By Tyler White | Reporter
Booths line the walls of the Barfield Drawing Room in the Bill Daniel Student Center. Shouts of excitement come from the various games being played. Joyful and jubilant conversations happening in every corner of the room. A variety of dance and vocal performances taking place on stage. These are only a few of the many sights and sounds from the Lunar New Year celebration.
On Friday, Baylor’s Asian Student Association (ASA) hosted their Lunar New Year celebration. With the help of other student associations connected to Asian heritage across Baylor, the Barfield Drawing Room came to life with booths and activities that highlighted each association and shared their culture with the Baylor community.
Hong Kong sophomore Taylor Chung, secretary of ASA, said he enjoyed being a part of this event to share this culture with the Baylor community. He said the ultimate goal of the celebration is to spread this culture of love and joy across campus.
“I was so thankful to see all the different organizations come together to really have beautiful performances and show the Baylor community our Asian spirit, Asian pride,” Chung said.
The celebration had a lot to offer for those who attended the event. Surrounding the room were booths hosted by various student organizations, including the Asian Ministry InterVarsity, the Japanese Student Association, the Korean Student Association and many others.
These booths gave insight into each association’s mission and goals. Accompanying these booths were numerous games and activities for people to compete in and win tickets towards Asian food and candies.
Games included chopstick races and memory games along with cultural activities, such as Chinese paper cutting. No matter the event, the student organizations strived to bring entertainment to the attendees.
The Lunar New Year event also showcased a variety of performances from students as well as invited performers. These performances mixed the modern with the traditional, providing a unique view into Asian culture.
The Korean Student Association dance team and the Vietnamese Student Association each showcased elaborate dances that sparked energy throughout the audience. The Jiu Long Lion Dance Troupe brought an exciting performance of exhilarating dances to intense music in beautifully designed costumes.
Addison Surrett, one of the performers in the Fusion dance group invited to the event, said the atmosphere was warm and inviting. Coming in from the University of North Texas, she said it was a great experience.
“Even though I’m not from here, everyone welcomed me and everyone was super nice,” Surrett said. “I just had a really great time and it was just very lively.”
The atmosphere truly was lively. With such a variety of cultures and people in the same room, the Lunar New Year celebration was a time where everyone regardless of background was united.
Kennedy Mills, another performer in the Fusion dance group, said she liked how it felt like everyone knew each other.
“Everyone was friends,” Mills said. “Everyone enjoyed the performances. Everyone was cheering together and joking around.”
Beyond all of the immersive dances and entertaining activities, the ASA wanted to focus on inviting the larger Baylor community to the celebration of the Lunar New Year and its ties to Asian Heritage. Chung said it was a joy seeing all of these people around Baylor and Texas come together and experience a new culture.
“I just hope that we’re able to bring an appreciation of Asian culture and openness to engage in conversation, especially difficult conversations, because those are so often needed,” Chung said.
