Coffee hour celebrates year of the rooster

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Pedro Victor de Mendonca Candido Pereira hands out food to international students on Wednesday afternoons "Coffee Hour" in the lobby of St. Ed's, Feb. 1. Many of the students were celebrating the Chinese New Year, which is known as the year of the rooster. Photo by Jack Conway.
Pedro Victor de Mendonca Candido Pereira hands out food to international students on Wednesday afternoons “Coffee Hour” in the lobby of St. Ed’s, Feb. 1. Many of the students were celebrating the Chinese New Year, which is known as the year of the rooster. Photo by Jack Conway.

On Thursday afternoon, students of all backgrounds congregated in St. Ed’s lounge after class for International Coffee Hour. Student assistants were in charge of serving the food at the weekly event. Those who attended had the opportunity to grab a quick bite and socialize with other faculty and students of the college. In celebration of the school’s diversity, the menu is changed weekly to represent food from all over the globe. This week’s coffee hour honored the Year of the Rooster with Chinese cuisine, including fried rice and hot egg rolls.

Halfumi Shiina, a sophomore and international student from Japan, was one of the volunteers at the coffee hour. “The aim is to generate a meeting spot for everyone. International students sometimes do not have a lot of opportunity to meet other students on campus, so this is a time for them to speak with others that they may not have met yet.”

Amanda Riiska, a senior and another student assistant, also praised the event for breaking barriers between American and international students. “International and non-international students tend to segregate themselves on campus, and it’s always nice to have the opportunity to lure them together with food.”

The Chinese New Year began this year on Sunday, Jan. 28. The start of the Chinese Lunar New Year is commemorated during an event called the Spring Festival, the largest holiday in China. Spanning about two weeks, the holiday includes a series of different festivities and traditions, from setting off fireworks to ward off evil spirits to dumplings on the table.

Students gather in St. Ed's lounge for Chinese food. Photos by Jack Conway.
Students gather in St. Ed’s lounge for Chinese food. Photos by Jack Conway.

The Chinese zodiac sign for 2017 is the Rooster. According to the Telegraph, a London newspaper, those born in the Year of the Rooster are lively, smart, resourceful and confident, though sometimes moody. The Chinese zodiac is a 12-animal cycle, with the last Year of the Rooster occurring in 2005. Some celebrities born under the sign of the Rooster include Benjamin Franklin, Rudyard Kipling, Dolly Parton and Beyoncé.

International coffee hour happens every Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. in St. Ed’s lobby.

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