The Asian Students Association at NC State aims to promote community and belonging for all students while providing educational resources about a variety of Asian cultures and experiences.
Mana Tangirala is a third-year in international studies and vice president of the Asian Students Association. She said the association helped her find her community and avoid feeling isolated from her background.
“When I came to NC State, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t need to assimilate,’” Tangirala said. “I have people here. I can just be myself and these people would understand.”
Christopher Kha, a fourth-year studying sociology and co-president of the Asian Students Association, said he found the ASA to be an opportunity to learn about others and expand his cultural horizons, instead of being secluded in his identity group of Hmong Americans.
“It just opened my mind up even more, seeing all these cultures, because I knew about all these cultures, but just being able to see it and exploring them just amazed me,” Kha said. “It’s just something that I always wanted, because I never grew up with things like this.”
There are other Asian-oriented groups on campus, such as the Pakistani Student Association, Chinese Undergraduate Student Association and the Korean American Student Association. Tangirala said that although their purposes overlap, the groups are trying to help the same communities and cater to under-served groups.
“I try to make sure that we acknowledge all parts of Asian culture, not just what we think is Asia because it’s not a monolith stereotype,” Tangirala said. “It’s a diverse part of the world.”
Kha said collaborations with other groups are also important to their mission. They collaborate with cultural clubs and other organizations, such as the Asian-interest sorority Kappa Phi Lambda, to bring broad education to as many people as possible.
“Our purpose is to bring people together through Asian cultures, not just one culture,” Kha said. “We want to be able to expose them to all cultures around Asia.”
Kha said small community spaces are important, and so are wider events, to acknowledge diverse cultures. Something like Asian Pacific Islander South Asian American Heritage Month, which is being celebrated on campus from March 15 to April 15, brings wider recognition to their club and purpose.
“It gives people the opportunity to know that, you know, we are out here, and we have the culture, and though it’s predominantly white school at NC State, just know that we do have the diversity here,” Kha said.
Tangirala said ASA tries to cater to anyone who may be interested in Asian topics, whether they are knowledgeable or not.
“I love the ASA community because it’s not just Asian Americans; it’s people from different countries, like foreign-born people on campus, who are able to connect with people in the U.S.,” Tangirala said. “We try to make sure every single person, even if you’re not Asian, you feel like you belong.”
Most of the club’s events are centered around an Asian-related holiday or tradition, and they try to cover a wide range of cultures. They host events for events like Diwali and Chinese New Year. At their recent bingo night, squares featured different Asian ingredients to expose participants to new diverse traditional foods.
Asia Night is ASA’s largest annual event which hosts a variety of Asian performers. This January, it was hosted in Stewart Theatre and featured student and community-based performers showing off their talents.
Upcoming events for APISSA Heritage Month include a field day and collaborations with other Asian-interest organizations at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. “Bamboo Bids,” an auction of community donations, will be held on March 6. More information can be found on the Asian Students Association’s Instagram page.
