Sophie Liu ’29
Every year, February marks the start of the Lunar New Year. This year, the holiday starts on the 17th, welcoming the Year of the Horse. Similar to the New Year, it’s celebrated on January 1st, and both are centered on new beginnings, good fortune, and new hopes for the year. With lucky red envelopes and bright lanterns, this holiday celebrates a festive time that also holds deep cultural significance. The Asian American Student Union (AASU) helps to educate others in the EA community about the New Year through hands-on activities and educational events.
AASU is a club focused on creating discussion in the Asian-American community at EA, celebrating Asian culture, and building connections among others through shared experiences. “AASU is a club in which we gather Asian youth to come around, have a space to talk, discuss their identity, and to explore different Asian cultures,” Ben Wang ‘28, one of the leaders of AASU, further explains AASU’s purpose and current goal. “The goal for AASU this year is to welcome all different kinds of Asians, and also people from other backgrounds and cultures. This space is about exploring cultures together.”
“Another one of our hopes is also to lean more into activism and advocacy. For example, in the past, our group has worked to send letters after the wildfires in Hawaii,” Andrea Yu, librarian and AASU advisor, adds, stating some goals and hopes for AASU in the future.
Students are also welcome to join AASU even if they’re not from an Asian background, as AASU is a club open to all students. Asher Wan, ‘26, another leader of the AASU, explains that another future goal is to “increase the diversity or representation within AASU. In the end, it’s a club that celebrates diversity.” In the future, AASU is hoping for more people from different cultures to join the club, since not only does it create a safe space for discussion among students of different backgrounds, but the club also hopes to host more varieties of cultural activities and events throughout the year.
AASU hosts activities such as Korean spa days to recognize Korean skincare and products, and even a ramen meeting to talk with friends and eat ramen. “My favorite activity is probably the ramen club meeting. It’s super popular. A lot of people show up, and it’s just a great way to socialize, have fun with your friends, and it’s kind of like a break in between your day.” Wang shares. Yu also recalls that in the past, AASU has made mango lassi and boba tea, another example of cultural representation through food. They also did hands-on activities such as lantern-making for the Lunar New Year, where students were able to put wishes for the New Year into their lanterns. This month, AASU plays an important role, especially as they get ready to celebrate the traditions of the Lunar New Year through fun activities and events.
Lunar New Year is a multi-day celebration, celebrating a new beginning and a fresh start. One of the most popular and favorite Lunar New Year events hosted by AASU is the dumpling-making activity. Every year, students from all grades attend this event, and it is a great way to learn about why food is important to the Lunar New Year. Dumplings are one of the most popular foods eaten, and dumpling-making is a major representation of Asian traditions during the Lunar New Year. Thehe entire Upper School is invited and welcome to go to this event. This year, the activity will be held on February 17th, during Domino in the dining hall. “We walk through the steps of showing people how to make the dough and to gather it, to fold it together,” Yu states, explaining the details of the event. This cultural experience is not only fun, but it also teaches people about cultural representation through food, and it brings people together as a community “I also love learning all the different ways students have been taught by their relatives or their friends how to fold dumplings.” Yu adds, “It’s a common food, but there are so many different approaches to it, so I really like all of that.”
making.
Photo courtesy of @ea1785
Overall, AASU is a great representation of Asian culture in the EA community. The student-led club allows students to share their own cultural traditions and allows other students to experience them too, such as the dumpling-making event that allows students to experience cultural representation through food, and the chapel to learn about different family traditions during Lunar New Year. AASU is a great alliance group to talk about different cultures and backgrounds, creating a safe space of diversity within the EA community.
