The Chinese Students Association (CSA) sold out tickets for the Lunar New Year Banquet on Friday, Feb. 27 in which they partnered with eight other Asian culture groups. Over 250 students attended the banquet at the Glass Pavilion, and the CSA closed its ticket sales because the event had reached maximum capacity.
The Lunar New Year is widely celebrated at the first new moon of the lunar calendar among countries in East and Central Asia.
“Lunar New Year is celebrated in multiple cultures,” CSA President Calvin Zhao said. “It’s a great event for collaborating with student groups. We have eight cultural groups here. We bond together over this important festival.”
The partner groups for the banquet included Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, the Filipino Student Association, the Hong Kong Students Association, the Inter-Asian Council (IAC), the Japanese Student International (JSI), the Korean Student Association (KSA), the Sigma Omicron Pi and the Taiwanese American Students Association (TASA).
Also called the Spring Festival, the Lunar New Year is especially important according to Chinese customs.
“In Chinese culture, this is the most important festival,” Zhao said. “I think it unifies the Chinese student body. All Chinese people know about Lunar New Year.”
For this year’s banquet, two groups were featured. Two students did a Chinese yo-yo performance, and the B-boys performed a break dance.
“There’s good performance, good food; it’s a good way to spend the night,” Zhao said.
Each cultural group had a station set up providing traditional food and information about each organization. The KSA was serving sikhye, a sweet, traditional Korean rice beverage.
“We think it’s good for the Asian population to intermingle with each other,” KSA President Julian Kim said. “We would like to continue the tradition of working together.”
Leaders of the various participating groups cite the banquet as a good opportunity to publicize each cultural group and to encourage interaction between the different cultures.
“It’s a win-win for all of us,” Kim said.
The JSI also presented at one of the stations during the banquet.
“I think this is a great event,” President of JSI Reina Arakawa said. “It’s really generous of them to give us a chance to promote our own club. I think it’s a mutual sense of community among the Asian clubs on campus.”
Daniel Park, a sophomore who attended the banquet, was impressed with the collaboration involved in the event.
“The Lunar New Year Banquet was a great event for the Hopkins community to come together to celebrate the Lunar New Year,” Park wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “It was truly wonderful to see... groups come together for a common goal of celebrating the Lunar New Year.”
Events like the Lunar New Year Banquet and its planning process are opportunities for CSA members get to know each other better, according to Amy Zheng, a board member of CSA and the North American Intercollegiate Chinese Association.
“It’s a really cool bonding experience. It shows you what’s necessary for planning,” Zheng said. “We had a career fair last semester. I was responsible for finding for venues after the event and making the playlist.”
Zheng also commented on the CSA’s unique social structure, similar to that of TASA.
“I thought it was really enjoyable,” Zheng said. “We have a big-little system. I have a big, and we’re like a family. Everyone in CSA is like a family.”
Jonathan Tai, a member of CSA, commented on the big-little system.
“It’s pretty rad,” Tai said. “I’ve met a lot of cool people. When you come into this weird community, some higher-up shows you the ropes.”
The event has a cultural significance to him.
“Those who celebrate Chinese New Year at home have the opportunity to do so. You can celebrate like your family here at school,” Tai said.
Bertha Hu, Jonathan’s big and the recruitment chair of the CSA, commented on the event.
“It’s cool because for Lunar New Year, there are people who are non-Asian,” Hu said.
Bertha Hu works to improve the orientation and experience of new members of the CSA.
“I take care of all the new members,” Hu said. “I help them understand what they do.”
The CSA holds several events to further foster a friendly relationship among board members.
“We do a lot of events for our board,” Zhao said. “We go to bowling alleys, karaoke, ice skating. It’s usually in the beginning of the semester. There are periodic H-Mart [an Asian supermarket chain] trips.”
Zhao thinks that these social events will create a stronger community and maintain a cultural link to China.
“We get to know each other better,” Zhao said. “In the Hopkins bubble, it’s just a way for you to immerse yourself in Chinese culture.”
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