By Sofie Kato, news staff
Northeastern’s Chinese Student Association, or CSA, introduced Jason Chen, a bilingual Taiwanese-American YouTuber, for a night of singing and a meet-and-greet.
Aimed at spreading cultural awareness, CSA hosts discussions about the misrepresentation of the Asian American community through meetings, gatherings and special guests like Chen.
“One of the goals of CSA is to spread cultural awareness, and we have talks every year that are meant to educate those who don’t have the same cultural background as others,” said Timmie Dong, a fourth-year behavioral neuroscience major and president of CSA.
After a short impromptu setlist, Chen sat down for a Q&A where he answered questions about his music career and his life as an Asian American. He explained how he believes that when opportunities such as acting or singing arise for Asian Americans, no one comes out to support them, and that is why the representation is lacking. Chen believes that this lack of support discourages Asians from coming to America
“When we are given opportunities here, no one supports,” Chen said. “We always say that we are under represented but we don’t come out to support. A lot of this misrepresentation is self-inflicted, and we can change, as long as we are willing to.”
Event attendee Brianna Ku expressed how Chen’s point of view on Asian American representation was new to her, which highlights CSA’s mission to show different perspectives about the world.
“It was interesting to hear a different perspective about Asian American representation,” said Brianna Ku, a second-year physical therapy major. “I’ve never heard of an opinion like that before and it caught me off guard. But I thought that it was cool that he was able to voice his opinion to us.”
Chen also talked about his experiences in both China and the US, talking about his feelings of belonging in both countries.
“I fit everywhere, but I don’t really belong everywhere,” Chen said. “In China I’m known as the ‘American YouTuber’ but in the US I’m known as the ‘Chinese YouTuber.’”
After miscommunication as to whether or not Chen was supposed to perform, he threw together some quick arrangements with a student and performed his hit single “Best Friend” along with “Baby” by Justin Bieber. He then sang portions of songs in both Chinese and English, taking audience requests and giving them a taste of his music style.
Chen also gave advice to aspiring musicians on their music careers and talked about his upcoming album, which drops next month.
“Practice music a lot. Sing everyday,” Chen said. “Do something that you are passionate about. I didn’t do music because of the fame or money, but because I enjoyed doing it more than anything else. If it feels like a job, then you shouldn’t be doing it.”
