Amerasia Week brings diverse Asian cultural events on campus
Magkaisa’s booth on campus is located in front of the free speech area and hopes to inform others about the different Asian cultures in the Central Valley through Amerasia Week.
The 43rd annual Amerasia Week at Fresno State will teach and inform people about the diverse Asian cultures on campus through dances, songs and performances from March 6-10.
In 1970, Professor Izumi Taniguchi established Asian American Studies classes at Fresno State. Taniguchi was prompted to form classes in that discipline because of political instability and student activism at the time.
From this, two students of Taniguchi decided to form an organization for Asian American students to help promote cultural diversity and cultural awareness, said Aly Moua, a senior at Fresno State and the Culture Chair for the Amerasia organization.
“Amerasia Week is very important because the purpose is to educate and inform others about the diverse Asian cultures,” said Moua. “Hopefully students who are not of the Asian descent will be able to understand and differentiate upon the different groups of Asian cultures and embrace…them.”
Amerasia Events:
Amerasia week started off Monday night with open mic night.
On Tuesday night, Magkaisa, a cultural group on campus, held Filipino Night. During Filipino Night Magkaisa performed various songs and dances. The group also handed out pamphlets that informed people about Filipino culture.
Tonight from 7 to 9 p.m., the Family Fun Project, an acting club in the Asian community, will present a skit and then Asian community boy band “Broken Keys” will perform.
On Thursday, the Japanese Student Association will present a variety of Japanese cultural performances, which will include Kendo, a Bon Odori Dance, Kabuki, Soran Bushi and a presentation on Japanese holidays.
Friday, the Hmong Student Association at Fresno State will present a two-hour skit called “The True Story of Ntxhais Hmoob.” The skit is a recreation of a folktale about a tiger and a girl named Yer.
On Saturday, Festival Night will present a variety of cultural shows””both traditional and modern. The performance will include a dance performance by “Forgotten Girls” and Hmong rapper and influential speaker Ninikiko.
Moua said that even after 43 years, Amerasia Week still strives to stay true to its roots in promoting and educating people about cultural diversity within the Asian community.
“Today, Amerasia is a vastly diverse multi-cultural organization, said Moua. “We still strongly promote cultural diversity and cultural awareness. Amerasia continues to educate the community of the various Asian cultures here in the Central Valley through our annual Amerasia Week.”
Moua said Amerasia also supports higher education and hopes to raise enough money to fund a scholarship for students pursuing higher education in the near future.
All events will take place at the Student Satellite Union from 7 to 9 p.m. Amerasia week events are open to the public. For more information, contact Fong Vang at (559) 213-2418.