Liberal Arts Students Say Their Bad College Food Is "Cultural Appropriation"

General Tso would not be impressed with this chicken, apparently.

Following an attempt from Campus Dining Services to "diversify" their menu, students at Ohio's premier liberal arts school, Oberlin College, have called many of the Asian dishes "culturally appropriative."

Tony Dejak / AP

The complaints began after a freshman from Vietnam named Diep Nguyen told the Oberlin Review last month how disappointed she was to find that what campus dining claimed to be a traditional Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwich was, in fact, just a sandwich.

"It was ridiculous," Nguyen said of the pulled pork and cole slaw on ciabatta sandwich that dining services company Bon Apétit. "How could they just throw out something completely different and label it as another country's traditional food?"

Nguyen was not the only one to notice what the Review called a "blurring of the line between culinary diversity and cultural appropriation," particularly when it comes to Asian cuisine.

A sophomore from China named Prudence Hiu-Ying was equally taken aback by Bon Appétit's attempt at General Tso's chicken, which appeared to have been steamed instead of fried. The disk also appeared to have a sauce that Hiu-Ying said was not ginger-garlic soy, though she said she did not try it herself.

But the students' real outrage appeared to be over their dining hall's sushi bar, which the campus newspaper called the "pinnacle" of what many students believe is "a culturally appropriative sustenance system."

Marco Ficili / Getty Images

Tomoyo Joshi, a junior from Japan, told the Review that she found the poor quality of the fish and the badly cooked rice "disrespectful."

A few of the less incensed students said they appreciated Bon Appétit was making an effort to vary the food's flavors, but perhaps dining services should do some cultural research on the meals they are making before serving them.

Others recommended Bon Appétit meet with cultural student organizations of the same nationality as the dishes they are serving to ensure they are not offending anyone.

Director of Oberlin Dining Services Michelle Gross told the Review that Bon Appétit did not mean to be disrespectful while serving the students sushi. She added that they were considering abandoning names for the dishes, and instead simply describing their ingredients.

---

View Entire List ›

from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1S0kfcx