Asia Day is an event where students can explore study abroad programs, connect with students of varying backgrounds and foster a sense of community, culture and celebration. The event will be on Nov. 21 from 5-8 p.m. in the Ojibwe Ballroom. 

The event’s Blugold Connect+ page states that the event is a collaboration among all the Asian student organizations on campus. The event is supported by UW-Eau Claire’s Multicultural Student Services and UW-Eau Claire Study Abroad.

Fifth-year integrated strategic communication and Teaching English as a Foreign Language student Janiece Moua is a current study abroad intern. Since part of her internship is facilitating and planning a campus-wide event, she said she chose to plan Asia Day.

As a previous study abroad student in Korea, Moua said she was thinking about how she could get all the Asian student orgs together to share their culture with others. 

“What if I facilitate something with all the Asian student orgs here on campus and see what sparks from there?” Moua said. “When people think of Asian culture, what do they think?”

Moua said this event will be a way for students to experience a wide variety of Asian cultures directly. The event will include booths from each of the student orgs involved, a fashion show with traditional Asian garments and live performances. 

Besides the support of several UW-Eau Claire organizations, the event has support from the University Study Abroad Consortium (USAC). According to UW-Eau Claire’s study abroad website, USAC supports several of the study abroad programs at UW-Eau Claire. 

One of the student orgs involved with the event is the Asian Pacific Islander Student Association (APISA). Lee Da Yang, third-year integrated communications student with a public relations emphasis and president of APISA, spoke on the purpose of the event.

“I think just more awareness of the different Asian groups, because I feel like when people say ‘Asian,’ they just think of the big groups,” Yang said. “But there’s a lot of subgroups or marginalized (groups).” 

The event will not only be a place where students can learn about different Asian cultures and countries, but it will also be a place where students can explore the different study abroad programs in Asia,  according to Moua.

“I really advocate for going abroad,” Moua said. “Maybe students can have that connection with new students who want to go abroad. Students can just talk to those study abroad alumni or even students from that country.”

The event will feature food catered by Thai Orchid. Thai Orchid serves a variety of Asian dishes. 

Chicken laab and japchae will be available at the event. Moua said that chicken laab is a traditional Asian dish that is ground chicken mixed with spices. Japchae is a Korean stir-fry noodle dish with soy sauce, sesame oil and vegetables. 

Tofu red curry will also be available at the event. Moua said that having vegetarian and vegan options when picking food was very important. Jasmine rice — a type of rice typically found in many Asian cuisines — will also be served. 

Besides main dishes, the event will also offer a dessert: sweet mango sticky rice. A traditional Thai dessert, the dish is sticky rice that has been coated in sweet coconut cream, served with slices of mango on top. 

Moua said she hopes that a similar event will be held every year. She said this event is a way that community can be formed, between students attending the event and the student orgs involved. 

“I wanted to bring an event on campus that shows all the Asian students on campus and kind of who we are,” Moua said. 

Hirata can be reached at [email protected].