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‘Fiesta Night’ welcomes new and returning students this spring semester, showcasing Latin culture

More than 200 students gathered for the "Fiesta Night" opening social on May 3.

After dancing for hours with sombreros and piñatas on their heads and wiping the sweat off their faces and backs, students agreed the “Fiesta Night” dance, hosted by Seasider Sports and Activities, was a great way to network and interact with their classmates.

Despite the shorter semester, more than 200 students gathered in the Aloha Center Ballroom on May 3 to socialize and relieve some stress before the wave of homework and exams filled up their schedules later in the semester.

Renz Coronel, a sophomore from the Philippines studying political science and a Seasider Activities employee, said Seasider Activities wanted to change things up with this dance.

“We wanted all cultures [to be] represented or shown in every activity. Specifically, we picked the fiesta night because we wanted to showcase our Mexican students here and people who speak Spanish or have some Mexican [heritage] as well,” said Coronel.

Kimberly Tokanang, a freshman from Kiribati studying political science, said she was sweating by the time the dance was over.

“I had fun the minute I got in. I came around 9:30 pm, and it ended at 12:10 am. I don’t know why but I thought it was not enough. I had too much fun, and I loved every song the DJ [picked],” she shared.

Hannah Magallano, a sophomore from the Philippines studying communications, observed some of the music played was not censored.

She said, “Usually they don’t have swear words or [the DJ] would just get the clean version of the music, but they still had some good fun music… I still enjoyed it because of the dancing.”

Students who said it was their first time attending an opening social said the event was bigger than they expected.

“All my friends invited me to come here, so I came… I’m not good at [dancing], but it was really fun. I got to meet a lot of international friends in there as well,” said Jaehoon Jeong, a freshman from Korea undecided on his major.

Pizza was served during the dance, but another item was provided to beat the heat. Seasider Sports and Activities prepared ice cream for attendees to get as well.

Jeong said he loved pizza, so he was glad it was offered as one of the refreshments. However, Magallano said she would appreciate a change in the menu for future events.

Coronel said he was glad seeing students interact with one another. He said the dances the university organizes allow people to network with others.

“This is not just to gain friends, but you could meet people here who can help you in the future either with future employment or maybe a place you want to go to,” said Coronel.

Tokanang added, “On the dance floor we tend to stick with our own kind of people, people that we know before, but as we danced, some people joined our group. We got to know each other, and it expanded our circle of friends.”

Writer: Esther Insigne