By Sofie Kato, news correspondent
Two Asian-American cultural groups hosted their annual “A Night in Asia” event last Sunday in the Curry Student Center Ballroom, bringing together a night of games, food, prizes and special guest performances.
The Asian Student Union, or ASU, and the Vietnamese Student Association, or VSA, hosted a night aimed at bringing cultures together to celebrate being Asian American. ASU is a student organization on campus that aims to raise awareness for Asian American issues and cultures. It consists of fifteen clubs that are all culturally specific. One of these is VSA, which focuses specifically on Vietnamese culture.
“[This event] is a great way to have all the clubs in ASU come together to celebrate the Asian-American community,” said Megan Lau, a third-year computer science and finance major and president of ASU. “The goal is to bring diversity and culture together, and we brought in groups from Boston College, or BC, and Harvard to put on a traditional yet modern take on a market setting in Asia. I’ve been doing this for three years, and every year it has been more fun than the year before.”
When entering the room, each member received a stamp card. By going around to the different booths set up by different clubs, participants could win a husky keychain. Each organization in ASU set up a game booth and marked participants’ cards for participating in the games.
Games ranging from flip cup and toss the ring on the bottle to more culturally specific games, such as Gonggi, were all on display.
“It is really cool to see every culture come together and have fun,” said Joonsung Kim, a second-year business administration major and member of the Korean American Student Association. “You get to eat snacks from that country or play games from that country, and being able to participate has been really fun.”
ASU and VSA also hosted a variety of performances from Northeastern’s Eon Dance Troupe and Dragon Dance Troupe to Harvard Fusion and BC’s Aerodynamic Dance Crew. But the biggest star of the night was the rap duo Year of the Ox, or YOX.
Korean-American rappers Lyricks and JL, originally from Virgina, have been touring the country and recently came back from a stint in South Korea. They came together to perform some of their biggest hits and spread some good messages along the way.
“It’s a beautiful time to be Asian-American,” Lyricks said in his performance. “As artists, sometimes I feel broken or discouraged, but should I give up? No. If we can do it, then you can definitely do it, so never give up on the dream and always believe in yourself.”
With lanterns hanging from the ceiling and pad thai being served for dinner, attendees were able to take pictures with friends at the photobooth or use the filter on Snapchat to document the festivities.
“I think [A Night in Asia] is the one opportunity for all clubs to showcase their culture and provide a platform for students to connect with their community,” said Alyssa Lam, a third-year health science major and president of VSA. “It is an overall fun time where you can play games, win prizes and watch some amazing performances.”
At the end of the night, there was a special meet-and-greet with YOX and a raffle to win specialized VSA PopSockets. After a night filled with food, fun and friends, the message that YOX left made the night even more special.
“I want all of my beautiful brothers and sisters to know how powerful you are and how amazing it feels to have something that I wrote on a train in Virginia be recited back to me,” Lyricks said. “If we don’t talk about positivity and loving each other, then what I am saying to my brothers and sisters? We are all family here, and I am grateful to be here.”
