Saturday, Nov. 9, the College of William and Mary’s Taiwanese American Student Association hosted students for a night of dumpling making and eating. The Wesley Foundation house, home to the College’s Methodist campus ministry, was packed with the aromas of fragrant green onions and spicy chili flake oil and with students trying their hand at folding dumplings.
Dumpling Night was a free, campus-wide event open to any student willing to explore a taste of Taiwanese culture.
“We opened the event to the whole campus so that people can bring their friends,” TASA President Rose Hsieh ’26 said. “It’s a good way to make friends, learn how to make dumplings, eat food and just have fun.”
Hsieh emphasized that Dumpling Night was a friendly, welcoming space for students to gather together and meet new people while trying something new.
“Food is what really brings people together,” Hsieh said.
Executive board members bought and prepared the dumpling filling ingredients in advance to simplify the process. Attending students were left with the job of scooping, filling and pinching the wrappers shut to seal their pouches of pork or tofu. Once the folding was complete, students could choose between having their dumplings boiled or fried, the latter being the more popular option. Soy sauce and chili flake oil from the dipping station added a punchy finishing touch.
Students of all cultures and levels of dumpling-making experience filled the seats of the Wesley House. Attendees Eric Wei ’25 and Max Wong ’25 found that the most difficult parts of crafting a successful dumpling were keeping the dumpling sealed and not adding too much filling. After about half an hour of filling and folding, Wei and Wong wore satisfied grins at their packed plates of pinched pork parcels.
“It’s been a lot of fun, and a nice escape from Caf food,” Wei said.
Wong echoed that he attended the event to have fun, but he added he was also thankful for the chance to participate in this cultural tradition.
“I come from a super white community in Illinois, so I came here to connect with my culture,” Wong said.
Making and eating dumplings is a traditional family activity in Taiwanese and Chinese culture, particularly associated with good luck and prosperity during Lunar New Year. TASA member Dean Waters ’25 spoke about his connection to the activity.
“My mom is from Hong Kong, and we’d make dumplings as a family, especially when relatives come over,” Waters said. “These cultural events will allow people who grew up with the culture to have the opportunity again to engage in a culture you grew up with.”
Veteran dumpling maker and attendee Chichi Lu ’27 also appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with her culture on campus. For her, the dish linked to her Chinese roots and memories of participating in the same tradition at home.
“Because this is such a highly populated white area, culture events like Dumpling Night remind us it’s important that there are other cultures out there, and that it’s good to connect with them,” Lu said.
Waters, who has a passion for learning languages, also acknowledged that Dumpling Night was an opportunity for students currently enrolled in Chinese courses here at the College to immerse themselves in the culture they learn about in class.
“It’s also good for people who are interested in learning Chinese as a nice supplementary way to experience part of that culture here,” Waters said. “It’s helpful and it’s relevant.”
Students unaffiliated with Taiwanese culture and with no dumpling experience besides eating them still found fun in gathering around a table together and trying out dumpling folding.
For attendee Chiamaka Onuorah ’26, Dumpling Night was her first try at dumpling making.
“I like coming to these events to learn about different aspects of cultures, like food,” Onuorah said. “It’s also nice to learn about cultures not directly related to your own.”
Rookie dumpling maker Teddy Cohen ’26 was likewise glad to attend Dumpling Night to learn more about a new and different culture, particularly in the College’s predominantly white environment.
“It’s easy to isolate yourself culturally, especially here, so it’s important to keep yourself open so you can have a better experience,” Cohen said.
This year was TASA’s first year back on campus as a registered student organization, as well as its second year of hosting Dumpling Night. The club hopes to continue the event as an annual tradition and to grow its reach on campus.
As Taiwanese Americans are a small pocket of the William and Mary community, TASA is one of the smaller cultural organizations on campus, but Hsieh is determined to not let TASA’s size diminish its importance and presence.
“Since the Taiwanese student population is smaller here, it’s important that we can still find a space to share unique aspects of our culture,” Hsieh said. “Even though it’s a small organization, we can still have our own events, and they can be more intimate since people are more able to get involved in hands-on events and make their own food.”
TASA Secretary Sabrina Ko ’27 agreed that keeping Taiwanese culture alive at the College was important to her.
“I joined TASA because I wanted more community, and I knew I could find people like me,” Ko said. “I feel like it’s more niche than just joining an Asian student association.”
However, TASA is not exclusive to only Taiwanese students, and Ko encourages students of any background to join the club and attend future TASA events.
“We do a lot of culture events, bringing people together. You don’t even have to be Taiwanese,” Ko said. “My favorite things are our boba fundraisers or food nights.”