To encourage students to embrace their heritage and teach others about different cultures, junior Joanne Nguyen created Asian Student Association, a club that focuses on the Asian population that otherwise goes unrepresented in school.
“I go to this church where it is completely Vietnamese and they are all from different schools that have an Asian Student Association club,” Joanne Nguyen said. “So with Boone being majority white I felt we needed to find a way to speak up for minorities.”
Asian Student Association focuses on sharing foods, movies, music and games from different Asian countries and talking about important events going on there.
The games include: Noonchi, a game where students stand up and say a number and if someone else stands up or says the same number, they are both out; Mafia, a game where each group member takes a part as a policeman, doctor or citizen and no one else is to know who is who. The aim of the game is to root out the mafia from amongst the citizens.
“I wanted to learn about Asian people and their cultures,” junior Jose Rodriguez said. “[The club] integrates asian culture into the school and educates students about it.”
The club meets every Wednesday and organizes special activities, such as Asian cuisine potlucks.
“I want to form a community for the minorities that don’t really fit in here,” Nguyen said. “American is a nationality; there’s a bunch of different identities within it and it’s important to learn where you came from. I hope that people will know that more than just China exists.”
The club offers a space for students to come together and encourages unity among various ethnicities, including Caucasians, Hispanics and African-Americans.