NYU students held three events to celebrate the Asian Heritage Month including Opening Ceremony, New York City Asian American Student Conference and Closing Ceremony. The purpose of Asian Heritage Month is to empower — to appreciate the strength, honor, beauty, and wisdom of various Asian cultures.
Kevin Wu with NYU Students
According to the mission of Asian Heritage Month at NYU, “We are dedicated to unifying the diverse Asian and Asian American groups on campus as well as in the surrounding communities. We are looking forward to providing the NYU community with a spectacular array of educational, social, cultural, and political programs that will heighten the awareness of Asian and Asian American issues.” They have successfully achieved their goals and hosted three different events that drew hundreds of students attending. Also, during the entire month, Asian Heritage Month at NYU participated in running Bone Marrow Drives under the Team Janet Campaign ran by Ben Dumond, an NYU student, as an initiative to engage the Asian American Community.
KevJumba, Kevin Wu
The first event was Asian Heritage Month’s Opening Ceremony. It’s called rePresent! Keynote Speaker was Larry Hama, and MC/Guest Performer was Jen Kwok. (Jen Kwok is a delightful ukulele comedian who loves to entertain you! She was named a national finalist in NBC’s Stand-Up for Diversity. ) A lot of students also presented their performances.
Jason Chu
The second event was New York City Asian American Student Conference. It’s called INK: Imagine aNd RethinK! The New York City Asian American Student Conference (NYCAASC) is now entering its sixth successful year since the first collaboration between New York University and Columbia University. The driving idea behind its inception was to establish an ongoing dialogue that addressed the different social issues faced by Asian Americans and to celebrate the rich, diverse heritages that fabricate the unique Asian American culture.
The third event was its Closing Ceremony. It’s called Animate! During the closing ceremony, Jason Chu, a Rap Artist, had a performance in front of a packed house of NYU students. ( Jason Chu, a Yale graduate in philosophy who lives in Beijing and is part of an Asian American rap project, the aptly-named Model Minority. ) Kevin Wu aka KevJumba also attended the event and showed his screening “Hang Loose” to share with the students! (Kevin Wu is a Taiwanese American comedian and YouTube celebrity who is best known by his YouTube username of KevJumba. As of December 2011, he is YouTube’s seventh most subscribed comedian and tenth most subscribed user overall.)
Kevin Wu with NYU students
KevJumba with NYU students
According to June Kao (Asian Heritage Month at NYU Co-Chair), the students spent a few months in preparation for all the activities and organized all the events together. We are truly impressed by the students of NYU to organize all these wonderful events to help celebrate Asian Heritage Month and we look forward to participating the next one soon! For more info about the Asian Heritage Month at NYU, please visit: http://www.nyu.edu/clubs/asian.heritage/about.html
Kevin Wu with June Kao (Asian Heritage Month at NYU Co-Chair)
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