Asian Cultural Festival Returns To Oxford

By Elise St. Esprit

Miami University journalism student

The Asian Cultural Festival returned to Oxford's Uptown Park last Friday. Hosted by the Asian American Association of Miami University, the festival consisted of a variety of booths, each representing a different Asian country, from Kazakhstan to China.

Each booth had food and games from the country, where attendees could sample local cuisine and win prizes, as well as meet international students from that particular place. The booths also provided history lessons and fun facts about the country to help educate both students and Oxford residents about the diversity of Asian cultures.

Bus Charoenwong of the Asian American Association, one of the largest student organizations on campus, says the primary goal of the festival is for students to get to know each other and have the chance to learn about each other's cultures.

"We want to make it a sharing experience, for students from all over the world to come and see how much Asian cultures can be different from each other, but also how they can be similar," Charoewong says. "We want this to be a community where students have opportunities to discuss and share history, culture, and values of their Asian and American heritage with everyone."

As of October 2016, Miami reports that more 500 students of Asian background, including both Asian-American students and international students, are enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs.

Besides cultural booths, the festival also included a variety of performances including traditional dances and costumes, as well as more light-hearted acts such as dances to modern "K-Pop" music. Also included were raffle prizes and give-aways.

Freshman student Chenxin Wang attended the cultural festival for the first time this year. She and her friends are not part of the Asian American Association, but saw the festival advertised around campus and decided to check it out. Wang is an international student from China.

"I think the festival is really fun, I enjoy the games getting so see and learn about all the different places my friends are from," Wang says. "I think it would be really cool if Miami had a festival like this for all the countries in the world, so we could see where everybody came from."

Monica Venzke, a sophomore student and diversity chairwoman for the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, says she thinks events like the Asian Cultural Festival are important for the community.

"I grew up in (Washington) D.C. around a lot of different types of people, a lot of different cultures," says Venzke, who is a Black World Studies major. "When I came to Miami, it was definitely a change from the city. I think it's awesome that programs and festivals like this take place so that people have to opportunity to learn about new people and places, and as part of being diversity chair for my sorority I hope to get more of my sisters involved in them."

In addition to the yearly festival, the Asian American Association takes part in community service events and holds bi-weekly meetings. Students from all backgrounds are invited to join.

Photo: Students and Oxford residents enjoy the Asian cultural festival Friday afternoon in Uptown Park. -- Photo by Elise St. Esprit.