To celebrate Asian life and culture and educate students on Asian issues and experiences, the College has a set of events from March 1 to April 6 for this year’s Asian Awareness Month. Sponsored by the Advisor to Students of Asian Descent, CLCE Fund, Mayling Soong Fund, Ching Jen Lum ’04 Fund, Asian Organizations and the Pan Asian Council, the nine events provide a range of keynotes, shows and guest speakers for students to learn more about various parts of Asia.

In the beginning of March, there were two events. First, a keynote speech by Diana Chao about mental health and her story titled “Dear Stranger: A Journey of Youth Mental Health.” Chao’s event was a “fusion of spoken word, conceptual art, and letters written by young people around the world.” Then, there was a book talk with “The Body Papers” author Grace Talusan discussing womanhood as an Asian American, healing after surviving abuse and experiences as a Filipino American woman in academia and publishing.

Over the weekend, Syeda Mahbub, an emerging Bangladeshi artist, had a lecture on culture’s influence on their work, an art gallery and a sale of their art. Afterwards was the Taiwanese Culture Organization (TCO)’s annual night market. This week, guest speaker Esther Jeon discussed the history of Korean migration to the US and the work the Korean community has done to create a “pathway that envisions the right to live with dignity for all immigrants, including Asians.”

The remaining events will happen after Spring Break. The last events of the month will be the Pan-Asian Council’s alumnae panel and a lecture by University of Kansas Associate Professor Akiko Takeyama. The March 30 alumnae panel will consist of five alum, Havanah Tran ’19, Sophia Chen ’13, Neha Ummat ’02, Cathay Chu ’10 and Nida Mirza ’05, with a panel, Q&A and opportunity to talk to individual alum. Professor Takeyama will have her lecture, “Involuntary Consent: The Illusion of Choice in Japan’s Adult Video Industry,” on March 31 over Zoom.