By Ashlyn Beck | Staff Writer
Baylor’s celebration of Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month is bringing campus all together in April to help those of different backgrounds understand each other and create a greater sense of belonging.
Murphy senior Kenneth Luu is the intern for the Coalition of Asian Students in the Department of Multicultural Affairs. According to Luu, Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated nationally in May. However, Baylor chooses to recognize it in April so students can experience it in its entirety.
“We want everyone to be able to celebrate it and maybe get a good idea of it before they go back home and maybe perhaps see the actual full celebration themselves,” Luu said.
Wheaton, Ill., junior Micah Kim is the co-president of the Korean Student Association at Baylor, which will be hosting the Hanin Gala in honor of the month. Kim said events during the month make him feel a greater sense of belonging on campus.
“It’s just cool to be surrounded by just different events that are promoting a part of that culture and similar areas connected to my culture,” Kim said. “I feel more [of a sense of] belonging and like I’m being represented.”
Luu said looking into another culture and appreciating it requires more respect than anything else.
“Just because their society is different from ours doesn’t mean that we should be too critical on things [like] that,” Luu said. “So be open-minded, and most of all, just go and support these events.”
According to Luu, there will be many events celebrating Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month. The Department of Multicultural Affairs partners with the cultural organizations on campus to get the word out.
There will be a luncheon with faculty, staff and students, a “lunch and learn” with the Hankamer School of Business, a luau with the Baylor Hawai’i Club and more.
“My position as a coalition agent student intern is to highlight these amazing things, and there’s so many cool things that no one knows about,” Luu said.
Luu emphasized that people of all backgrounds are invited to join in the celebration, and it is encouraging to see them enjoying his culture.
“You don’t have to be Asian to attend an [Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month] event, or have to be Black to be attending a Divine Nine event, or be a part of the LatinX community to enjoy Fiesta,” Luu said.
Kim said that while some people seem to think of diversity as a group of one culture in a room, that isn’t the case.
“In my opinion, true diversity is to see anyone and everyone participating in learning regardless of [culture], regardless of what they look like,” Kim said.
Many people don’t have an easy time understanding cultures that are different from their own, Luu said, but it says a lot when they come to cultural events with an open mind.
“If they take a step back, be open-minded and appreciate the month, then I believe that it will incite an even better community,” Luu said.
Kim said Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month events — and all cultural events at Baylor — are ways of beginning to understand each other better, which eventually teaches people to love each other better.
“When communities are all defined by different things and we all have different backgrounds and different stories, but we’re willing to engage with each other regardless of that, [it’s] truly a beautiful thing,” Kim said. “That’s truly how we can love each other better.”
