This year, we decided to try a differ
ent fundraising idea; cleaning the
Dean Dome after basketball games.
On three separate occasions, mem
bers of ASA and other Asian organi
zations on campus picked up trash
and swept the rows and aisles of our
university’s basketball stadium. For
the sake of people who have to clean
up stadiums for a living, I would
like to request that the next time you
go to a sporting event, please do not
spill your Coke on the ground and
mix it with your leftover popcorn.
The not-so glamorous job was
unpopular with ASA members, so
this is a fundraising idea that will
not likely become a tradition.
A tradition that I hope will
continue, though, is the ASA student
body president forum that was held
in February. While I would have
liked ASA to become even more
politically involved on campus, the
forum was a good start. At the
forum, a majority of the student
body president candidates, including
eventual winner Matt Calabria, par
ticipated in an informal question and
answer session. After the forum,
ASA members decided to endorse
Lily West. While she did not win
the election, it was still a positive
sign that many ASA members sup
ported her campaign. The event was
an overall success, with two candi
dates mentioning that out of the
dozen or so forums that they had
attended, the ASA forum had been
the one that they had enjoyed the
most.
By the time this article is
printed, ASA will have completed
three more important events. The
first event is Asian American
Heritage Week, a celebration of the
Asian American culture. Each day
from March 22-26, a different aspect
of our culture will be put on display
for UNC students in the Pit. Among
the subjects presented are
Asian/Asian-American art, literature,
cinema, and, of course, food. The
week will end in the ASA Spring
Semi-Formal, co-hosted by Duke
and NC State. Vietnamese author
Linh Dinh will speak at the Bull’s
Head Bookshop on April 8, although
he had originally planned on speak
ing during Asian American Heritage
Week. On April 2-3, ASA will par
ticipate in Relay for Life, a 24-hour
walkathon to raise money for the
American Cancer Society. We hope
to have even more success than last
year when we first put together a
team for the event. Finally, on April
17, ASA will host its annual Baby
Blue basketball tournament, bring
ing in teams from all along the east
coast to compete in a day of non
stop basketball.
Although in many respects I
am proud of what ASA has accom
plished this year, there are a few
issues that we failed to resolve.
There are over half a dozen Asian
organizations on campus, yet each
one tends to stay aloof of the others.
One of ASA’s goals this past year
was to try and establish a network to
improve communication among the
different organizations. The benefits
would be tremendous: easier adver
tisement for an organization’s
events, shared resources, and the
possibility for everyone to gain a
better understanding of other Asian
cultures, to name a few. Due to var
ious circumstances, we were not
able to organize such a network.
Hopefully, though, next year’s group
will be able to get the ball rolling
again.
There is no doubt in my
rr
s'*
mind that ASA will continue to
improve in the years to come.
Already, the reigns of ASA has been
passed down to next year’s execu
tive board, led by two capable and
motivated co-presidents, Yoon Hie
Kim and Diana Suryakusuma. Also,
the freshmen were the most repre
sented group at general body meet
ings this year, showing their enthusi
asm and commitment to ASA that
will hopefully last for the next three
years. The task for future ASA
members will be to build upon old
traditions while creating new ones at
the same time. It is up to them to
become more active in campus poli
tics, hire more prominent speakers
and performers, and provide a
greater service to the community.
Finally, their most important under
taking will be to make sure they cre
ate more wonderful memories. ~EW
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