Northwestern has been celebrating Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month this May with speaker events, performances, shows, workshops, and more. With the month drawing to a close, APIDA Heritage Month will be going out with a bang with Multicultural Student Affairs’ (MSA) annual JubilAsian celebration on May 25.
“JubilAsian is an event that celebrates visibility of the APIDA community at Northwestern,” Ying Dai, a member of the event’s outreach committee, said. This year’s theme is “To Be Seen,” which focuses on recognizing APIDA students’ impact within the Northwestern community.
“We do have a lot of different student organizations, and we have many, many talented people in the community,” Dai explained. JubilAsian, she said, will be a great “space to come together, share work, get to know each other, and really build a tight community.”
This year’s event will look a bit different than in years past. Instead of a sit-down dinner, this year’s JubilAsian will have a more casual feel. Student groups will host booths that showcase crafts, foods, music, or anything else from their cultures that they wish to share. Student groups like Kaibigan: Philippine Student Association, Northwestern University Japan Club, Kappa Phi Lambda – Nu Chapter, the Vietnamese Student Association, and the Chinese Students Association will all have booths. “It’ll be kind of like a carnival,” Dai said, “which allows you to get really involved in JubilAsian.”
The evening will also be interspersed with dance and a capella performances from student groups like Northwestern Raas, Northwestern Nithya, Northwestern University Treblemakers, and Northwestern Deeva. Professor Ji-Yeon Yuh of the Asian American Studies Department will be the evening’s keynote speaker.
Dai explained that JubilAsian is an important step toward APIDA visibility on campus. “Being an international Asian student, it can be difficult to participate in campus activities,” Dai said. “JubilAsian is very different in the way that it’s really, really welcoming. We really tried to invite people of all identities and backgrounds in the community to join in the planning to contribute in any way they want, and we supported them.”
Swing by the Louis Room in Norris from 5 – 7 p.m. on May 25 for lots of food, fun, and culture. Find more information on the Multicultural Student Affairs website or on the JubilAsian Facebook event.