Earlier this month on Monday, November 11th there was a student-run guacamole making competition held in the Sarazen Student Union. Run by the Latinx Student Association of Siena College, the second annual guacamole making competition brought in a hefty crowd from all over the campus. The Latinx Student Association is a student-founded and student-run club that seeks to provide information and educate the Siena Community about the past, present, and future of the culture of Latin American Countries. The club focuses on different topics in order to explore the effect that said topics have on Siena’s black and Latinx culture. The club holds meetings once a month in Siena Hall 224, as well as events, to encourage the growth of their club, such as the Guacamole making competition.
A few weeks prior to the competition, students signed up to compete. Each student was allowed one to two partners in the competition and the teams were asked to send in the ingredients that they would need to make their best guacamole. On the day of the competition, there were ten separate teams, including students from every year and a variety of majors. The ten student teams were equipped with two avocados each, and a fair share of the ingredients table. On the table there were different spices such as cilantro and garlic powder, there were tomatoes and even lime juice. The students were given a bowl, a knife and a spoon and 30 minutes on the clock. While the competitors were preparing their guac, outside students were encouraged to swipe in the event, using their saint card, and watch as the teams cooked and eat snacks. After the clock hit thirty minutes, the teams were asked to present what they made to the judges, the judges being the outside students. Each non-participating student was handed a ticket and encouraged to walk around the room and taste test the different guacamoles. After the results came in the pair of students who had the best guacamole, by a vote of the students, was a team that named themselves, “What in the Guac!”
The Latinx Student Association is one of the many clubs on the campus that have the mission of promoting diversity and inclusion. These clubs all want to make students feel at home in an environment that they might not be used to and encourage them to make friends. In addition, the clubs put on events in order to allow students to participate in different cultural experiences all the while meeting new people.