The Asian American Association hosted its fifth annual UnificAsian event 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in Memorial Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is basically a way for new Asian Americans to help make the transition from high school to college, and do so successfully,\u201d AAA member Chanvavy Kea said.<\/p>\n
UnificAsian 2011: New Directions is an event organized to help orient freshman and transfer students of Asian descent to MU life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a great way to meet a bunch of new friends,\u201d AAA Vice President Kevin Guevara said. \u201cEveryone sort of gathers together to become a family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attendees were offered a chance to meet and greet members of the MU Asian community, and were treated to a free lunch provided by Okii Mama, a restaurant in the Columbia area run by MU alumni.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came mainly to meet new people and learn about some organizations,\u201d freshman Ethan Jain-Washburn said. \u201cI actually heard about UnificAsian when I was walking around Rollins with my high school shirt on that said \u2018Asian Kid,’ my nickname in high school. Kevin (Guevara) stopped me and told me about this meeting, and I am glad I came.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roro Ma is a sophomore trying to get more involved this year than she did her freshman year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to find some new organizations to join and meet some new people,\u201d Ma said.<\/p>\n
The event is a place for Asian Americans, who represent a small percent of students on campus, to learn about various organizations and events geared toward the Asian community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re trying to get students from the community involved with groups of the same interest,\u201d Guevara said. \u201cWe’ve got various cultural groups and even an Asian dance team.\u201d<\/p>\n
A guest speaker and MU alumna came to the event to talk about Asian stereotypes that permeate the academic and professional fields. Various icebreaker activities brought the students together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a place where freshmen can network with Asian-American students as well as professors and other faculty,\u201d Guevara said. \u201cIn addition, they can learn about the Asian American Association and what it is we do here at Mizzou.\u201d<\/p>\n
AAA runs various social, service and advocacy events all throughout the area throughout the year. These events are not exclusively for the Asian community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe run events and get involved in all sorts of other cultures and groups,\u201d Director of the Multicultural Center Pablo Mendoza said. \u201cFor example, during Black History Month, we help educate people about black history and culture, and during Native American Awareness Month we educate people about their heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendoza said minority groups such as AAA help minority students who sometimes feel isolated find some support.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of majority groups question whether we’re sort of creating an exclusive group and cutting other groups out,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cBut what they sometimes don’t realize is that they often end up forming their own exclusive group, and leaving some minorities out. If you think about it, if you’re a white American in China, you’re going to want to be friends with Americans, because you have more in common with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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