by Amy Vasudevan
Asian Students’ Intercultural Association is a student-led organization whose goal is to
unite Asian students, celebrate Asian culture, and create spaces for interaction and learning on
Asian cultures on Taylor University’s campus. Taylor has a significant population of Asian
students, including Asian Americans, Asian international students, adoptees from Asian
countries, and TCKs/MKs who call Asia their home. Asia is a vast continent rich with notably
distinct but, in some ways, similar cultures.
A theme that runs in Asian cultures is our love for sharing meals together. So what better
way to celebrate the start of Asian Heritage Month (April 15th- May 15th, according to the Taylor
calendar), than by doing just that? A reason to get dressed up and celebrate our cultures, over
delicious Asian food and in the company of friends and fellow Asians was what brought forth
the idea of the Asian Gala. For a lot of ethnic students, being at smaller universities like Taylor
make it hard to find a sense of home. Our goal for the Gala was to create an environment where
students could come together in a relaxing environment, eat nostalgic food, and hear about a
relatable experience of one of our very own Taylor faculty.
All Asian students and faculty from Taylor were invited to the Gala. We also realised that
this would be an opportunity to make connections with Asian students from other Christian
universities from the surrounding area. Invitations were sent out to Asian students at IWU,
Grace College, Huntington University, and Goshen College.
Nate Chu, director of International Students Programmes at Taylor University, was the
guest speaker for the night. After everyone had filled up their plates with an assortment of Asian
foods, Nate took the stage. He shared his personal experience of being an ethnic and racial
minority growing up, as well as in his current stage of life. Nate talked about how even though
it’s hard, small acts of representation matter and build a community of people who strive to be
more in tune with their ethnic identities. His speech was followed by a question and answer time,
which the attendees took part in and enabled discussion and learning to take place. The night
ended with an afterparty that featured snacks, karaoke, a photo booth, and much more.
Looking back at the night, we were truly blessed to see God at work in the Asian
community, and to enjoy and celebrate our vivid and varied cultures as one big family, with
bonds being strengthened at Taylor and bonds being formed with Asians at Indiana Wesleyan
University.
Following the Asian Gala, which was our opening event of Asian Heritage Month, A.S.I.A
has organized and hosted three events. ‘Voices of Asia’ was a TED-talk style event where
three speakers from different areas of Asia spoke about their experiences as Christians in
Myanmar, Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Our overarching theme for the event was
“Different Voices, Same God.”
The next event was “Desi Raath” which is Hindi for “Indian Night.” A.S.I.A hosted an
Indian movie night where we watched ‘The White Tiger’. The film is about a rich Indian family’s
ambitious driver who uses his wit and cunning to escape from poverty and rise to the top as an
entrepreneur. “The White Tiger” portrayed greed, politics, class divide, and corruption in India
through the lens of director Ramin Bahrani.
Finally, we ended the year by creating an Asian Street Market on the lawn in front of the
Boren student centre. The market consisted of food stalls that sold dishes that ranged from
tteok-kkochi to pav bhaji to pa jun, drinks from across Asia, and select local vendors who sold
handcrafted products. It was a time of sharing culture and creating spaces for people to step
into the intimate embrace of well-cooked food. All the food was cooked by A.S.I.A cabinet
members and Elijah Choi. The event stretched from 8 to 11 p.m and culminated in a time of
fellowship around the adjoining firepits.
Enoch Eicher and I, Amy Vasudevan, are thankful for all the support we have received from staff,
faculty and mentors. We are especially grateful to ILCR and Alumni relations for supporting us
through these events. And above all, glory to God
