The room was just a tiny bit hostile. The low din of chaotic conversation mixed with incomprehensible music and filled the room. A line of several dozen students snaked around tables, their normally colored clothing painted rust by the crimson lights of the room. Impatient and uncomfortable, they glared at the front of the line. A small moment of silence, then an eruption: half the room cheering, half the room cursing.
Until this year, Korean Culture Night (KCN) has never happened here at UC Irvine, even though campuses like UCLA, UC Riverside and San Diego State have hosted the event for years.
Think back to 9/11. Fears were heightened, cultures were generalized, stereotypes were formed. A false perception was generated that the Middle East was a place inhabited entirely by “terrorists,” and gradually evolved into a taboo subject in America.
The moment I stepped in, I was smitten; the walls were lined with vintage books on clean wooden shelves. A typewriter sat in the corner with a vase of white lilies. The California sun cascaded through the large glass panels, giving the place a crisp, yet welcoming ambiance. Jazz music played overhead, drawing me further inside.
A first-year computer science major who loves helping others, Nithin Jilla is also the president of UC Irvine’s Kenya Dream chapter. He’s on a mission to help the students of Kenya succeed in school.
An integral part of the college experience is living on your own. Moving out after nearly a decade under your parents’ convenient roof is a change that takes at least a little adjusting to, even with the many distractions.
