Founded in 1987 at Binghamton University, Asian Student Union (ASU) is one of BU’s largest cultural organizations. An umbrella group for seven Asian American clubs including Asian Outlook (AO), Binghamton University Japanese Association (BUJA), Chinese American Student Union (CASU), Korean American Student Association (KASA), Philippine-American League (PAL), Taiwanese American Student Coalition (TASC) and Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), ASU aims to create a space for fostering and upholding cultural traditions for Asian and Asian American students at BU.

Caitlin Kuang, an event coordinator for ASU and a sophomore majoring in English, described what she hopes individuals take away from ASU’s events.

“I hope individuals leave with a fun experience,” Kuang wrote in an email. “One where they can make friends, create something special and feel the sense of community fostered with ASU. I hope it makes people feel less alone in this huge university and gives them something to look forward to each week.”

From more casual events such as onigiri making and DIY mini zen gardens to informative events such as discussions on Asian diaspora as well as highlighting Asian American women’s experiences, ASU incorporates a spectrum of opportunities for students to come together and learn about different facets of Asian culture.

Ari Jain, marketing chair for ASU and a sophomore double-majoring in computer science and mathematics, shared how he helps to spread awareness about Asian American culture at BU.

“I like to highlight how unique every single person is,” Jain wrote in an email. “One of my jobs as marketing chair is to run an ASU project called [Humans of Bing ASU], which highlights any member of the ASU community who is willing to fill out the form and put themselves out there. For me, joining ASU has been a great opportunity to learn about Asian culture through everyone else’s varying experiences, and also is the chance to express how unique every single person in our community is.”

Jessica Sung, an advisor for ASU and junior majoring in political science, described how she hopes ASU continues to expand upon its inclusivity.

“I always enjoy it when we hold events about cultures that aren’t within our subgroups such as our Tibetan Art event last spring,” Sung wrote in an email. “I feel that it is important to highlight all Asian cultures, not just ones that are within our subgroups.”

One of ASU’s biggest events, Asian Night, strives to celebrate and create an environment for Asian and Asian American culture and traditions through a variety of performances. Past participating organizations have included Binghamton Bhangra, Binghamton Fujianese Union (FJU), Binghamton Taekwondo Club (TKD) and MODA.

Jain described ASU’s reasoning behind holding such a large-scale event.

“It is pretty stressful, but more than that, Asian Night is incredibly exciting,” Jain wrote. “It feels powerful to have the creative freedom to make Asian Night transform and grow each year. [It] allows us to showcase all types of Asian culture and whoever is willing to further the goal of displaying the beauty of Asian performance and visual arts (through the recently added fashion show, for example) is always invited to join us.”

Kuang explained one of her favorite ASU traditions.

“My favorite ASU tradition is Thank You Banquet,” Kuang wrote. “Thank You Banquet is an event hosted by ASU that showcases the highlights of [that] year from not only ASU but the subgroups as well. It celebrates everyone’s achievements and oftentimes makes people emotional, me included. I love reflecting and seeing how much has happened in the span of the year. It also really brings people together and makes them feel connected with one another.”

Jain described how he hopes to continue to refine Thank You Banquet and have ASU be connected to the larger campus community.

“My future goals for ASU is to have more inclusivity at Thank You Banquet,” Jain wrote. “If possible, given enough budget, fundraising and careful planning, we can extend our events to more organizations, which would give us even more connections with even more talented and deeply involved people. My goal is to have ASU and our events be seen as a place of positive energy that anyone can come enjoy and be left with fulfillment afterward.”