Orientation highlights Asian culture
An activities fair presented several Asian student organizations.
Published Aug. 29, 2006
Early Saturday morning UnificAsian, the Pan-Asian and Asian-American orientation, welcomed students at Memorial Union.
Breakfast was served in Stotler Lounge, where the majority of the day's events were held. After hearing from a guest speaker, students played an Asian-themed game of "SceneIt?"
Coordinators for the event were Multicultural Center Director Pablo Mendoza, Asian American Association President Annie Guo and Shengying Zhang, graduate assistant for the International Student Career Services.
"This is a great event that Pablo Mendoza and his coordinators have worked very hard to create," guest speaker Roger Worthington said. "These kind of events go a long way to help improve and express a welcoming environment."
After introductions and games, students were led upstairs to the Mark Twain Ballroom to an activity fair, where clubs and organizations bordered the room with booths and brochures about goals and information. Among them was Mizzou Mirchi, a part of the Mizzou Club Sport Federation.
Mizzou Mirchi President Sarah Damien said the group is a dance team that incorporates South Asian and Western American culture.
"We definitely hope to successfully reach out to the Asian community," Damien said. "Anybody with an interest is more than welcome to join and put in their input on the choreography in the group. Dance styles range from classical Bollywood to hip-hop. To receive funding from the university, we need to prove we are an active organization during the semester."
Other booths included organizations such as the International Students' Career Services, the Asian American Association, the Taiwanese Students Association, the South Asian Students Association, the Thai Student Association and the Asian American Student Journalists Association.
"My first year here was last year, but I feel like the publicity this year for events like these has gotten a lot better, and it's nice to see that change," sophomore Jaimie Oh said. "I'm going to join AAA because it was one of the groups with the most publicity, and it seems like a good group for networking."
Ending the activities fair was a campus tour and complementary lunch at the International Community Church.
"The Multicultural Center puts on events like these to help minority students get involved in minority organizations to strengthen the presence of minority students on this campus," Mendoza said.
Worthington said the group was very energetic throughout the whole day.
"As the Asian-American/International community continues to sponsor events like these and further ingrains them into our traditions, there will be more attention to their contributions and needs in the community," he said.