The Asian Student Union (ASU) held their annual Asian Night on Saturday, with the theme “Asian Night 2023: Memoria.”

The event was held in the Broome County Forum Theatre from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ASU is an umbrella organization for many of the Asian groups on campus, and 13 different organizations performed at the event. These performances included a Taekwondo showcase and musical acts, like the OKPOP group and Philippine-American League’s (PAL) Tinikling dance.

Sharon Zohirova, events coordinator of ASU and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, described the planning and purpose behind the night.

“Traditionally, ASU has a showcase of Asian talent across campus,” Zohirova said. “I feel like this is a really important display, and I wanted everyone who wanted to be involved to be involved … It’s a way to unify a lot of the Asian community on campus.”

The night started off with a skit that explained their theme of nostalgia, appreciating where you are in life right now, acknowledging how life can change and practicing gratitude about what you have. The skit spanned the entirety of the show, as ASU interns would act in a video shown every few acts, portraying future versions of themselves looking back on their college years.

Sebastiano Marini, multimedia chair of ASU and a junior majoring in cinema, shared the process behind all the videos presented that night, including E-Board introductions and the skit.

“[The E-Board introduction] was very candid [and] not scripted,” Marini said. “We wrote [the skit] for a couple weeks, shot for a week or two and then edited for a week.”

Throughout the night, various performers took the stage to show dances, songs and fashion. The Vietnamese Student Association showcased a traditional Vietnamese fan dance, and Binghamton Bhangra displayed some of the dances they’ve been working on. During intermission, there was a fashion show that presented traditional garments of various Asian cultures.

Audience members were cheering and laughing the entire night. Winnifred Jing, ASU E-Board alum and a senior majoring in philosophy, attended the event to support the people she knew during the organization’s biggest event of the year.

“This was a change from before where in past years we were on campus,” Jing said. “It was nice to see them pull this off at a different venue with different tech, and still do really well. I thought it was really nice.”

Chris Sandel, an undecided freshman, also attended the event to encourage his friends and shared his thoughts at the end of the night.

“I think everything was really cool,” Sandel said. “I was happy to see my friends have fun. Good job to everyone who performed.”

The night ended with the final clips from the skit and a 20-minute performance from OKPOP, a K-Pop group based in New Jersey. The group switched between singing their own music and comedic bits.

OKPOP shared how being invited to this event “was an honor.” Brto, a member of the group, explained the goals of the music troupe.

“We want to inspire everybody,” Brto said. “We don’t want to limit who we are inspiring. We just want to inspire everyone to do something, make something, be passionate about something and not to give up on their dreams.”

Zohirova shared how she felt the event went overall.

“I’m glad people are leaving with a smile on their face,” Zohirova said. “It definitely represented parts of me I haven’t really seen represented otherwise on campus. I’m really grateful to ASU and the Asian community on campus for that.”