The United States is a classic example of a melting pot. From our people to our culture, every aspect of American society isn’t truly American, but rather a patchwork quilt from all around the world.
Manhattan is an incredible example of this, as Fort Riley and Kansas State University bring in people from every corner of the world. MHS is, as a result, its own little melting pot.
Asian Student Union is one of the many student organizations at MHS where people from unique backgrounds can come together to have a good time while celebrating their culture and traditions. They hold a multitude of events, from karaoke to potlucks to presentations.
“There’s food, we may present some cultural things, and maybe there’s games,” junior Daniel Wei said. “It’s pretty laid back. And then for most of the time, we just hang out.”
Although typical meetings aren’t very structured, ASU hosts many larger outreach events.
“Sometimes we have volunteer opportunities that happen, such as the Asian Night Market, where we volunteer in an event that has games and food and just shares a lot of Asian culture,” sophomore Michael Amama said. “And we also have potlucks every once in a while.”
The driving reason behind ASU is to spread awareness about different Asian cultures, even if it’s only between club members. Members take turns giving presentations about something from their culture to the rest of the club. Last week, Wei gave a presentation about Chinese and Taiwanese currencies.
“I got most of these from my grandpa in China when I visited him over this past summer,” Wei said, holding up a coin. “I think currencies are a very cool and easy way to see and experience history in very, like, small compact forms because they all have a story.”
Students don’t have to be Asian to join ASU; in fact, members encourage everyone to join and learn about Asian culture.
“There’s nothing, there’s no downside to it,” Wei said. “You could definitely just come and try it out. And you’ll make some friends here. Everyone’s really nice.”
Overall, ASU is a place for people from everywhere, not just Asia, to connect and learn a little about culture on the way.
“I think it’s important to have places like ASU, because in somewhere like Manhattan, where there’s not a lot of people that are Asian, a lot of people that are Asian, they don’t feel like they belong or they’re at home,” Amama said. “So it’s really great to just have a club where people can gather every once in a while so that they can share their culture and relate to people that are like them.”