Boba Tea Social with Chinese Culture Club
Photo courtesy of Copy Editor Abigail Cornelius
Members of CCG and Geneseo students enjoyed the free beverages while socializing with staff.
The Chinese Cultural Club at Geneseo’s (CCG) “Boba Tea Social” was held on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the multicultural center on campus. This event was open to all students and staff to socialize and have free boba tea!
After I grabbed my free bubble tea, I got to speak to Lauren Martin, the president of the Chinese Cultural Club, and Matthew Pope, the co-student association representative. Martian explained, “This is our annual bubble tea social in collaboration with the Filipino Student Union, and this is our third year doing [the boba tea social].” Pope shared his thoughts on the Boba social, saying, “I always hope that first years will come, and if you want to be a general, it's also cool to get people to try new things at these events, and maybe they haven't. I myself never even tried boba tea until two years ago, yeah, but now I like it a lot.”
I asked Martin why they served boba/ bubble tea annually; “Well, bubble tea originated in Taiwan. It's become pretty trendy now, so we just want a fun time to socialize and enjoy.” Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) at SUNY Geneseo provided the tapioca—the bubbles—for the bubble tea alongside three flavors of actual tea: taro matcha, classic milk tea, and tapioca.
Martin reflected on the turnout, stating, “I always expect a lot of people to come, mostly friends, because I know a lot of people on campus, but I always expect people to come because it's been pretty popular for the last two years, and we've always had people come. So I'm not, like, disappointed.” I, too, was not disappointed. I got to catch up with my friends and meet some new people. I even got a chance to chat with some Geneseo staff who came to support the event (and to get their free boba).
When asked why this event was free instead of being a fundraiser for CCG, Martin explained, “…people pay student activity fees, hopefully, so we can put on events like this. So that's typically why it's technically free up charge, but they should be getting our technical for the event. They should obviously get something out of the activity.”
Though there was plenty of boba to go around, there were concerns regarding the amount needed for the event. “We try to plan on how many people are gonna come, but like, sometimes we run out. I believe we didn't have enough the first year that we did it, so we ran out very quickly. And then, like last year and this year, we had a little bit more, so we did have some leftovers. So we try to plan so that whoever comes can have some.”
Martin and Pope hope this event will attract new members to CCG. “I hope people will come to the event and then join the clubs, maybe just as general members, especially incoming freshmen. I feel like clubs generally have low enrollment,” Marin explained.
CCG will host a Casino Night on Friday, November 8, 2024,from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, "We do Chinese games, like Chinese poker and mahjong, in collaboration with Geneseo Late Knight.” Secondly, all the cultural clubs hold their own cultural dinners and performances every semester; CCG will host its cultural dinner next semester on March 8, 2025.