In an effort to provide cultural and political awareness of Asian Americans on campus, a group of like-minded students founded a group devoted to the subject.
Started in September, the Asian American Association was initiated in an effort to bring Asian-American students together through meetings, activities and social events on campus.
"This group is important because it provides an environment for Asian Americans to feel at home and develop friendships. I think it is also important to add diversity and different cultures on campus," said Hsiang-te Kung, director of The U of M's Confucius Institute.
Group member Joseph Tran, a senior Asian Studies and International Trade major, said the mission is to serve as a voice to the U of M's Asian American community, as well as promote diversity on campus.
"Most Asian American students on campus are commuter students, so this is a good opportunity for them to meet people. Also, there is no other Asian club on this campus like there are on various other college campuses," Tran said.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 2.7 percent of The U of M's campus population described themselves as Asian in Fall 2010.
The group plans to celebrate traditionally recognized international and national events of Asian American culture. They will begin doing so through a series of events scheduled this week in honor of Asian Awareness Week.
"As our demographics are changing and our society is becoming more diverse, I think that it is important to provide a venue for more students to get involved and to have a better understanding of different cultures," said Gian Gozum, the group's president.
The series of events includes a performance by comedian Paul Kim at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the University Center Theater, a Tour of Asia at 6 p.m. Thursday in the UC Ballroom and a sumo suit competition to finish out the week at 1 p.m. Friday on the Alumni Mall.
Today, the group will hold a diversity awareness workshop in the UC Bluff Room at 7 p.m.
"We want students to have the opportunity to get to know all the different types of Asians cultures. Most people think that there are only Chinese and Japanese, but there is so much more than that and each Asian country has it's own culture," Tran said.
