OC HIGH: STUDENT NEWS AND VIEWS : Unity Smorgasbord: Food for Thought

When the feast is over, they go their separate ways. So it has been--and, in all probability, will continue to be--at the Sunny Hills High School’s International Day Smorgasbord.

Each year, on the day of the smorgasbord, students of various heritage--Asian, European, Latin American, African and others--mix in the quad. The diverse mass of students, parents, younger siblings, teachers and administrators eradicates normal hangout designations. It looks like a melting pot, but, in truth, ethnic ingredients are simmering in their own juices in isolated parts of the caldron.

The day after the smorgasbord, the hangout designations return: one group in the center of the quad, others all around. The segregation returns--or perhaps cultural understanding did not exist, even for that day. Nothing remains of the smorgasbord, except for a few foam cups and toothpicks beneath the quad benches.

“Gluttony is the great unifier,” as one student said. It’s a sad statement, indicative of the lack of real racial integration at Sunny Hills, despite the spirit of International Week and the existence of the Inter-Ethnic Club.

Everybody anticipates the smorgasbords. Even seniors like me, who’ve bought the same French sherbet in an orange peel, Korean barbecue, American chocolate-chip cookies, Chinese chow mein and Filipino shish kebabs for the past three years, enjoy it.

But does food appreciation lead to integration or have anything to do with cultural understanding?

The smorgasbord, despite the range of represented groups, reflects the antithesis--racial Balkanization. Food stands representative of different ethnic groups are separate, suggesting an emphasis on cultural differences rather than integration.

In the movie “The Godfather,” the Corleone family eats Chinese food yet despises Chinese people (as well as Cubans and African Americans.)

It is possible to love a country’s food and hate its people. A person can hate beer but love Bavarians; love pastry, but hate Parisians.

The smorgasbord food itself is somewhat stereotyped. Greek baklava, Chinese egg rolls, Italian spaghetti, Korean kimchi, German pretzels, French crepes and Mexican quesadillas. I’m not so sure that Germans subsist on pretzels and root beer. Do Americans eat hot dogs and chocolate chip cookies at most meals?

A final word: Economic interchange does not facilitate integration or cultural understanding. American businessmen who distrust Japan will trade with Japan, because it means profit.

We will only understand other cultures when we cross lines and truly integrate.