri and pakkora which a lot of people haven’t tried before.”
In preparation for both this year’s and last year’s night market, SANA purchased from local store India Quick Mart. The other eight clubs also supported local Asian businesses, offering attendees an authentic cultural experience.
In addition to food and community building, students were entertained by a performance from the 5C circus club. Club member Rina Nagashima SC ’24 described her experience performing for such a bustling crowd.
“It was a lot of fun; we did a lot of aerials, which is probably what many people know us for,” Nagashima said. “We [also] do some other things such as unicycling, juggling and tumbling.”
On a beautiful sunny day, amidst friends and delightful Asian cuisine, APIDA students found representation and community through the universal joy that is food — and circus.
Amy Yao PO ’26 emphasized the importance of engaging with the diverse student population.
“Pomona [College] is very lucky in the fact that we are generally a little more ethnically diverse and we have a lot more students from different backgrounds,” said Yao. “I think as a whole, the 5Cs really benefit from really appreciating and learning about different cultures. And this is an amazing way we can do this.”
Maya Zhan contributed reporting.
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