At the recent Mid-Autumn Festival, golden mooncakes, karaage, beef and broccoli, and samosas lined the tables while nearby stations offered matcha making, lantern decorating and opportunities for students to enjoy each other’s company.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is just one of two major events that the Asian American Pacific Islander Council (AAPI) organizes. According to Co-President Gary Sun, senior biochemistry and molecular biology major, the club is dedicated to promoting Asian culture and uniting all Asian organizations on campus.
Sun explained that AAPI became an official organization only two years ago and that while Trinity students had coordinated between Asian organizations in the past, it was never a certified process.
“When we became a registered org, it was kind of as a way to create a Greek Council but for all of the Asian organizations on campus,” Sun said.
AAPI’s social media and PR manager, Yvonne Gu, sophomore international business, marketing and art triple-major, said that the mission of AAPI was to offer Asian cultural events and give them an on-campus platform to express and celebrate any form of Asian culture while allowing others to take part in.
This semester, AAPI has hosted a major festival in collaboration with numerous other Asian organizations, such as Chinese Language and Culture Association, South Asian Student Association and the Korean Student Association, coordinating with them to bring together a diverse range of Asian cultures and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. The food represented a diverse mix of cuisines.
Sun said that the organization was very happy with the turnout for the Mid-Autumn festival this year and that they had great success with coordinating the event between the Asian organizations on campus, local restaurants and AAPI. Besides the Mid-Autumn Festival, Co-President Karenna Edwards, senior neuroscience and business double-major, said that AAPI also plans the Lunar New Year Festival in the spring.
“Lunar New Year is basically a student talent show. We host a fashion show with different cultural wear, and then students volunteer talents like they could play an instrument or sing and dance,” Edwards said.
This year, Sun explained that AAPI is hoping to revamp the Lunar New Year celebration. In doing so, they hope to further show off Asian culture on campus.
“It used to almost always be a performance. We are hoping to revamp it into a night market, in which it will be more interactive with the students,” Sun said.
While AAPI does not claim to represent Asian culture, Sun, Edwards and Gu all said that anyone, regardless of major or race, can join, so long as they show interest in it. According to Sun, anyone with ideas, enthusiasm and curiosity is welcome to come.
AAPI does have a lot of success, according to Sun, but there are also numerous challenges. Sun said that it was difficult to be all-encompassing, as different Asian cultures celebrate different holidays. Another challenge is building an alumni network. Edwards explained that this year, the AAPI council hopes to build a network of professionals and personal support.
Through her time in AAPI, Gu explained that she learned how to plan events. In doing so, she said that helping plan intimate events close to her personal background has helped her step into a leadership role.
“I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Edwards said. “But I’ve grown better at leadership, delegating tasks, communicating, asking for help and answering questions.”
While AAPI has taught Edwards a lot, there are also moments for learning from more humorous accidents, such as when they ran out of boba during last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and had to cook more inside the Tiger’s Den. This year, they instead pivoted towards making matcha.
AAPI’s goal to unite all Asian organizations on campus has resulted in success. Gu explained that AAPI hopes to continue to allow for Asian expression and give people the opportunity to celebrate a piece of Asian culture.
