AAPI Heritage Month kicks off with high spirits in Schine
Syracuse University students gather in Schine Student Center to enjoy food related to Asian American Pacific Islander culture. The festivities are part of a kickoff event for AAPI Heritage month. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
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Students filled Syracuse University’s Schine Student Center with laughter, music and smells of traditional food, all in preparation for the celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. For Pallas Hoffman, stories of immigration, adaptation and resilience come together to form a mosaic of sorts.
“(It’s) a collection of pieces that come together to form something beautiful and whole,” said Hoffmann, who created graphics for the event. “Each of us carries pieces of our history, and when we come together we create a greater, more vibrant picture.”
The month of May is nationally recognized as AAPI Heritage Month, which highlights the history and traditions of their culture. SU celebrates the month in April, with the collaboration of the AAPI Heritage Month planning committee and BIPOC Student Success.
On Tuesday, the kickoff event highlighted various groups and exhibits centered around students’ heritage and cultural appreciation. The theme for this year’s AAPI Heritage Month was “Mosaic of Memories.”
Chelsea Kang, a master’s student at SU and AAPI Heritage Month planning committee co-chair, wanted to make sure this year’s event was in high spirits. With intense advance planning, the members coordinated “a celebration, and cultural, wellness and commemorative speaker events,” Kang said.
There were a variety of tables set up around the student center, all highlighting different organizations and clubs. One of the tables featured was the Asian American Journalist Association. Sophomore student Iris Araki said the group aims to amplify the voices of Asian journalists.
“Asian journalists are heavily underrepresented in the journalism world, and especially in upstate New York,” Araki said. “There’s not a lot of Asian people around here.”
To begin the kickoff, coordinator Marissa Willingham thanked those who brought this event to life, students and staff from both organizations and people within the Intercultural Collective.
Three Syracuse University students table at the first event for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The theme for this year’s AAPI Heritage Month was “Mosaic of Memories,” referencing the AAPI identity as a culmination of many different pieces.Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
The program followed different committee members who spoke about the creation of the event and future events planned for the celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. One event coming up on April 7 is “A Conversation With Brenda Song,” hosted by University Union.
After the group members spoke on the events that would take place throughout the month, they announced multicultural food displays such as samosas and vegetable rolls, for all students to enjoy.
Some things were done differently in this event than in previous years. This year, the kickoff celebration and the Anti-Asian Hate Crime exhibit were separated. In the past, the kickoff has featured the Anti-Asian Hate Crime exhibit alongside other things that were planned, but this year, it was set to be shown and presented on a further date in the month, committee member Ellany Tsin said.
Tsin said while the Anti-Asian Hate Crime exhibit can make attendees feel upset, it’s necessary when discussing the history of AAPI culture. She felt it was beneficial to carve out a specific exhibit to cast light on anti-Asian hate.
“It being its own thing helps to bring more focus to the topic,” Tsin said.
Tsin helped plan and create the exhibit and emphasized its significance. A mosaic displayed at the Anti-Asian Hate Crime exhibit shows causes of hate crimes and how they can build.
This year’s exhibit highlighted a 1997 hate crime at a local Denny’s colloquially referred to as the “Denny’s Incident.” The art piece was made in remembrance of this event.
When making the mosaic, curators focused on specific words such as “forever foreigner” and simply put the “generalizations” behind being Asian, Tsin said.
Although these words and incidents harm and hurt people within the AAPI community, they continue to celebrate their identities, attendees said.
“Our community has faced immense challenges, but alongside those struggles, there’s resilience, innovation and success that we are so proud of,” Kang said. “This is an opportunity to honor where we’ve come from, celebrate where we are now and imagine where we are going.”
