Asian-American group celebrates 20 years at IU

Celebrating 20 years of service at IU, the Asian American Association’s annual Taste of Asia event at the IU Auditorium will feature various student performances plus free food from local Asian restaurants.\nDoors open at 5 p.m. Saturday, and admission is free.\nStudents can get a taste of Asian food and culture and see Comedy Central comedian Eliot Chang.\nOther acts include the IU Bhangra club, the Filipino Student Association and two Japanese students who will perform a Japanese pop song. The Asian American Association has invited various restaurants, including Basil Leaf, Mandalay, Chow Bar, Santi, Sobon and Dragon Express, to cater.\nThe event will “show people what the culture is like,” said sophomore Desma Jones, an event coordinator and culture chair for the Asian American Association. “As Americans, you don’t always get to experience Asian culture in any other way than in a sushi restaurant or a Chinese restaurant, which is really not all that Asian.”\nEvent coordinator Alice Feng, a senior, said Taste of Asia is all about “bringing cultural awareness.”\nBetween acts, there will be bits of Asian-American history featured in “Fortune Cookie Facts,” Feng and Jones said. One of the facts will talk about the history of the fortune cookie.\nThe organization has a “vibrant history” of promoting diversity, Jones said. “We helped (the Black Student Union) march for getting Martin Luther King Jr. Day off, and we helped found (the Asian Culture Center).” \nThis year the Asian American Association hosted events such as the fashion show in February in the Willkie Auditorium and will host the Mr. & Miss Asia event April 14.\nTaste of Asia is the association’s main event, and Feng and Jones agree it has been a lot of work.\nFeng estimates the final cost will be about $11,000. All expenses were covered by nine sponsors, including the Asian Culture Center, the IU Student Association, the Global Village and the Residence Halls Association. \nSenior Dan Stanko, former Asian American Association vice president, said he gave suggestions to the new coordinators this year. One of the biggest challenges last year for the association was fundraising, but this year the group raised enough money for comedian Chang to perform, he said.\n“We contacted him the past two years, and this year he actually contacted us,” he said. “I think he gave us a discount.”\nStanko hopes that with free food and “professional entertainment,” there will be just as good of a turnout as last year.\n“It’s one of the most well-organized and -funded events. You are getting education and entertainment,” Stanko said. “It’s a great venue, too. You’re not just in some classroom in Ballantine. I can’t publicize it enough. It’s a really amazing thing.”