Though Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is normally in May, the Binghamton University community is opting to celebrate it in April.
“May is a horribly busy month for students and classes. That being said, the [BU] student population really does dedicate and put in so much time to events and ideas they care about,” wrote Ashley Thomas, vice president of MASTI and a sophomore double-majoring in integrative neuroscience and art history, in an email. “Having [Asian Pacific American Heritage Month] take place in April helps students fully partake in the cause without having to stress about finals or other things related to the end of the semester.”
Thomas said that MASTI, a student group dedicated to traditional and modern South Asian dance styles, can sometimes be intimidated due to its smaller size as compared to the many other Asian American and Pacific Islander campus groups on campus. However, she stated that the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month helps the organization gain more recognition and confidence in what it does.
Another smaller organization is Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), a group whose aim is to raise awareness about the situation in North Korea and fundraise to support refugees. Andrew Kang, president of LiNK and a senior double-majoring in mechanical engineering and math, stressed that although there are many Asian American and Pacific Islander groups on campus, they all raise each other up.
“I know everyone tends to support each other with their big events,” Kang said. “Like often, you’ll find people from [the Korean American Student Union] or [the Chinese American Student Union], or [Hong Kong Exchange Share] or all these other subgroups supporting each other’s events by coming and supporting, even performing.”
Many of the groups emphasized that Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is meant not only as a celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander culture, but should also serve as an educational opportunity for students outside of those communities. Nicole Minkyung Choi, a second-year graduate student studying public administration and student affairs administration, is the program coordinator for the Center for Korean Studies. She said she wants all different kinds of students to visit the new Young Sam Kim Korean Student Center to relax while also learning about Korean culture.
“Some people might be like, ‘It’s the Korean Center, I can’t be here,’ but I just want people to know that everybody is welcome there,” Choi said. “Everything is designed to show Korean aesthetic, so every little thing has meanings and symbols to it. When I first went there, it was just really cool to see that and I hope other people can see it, too.”
This sentiment was shared by Carrie Feyerabend, assistant to the director of the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera. She said she wants students outside of the Chinese community to utilize the institute and its many resources to get immersed in the culture, especially China’s art culture, which is the institute’s main focus.
“The culture is so integrated and Chinese history is so long,” she said. “If you have the opportunity, at the Confucius Institute, there’s a lot of opportunities for study abroad and scholarships and things like that that give you a chance to experience China firsthand. There’s no substitute for that.”