China Dialogue Dinners hosted a discussion on American and Chinese food security and safety Wednesday.
Since its inception two years ago, the student-led group has held small discussion-based events open to students and faculty about every two weeks. Wednesday’s forum was the first of the semester.
Each dinner aims to facilitate conversation about topics relevant to both Chinese and American cultures, said founder and president Abby Lunstrum, a College graduate student.
“It forces us to understand an issue we both care about from different angles,” Lunstrum said.
Lunstrum said she was originally inspired to create China Dialogue Dinners after living in China for several years and realizing how similar, if disconnected, the two nations are.
“I wanted to maintain a connection after I left China and I realized that there isn't a lot of Chinese [and] American student engagement,” Lunstrum said. “There's not as much cultural dialogue as we'd like there to be and no one is really doing anything about it.”
Second-year College student Anna Shaw, event coordinator for Wednesday’s dinner, emphasized the need for interaction between American and Chinese students on Grounds.
“We have a diverse campus...but I feel we tend to be very superficial in conversation and hopefully this pushes people to be more in depth in their conversations about national and international issues,” Shaw said.
When attending a dinner, participants are asked to sit in discussion groups of six to eight individuals. The only rule is American students and Chinese students must intermingle.
Wednesday’s dinner began with a short video, “Investigating China’s Food Scandals,” and transitioned into small discussions for the remainder of the night. Students were encouraged to discuss issues such as food waste, corruption in food regulation and recent industry scandals across both countries.
Fourth-year College student Annika Schunn said she was inspired to attend the event because the subject matter was new to her.
“I need to expose myself to new and different things and get outside of my comfort zone to see what sort of international issues there are that I should tune in to,” Schunn said.
Schunn was one of approximately 30 students to attend the dinner on Wednesday, held in Newcomb’s Kaleidoscope Room.
The dinners have been successful, Lunstrum said. In the past, the program has attracted over 400 attendances in total, with an average of about 40 in attendance at each dinner.
Funding for China Dialogue Dinners comes from a variety of sponsors and is secured before each individual event.
“I think that so many people keep attending is a testament to how informative and enjoyable the dinners can be for everyone,” Lunstrum said. “We’re still growing.”
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