On April 13, from 7-9 p.m., the Asian American Student Association (AASA) will host the first annual Lotus Gala in the Culp ballroom. The Gala is being hosted in partnership with the Japanese Cultural Society, Alpha Sigma Phi and Phi Beta Sigma.
Tracy Ye, founder and president of AASA, shared that she had been motivated to create the organization as a response to Asian hate crimes, and seeing the gradual increase of Asian students on campus.
“We want people to see why Asian culture matters,” said Ye. “I feel like a lot of things that are happening right now is because people don’t [understand]. There’s not a lot of programs and events that promotes Asian representation. I feel like for us, we want to try to bring something to the community with these different cultural experiences.”
The AASA is a new student organization, with its launch last semester, and was created with the intention of creating a space for any student who wants to learn or share about Asian culture, personal experiences, language and adaptation to America.
The Lotus Gala will showcase various Asian cultures through food, music, performances by students, exhibits and a cultural dress competition. As of now, singing and K-Pop performances are green lit for the event. Students have also collected many pieces of traditional clothing which can be tried-on at the event. The gala is being catered by Rainbow Asian Cuisine, which offers a wide variety of foods from across different cultures.
The Lotus symbol stands for a range of meanings among different Asian cultures, some of which being harmony, purity, and creation. Ye expressed that this shared connection to the symbol is what inspired the theme for the gala.
“We want to reach out to, not just limited to our own Asian community,” said Ye. “We want to the whole community, ETSU and bring this cultural experience to them.”
