EVANSTON — In the spirit of celebrating diversity at Northwestern, the dining halls prepared a themed dinner in honor of Chinese New Year. There was a large variety of Chinese food to choose from, including Beef Lo Mein, Chicken Lo Mein, Shrimp Lo Mein and Pork Lo Mein.

The décor of the cafeteria also stayed true to the Chinese culture with fake firecrackers hanging from the ceilings and lots of gold trim. However, these efforts went unnoticed by the university’s Chinese populace.

Long lines of Asians were seen at the pizza counter while the themed counters could only manage to attract the occasional curious white student. When asked why he did not try the cultural foods, Bok Lee, an international student from China said, “Oh! That was Chinese food?”

Another student who tasted the egg custard tart for dessert said he really loved the quiche, but couldn’t understand why it was in the dessert section.

The Asians that did acknowledge the effort praised the music and foods for their originality.

“I’ve always heard of Kung Pao Chicken, but I’ve never had it before,” said Ching Hua. Ug Nah, an exchange student from Indonesia, however, thought the chicken and nuts combination reminded him of home.

The soundtrack of traditional Chinese instruments playing in the halls struck the Chinese students with curiosity.

“The music is very interesting. My great-great-great-great grandma told me about songs like these, but I never heard them in person,” said Mimi Li. “I must ask them which antique store they found the record in.”

Fortune cookies were also distributed at the stir-fry counter. All of them contained the message “That was dog meat.”