700 attend Asian cultural night

Seven hundred attendees made Asian Culture Night a success on April 12. The event celebrated Asian-American culture with dance performances, a costume show and a performance by a choir from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in China, said Mai Nguyen, director of the Asian/Hispanic/Native American Center. There are still activities taking place to celebrate Asian Heritage Month. Other events include a photography exhibit that is currently on display until April 25 in the student union that features Asian-Americans who lived through Hurricane Katrina, said Nguyen. "No one really paid attention to the large Asian-American population that was affected by Katrina," said Nguyen. "This is a way to honor those individuals." On April 25, the film The Kite Runner will be screened at the Asian Student Association's meeting, said Nguyen. "The Asian Student Association is an organization here on campus that serves as an umbrella for people of all Asian nations," said Nguyen. "They participate in all kinds of on-campus activities, including Relay for Life and Homecoming." A lecture scheduled for this week by civil rights attorney Angela Oh has been postponed until May 13, said Nguyen. The lecture will discuss the future of race relations in America, she said. "Asian Heritage Month was designated by Congress in 1991 to make a national celebration to recognize the contribution of Asian-Americans in America," said Nguyen. "WSU celebrates it in April instead of May because of a conflict with the academic calendar." "It's really a labor of love for our students here," said Nguyen. "We have many alumni who graduate and get jobs in the area and come back to the show and contribute every year." According to Nguyen, there are 450 Asian-American students at WSU. These students' countries of origin include China, Japan, North Korea, Korea, Cambodia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Iran, and Sri Lanka. These 450 students are all permanent residents of the U.S., said Nguyen, and were all either born here or had immigrated here from their home countries. As of 2000, the year of the last census, there are 2,995 Asian-Americans living in Dayton and roughly 132,000 in Ohio, said Nguyen. For more information, including a calendar of Asian Heritage Month events, please visit wright.edu/admin/ahna.