Students roared and danced in the stands in the O’Connell Center to watch the Asian American Student Assembly on Saturday.
The theme of this year’s performance was Kairos, an ancient Greek term describing a decisive moment in time. The event name was meant to represent how life’s unpredictability makes “action, words and movement” necessary.
Annabelle Truong, a junior UF family youth and community science major, the internal vice president of AASU, described the group as one that offers local advocacy, community service and social activities. The organization’s purpose, she said, is to educate the campus about Asian-American issues, history and culture through creative and engaging events.
“We just want to make sure that your first years at UF are filled with family and community,” Truong said.
Though focused on Asian interests, she said AASU welcomes all students regardless of ethnicity. If students want to earn service hours and get involved with local advocacy, Truong suggests joining.
A lively room
Saturday’s event focused on informing attendees about the purpose behind each AASU group. Performances from its suborganizations were the stars of the event.
The AASU is the umbrella organization of smaller Asian-led groups representing China, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Pakistan and India.
The night kicked off with a tabling fair in the arena’s lobby, with decorated poster boards and student representatives.
There was no shortage of energy for the main event. The crowd erupted as AASU dancers filled the stage adorned in green jerseys with “unity” printed on the back.
The Vietnamese Student Organization’s performances were made up of two components — a modern dance to “ExtraL” by Doechii and a traditional dance performed with flutter fans — to represent the past and present of Asian-American culture.
Before each performance, a video played to introduce the group. Each video contained photos and videos of what it looked like to be a part of the organization.
The Japanese Student Association displayed photos from its events throughout the year.
Other organizations, like the First-Year Leadership program, presented a comedy sketch in their videos, showing a dramatized version of life alone at UF compared to joining the organization.
Olivia Nguyen, a sophomore UF psychology major, Vietnamese Student Association member, said club members call the days leading up to the show “hell week” due to the intensity of preparation. But the pressure helps AASU perfect its dances before the assembly, she added.
Students displayed passion through dance as they put their heart out on the stage through their synchronized movements.
“VSO is all I know,” Nguyen said.
Additional performances by the various suborganizations featured multicolored dragons, fans and backflips, while students danced to the music and snapped pictures. Their support was contagious, fueling the on-stage enthusiasm and creating an atmosphere that made it difficult to stop smiling.
Student representation
Asian-American representation has an extensive history at UF. In 1915, Yick Kuen Wong, from Hang San Kwongtung, China, became the university’s first Asian student.
Many Asian student organizations formed between 1948 and 1987, including the Vietnamese Student Organization, the Korean Undergraduate Student Association and the Filipino Student Association.
In 1993, today’s Asian Student Union was officially created.
Akash Badgery, a UF junior marketing major, and the co-president of the Indian Student Association, said the club offers frequent opportunities for members to get involved, including programs like the First-Year Leadership Experience. These clubs aim to “help South Asian freshmen acclimate and thrive at the University of Florida through a variety of resources and events,” according to an Instagram post.
Though having come to UF with no sense of familiarity, Badgery said the ISA has given him a place to find connection. He said that he came to UF not knowing what he wanted to do and felt like he was “thrown into this place called Gainesville.”
Badgery got involved with ISA his sophomore year, starting as the multimedia director and eventually working his way up to becoming co-president.
“It’s given me a sense of belonging, and I like to think it’s given a lot of other students at the university a sense of belonging as well,” he said.
Contact Alana Nguyen at anguyen@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @Alana_Nguyen12.
Alana Nguyen is a first-year journalism major at the University of Florida. She is a General Assignment writer for The Alligator. When she's not writing, she enjoys running and reading travel magazines.
