UT
NIVERSITY IMES
February 19, 2018
www.csulauniversitytimes.com
C A L I F O R N I A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y, L O S A N G E L E S
The of the
Cam
ille J
essie
Jordan Hansen Contributing Writer A lively mix of vibrant colors and rich sounds filled the Student Union Plaza on Thursday afternoon, as a crowd of Cal State LA students gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year with a traditional Asian festival. The celebration began at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 and lasted for around an hour. It was organized by the Asian Pacific Islander Student Resource Center (APISRC), Cross Cultural Centers, Student Union and Vietnamese Student Association. Cal State LA’s Lunar New Year Festival opened with a traditional lion dance, carried out by Los Angelesbased ‘Immortals’ dance team. Folklore in some Asian cultures dictates that lions will bring good fortune to anyone who watches them dance. As drums were struck to a slow beat, the Immortals donned their impressive lion costumes, with two dancers to a lion; one dancer provided the front legs while the other provided the rear. The Immortals made their way around the crowd and encouraged spectators to pet the lions, before demonstrating expert skill and showmanship by performing a series of dances which
Issue 216.05
YEAR
DOG
A festival of comedy, dancing and games is held at Cal State LA, as students welcome the year of the dog. included standing on each other’s shoulders.
think it’s important that this event is held because it shows everyone’s different cultures.”
After a round of applause, the dancers left the stage and stand-up comedian, Jenny Yang, was introduced. Yang, who has previously worked with Buzzfeed and was honored by President Obama in 2016, provided a witty social commentary on Asian issues, through humorous anecdotes and observations.
Ultimately, the organizers considered the festival to be a success. “It went amazingly well”, said Dao, “The lion dancers gathered a large crowd and we were able to bring a couple of non-profit organizations onto campus to share their resources.”
After the performances were complete, students took some time to play traditional Asian games and view stands offering information on Asian cultures.
“I think the event was awesome”, said Laura Tejeda, a Coordinator at the Chicanx Latinx Student Resource Center. “I think it’s really great that the coordinators now have built a lot of community, so it was really cool to see a lot of people here.”
Minh Triet Dao is the Program Coordinator for the APISRC, which partly organized the event. He gave his view as to why it was important for the University to hold a celebration of the Lunar New Year:
Lunar New Year is the longest hour for many Asian cultures all over the world and is celebrated in numerous countries. The Chinese calendar, on which the festival is based, is influenced by the movement of the moon, meaning that the date on which new year falls can vary. Each year is associated with a Zodiac animal, with this year’s festival welcoming the year of the dog.
“Not everyone is aware of Asian culture and traditions, especially if they don’t participate in those traditions themselves”, he explained. “I think for non-Asians to see how Asian people do this kind of thing, it’s pretty eye opening for them”. Lisa Sun, a third year Kinesiology undergraduate who attended the festival, agreed with Dao: “I’m Chinese, so it was cool to experience Chinese New Year on campus”, she said, “I
Camille Jessie
Immortals Lion Dance performing in the USU plaza.
The APISRC and University Student Union (U-SU) has several upcoming events this month and students are encouraged to look at the U-SU calendar for more information.