ASIA, Asian Students in Action, is a group that provides students of Asian culture with a safe haven to express themselves freely and to make connections with their peers through these expressions.
“The purpose of ASIA is to provide an academic, social, political and cultural support group for Asian and Pacific Island American students at St. Bonaventure,” said Viraj Kothari, a senior psychology major and co-president and executive board member of ASIA.
Officers in the group have their own tasks, yet they also work as a team.
“I help organize the events with the rest of the board because all of the board members in ASIA consider any event planning as a team thing, so we all help out,” said Bilawal Rafi, a junior finance major, treasurer and executive board member of ASIA.
“As co-president, this year I took on more responsibility in the administration part of the club rather than the artistic side that I had been a part of,” Kothari said. “I had to make sure all of the orders for all of the events were in place and all of the positions and jobs that needed to be delegated were being taken care of by their respective person.”
The popularly known Diwali show is one event from ASIA that explores dance in the Asian culture and how it can be connected and experienced by other cultures.
“My favorite part of ASIA is definitely the Diwali show. I have been dancing since I could practically walk, so the fact that I can be so far from home but still share my culture in the way that I have learned to all my life makes me feel blessed,” said Kothari. “In the Diwali show, we try to take all of the Asian forms of dance and present it to the rest of the community to show that culture-wise we might be different, but with art we can come together.”
Traditional holidays and movies are among the activities that the club hosts. These are celebrated and viewed on campus, though they might not be typically seen on other campuses.
“We celebrate Holi, which is the festival of colors in India usually around spring time. We use colored powders and throw them at each other in the front lawn of Francis,” said Kothari.
“We are always having movie nights where we view either Bollywood, Korean or other Asian movies, which is open to any of the members who would like to attend,” she said.
Overall, ASIA is a group that allows individuals to meet others who may be different than themselves and to be open to their culture.
“My favorite part of ASIA is being able to meet people who are like me in terms of religion, but also people of different yet similar cultures. It gave me a community within the community at Bona’s and definitely made me feel a little more at home,” said Rafi.
It’s easy for anyone, no matter one’s heritage, to join ASIA and to express themselves with the members currently in it.
“Everyone and anyone is welcome to join ASIA. If you know a current member, you can ask them to accompany them to the next monthly meeting,” said Kothari. “You could email the ASIA account at asia@sbu.edu and notify our secretary that you would be like to put on our email list.”
By Catherine Fleischhut, Staff Writer
fleisccs18@bonaventure.edu
