This year, the Asian Student Association is focusing on cultural awareness and inclusion to increase Asian representation that is seldom discussed, according to Vincent Lee, the new president of ASA.
Some general members come from adopted families, therefore the ASA was implemented for general members to connect with people of the same ethnicity and learn about Asian roots, Lee said. For non-adopted students, the ASA acts as a space that celebrates where they come from.
Students of all ethnicities are welcome to join, according to Lee. ASA’s mission is to have students feel like they have a home if they are an out-of-state student, or want to establish roots on campus, like Lee did when he joined.
Lee moved from Minnesota to Rhode Island in 2020, he said. When he came to the University of Rhode Island in 2022, a lot of students had childhood friends or from highschool. It was hard to find connections unless they were a part of an organization. Once he found out about the ASA, he was able to find a community that was welcoming.
Asian representation is also important because it’s a minority, Franny Duong, the treasurer of the ASA, said. Asian students should be able to band together and build a community in a predominantly white area.
As of 2024, there are 595 Asian students at URI, according to the university’s student demographics summary. There are 12,167 white students.
Instead of being a space for students to hangout, Lee said he wanted the space to have a purpose of honoring Asian culture and representation, as they have since 1985.
“I’ve generally been happy to see new faces this year [at the ASA],” Lee said.
The ability to make connections with other members is what Duong enjoys most about the club. Almost all of Duong’s friends are in the ASA, which she likes because she can hangout with them during meetings.
There are events in the works for this semester that Duong is excited for, she said.
Ryan Chhay, a general member, said he joined the ASA because he wanted to connect with other Asian people. He never had the opportunity in his community back home and wanted to fulfill that want at URI.
Additionally, Asian representation is important because not a lot of people know about Asian culture, Chhay said.
“Getting to know more about [Asian culture] is nice to know so you can spread it and people can be more aware of what it’s like,” Chhay said.
ASA meetings consist of cultural activities on Tuesdays at the Multicultural Student Services Center at 6:45 p.m, Lee said. One of their most recent activities was a monthly culture exposure. Treasurer Franny Duong talked about Tết, which is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The next Tết is Jan. 29, 2025.
During the monthly cultural exposure, general members learned about how Tết is celebrated, Duong said. She taught them how to play a Vietnamese card game called Tien Len, or 13 in English. Four players get 13 cards each facedown. Going counterclockwise, each player deals a card starting with the three of spades, as it is considered the lowest card in the deck. The order of cards from lowest to highest is three’s to two’s. Cards are dealt in that pattern. The winner is the player who has no more cards.
The ASA is working on their Fall Ball, Lee said. The event theme will be an enchanted forest and will be held on Nov. 15.