APASA x LSA Spice It Right

By Intern Jashan Dalal

On Tuesday, April 2nd, APASA collaborated with the Latine Student Assembly (LSA) on a wonderful programming event called “Spice It Right.” Our Co-Advocacy Chairs, Jashan Grewal and Anahita Saxena, worked with LSA’s Co-Director of Special Events, Ben Nava, to bring the USC community for a delicious dinner and informative presentation. The evening started with a walkthrough of the important and interconnected history of spices in Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands. The audience learned so much about some of our favorite spices, from their politically charged origins to the extensive trade routes responsible for spreading them globally. 

Following the presentation, Jashan, Anahita, and Ben walked us through a sampling of spices and condiments hailing from all over our assemblies’ homelands, from traditional dips to modern sauces. With a total of 12 bowls on each table, it’s safe to say that we all got to try something new! We paired these dips with some chips and plantains from Mofongos, as well as garlic naan from Himalayan House, a Nepalese restaurant nearby to USC. Once the presentation and condiment sampling concluded, we invited everyone to get food from our buffet, which included so much food! We had pork BBQ skewers from Dollar Hits, vegetarian biryani from Himalayan House, and lomo saltado from El Pollo Inka. Everything was DELICIOUSSSSSSS. And to top it all off, we had drinks from Chi Forest and Gt's Agua De Kefir, sponsors of each of our assemblies. 

I had the privilege to serve food for this event, and it was so amazing to see how happy our patrons were to experience such a diverse array of flavors and spices at our event. There was even a student who was jumping for joy because lomo saltado reminded him of his Peruvian heritage. These small moments are what keep me coming back to APASA and love to serve in USG’s assemblies. As the future Co-Advocacy Chair for the 2026-27 school year, I’m so excited to continue APASA’s legacy of collaboration and celebration in providing for USC’s student body.