By Vantage Staff
Newman’s Asian Student Association just re-formed earlier this semester after being dormant for two years, and already it has a big membership and plans for lots of events.
One event the club just put on was a food sale fundraiser, which happened over the lunch hour on Wednesday at the Student Life Center. Hungry students and faculty showed up for the event, during which club members sold plates of pork fried rice prepared by club president Ba Minh Nhat Nguyen’s mother as well as egg rolls sourced from the All Saints Catholic Church in Wichita.
The club, which already has 23 members, will use the money it raised from Wednesday’s food sale and from another sale it put on earlier this semester to pay for some of the bigger events it has planned, Nguyen said.
Among them is a Friendsgiving meal that the club will offer starting at 6 p.m. Monday in the Alumni Center. ASA has partnered with Newman’s chapter of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization and the office of Multicultural Engagement for the event, during which it will serve boba tea and pho, which is Vietnamese soup.
The Friendsgiving event is open to all on campus, and the food will be free.
ASA and HALO are also collaborating on a Dec. 3 event that will be called Christmas Around the World. It will also happen in the Alumni Center and also will offer free food. Those who attend can sing karaoke and participate in other activities.
Then, next semester, ASA will put on a Lunar New Year event. It will happen on Feb. 3 and include food, vendors and Lion dancers.
The club is also planning to take over the Cultural Extravaganza in partnership with Multicultural Engagement and HALO. That event, which traditionally happens outdoors in March, was previously put on by the Multicultural Leadership Organization, which isn’t active this year. MCLO is also in debt from putting on last year’s event.
ASA recently held its first general meeting, where members socialized while folding origami, playing Kahoot! and eating pizza. Anyone interested in joining ASA can email Nguyen at nguyen682326@newmanu.edu
PHOTO: Vantage Staff
