5 March 2019
Cambrea Hall
The Asian Pacific Islander Student Union (APISU) is using their upcoming “Fusion” event to further promote their club’s mission of promoting an inclusive community and spreading diversity awareness.
The “Fusion” event help express the different variances of culture through performance.
The purpose of the multi-cultural event is to bring together the CU community and raise diversity and cultural awareness through these performances.
According to their website, the APISU is dedicated to spreading culture and creating diversity across campus. APISU is open to all UCCS students and ally to all of the multicultural clubs.
Emily Nguyen is a sophomore studying exercise science and serves as the APISU vice president and Vriti Seth, sophomore and nursing major, is the outreach coordinator for the club. They are both second-year members of the club.
The event is called “Fusion” because it blends multiple Asian cultures and showcases them as one.
“The goal of ‘Fusion’ is to incorporate modern and traditional Asian performances to help breakdown Asian stereotypes,” said Nguyen. “We showcase dances, singers and any kind of performer with an Asian background to really enhance the cultural experience.”
Seth said, “It’s great exposure to students who are not familiar with the Asian culture and performances. ‘Fusion’ is a great event for students to see what we do.”
A headliner performance by DAN aka DAN will be featured at the event.
“DAN aka DAN is this year’s headline performer. He is Asian-American and adopted. He has a whole story where he went back to Korea to find his family and found out there that he has a twin brother,” said Nguyen. “We really want to show UCCS all that Asian culture entails.”
According to Seth, last year’s performers included the Bollywood Dance Team, Urban Dance Team and the Colorado Bhangra Team, along with performances by general members.
“This year, we are going to try to incorporate a Chinese lion dance,” said Nguyen.
Free food and door prizes are also promised for attendees.
“We have a member from the past who owns a Chinese restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs called China Town. It’s pretty authentic. We cater from them fried rice, noodles, broccoli and other popular foods,” said Seth.
Nguyen also encourages students to join APISU because it’s both a multi-cultural and social group.
“Students can learn more about the Asian culture, of course, but there’s also that social aspect because we always hang out after meetings. I met my best friend in APISU,” said Nguyen. “You can always find a friend,” said Seth.
The “Fusion” event is set to happen on March 14 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Berger Hall.
The event is free and open to everyone.
APISU President Gabe Ganuelas is the contact for students who wish to know more about the “Fusion” event or the club in general. He can be contacted at [email protected].