The Asian American Association hosted 13 Asian American student organizations on Ingalls Mall Thursday evening to celebrate its annual “Taste of Asia” event. Ten different cultures were represented by attending vendors, who gathered by the flagpole outside the School of Kinesiology Building.

Public Health junior Louisa Liu, co-president of the Asian American Association and event coordinator, said in an interview with The Michigan Daily that this was the first year the event was held outdoors. She said the location change was a significant step to expanding their reach. 

“In the past, when we have had this event, it’s always been indoors, and only members of our organization have been able to participate,” Liu said. “So this year, we were excited to bring it outside so people just walking by can see different types of Asian foods they maybe haven’t seen before or get to talk to people about what they’re passionate about.”

Vendors included a wide range of organizations from Asian sororities and fraternities to cultural associations for Arab, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and Korean students on campus.

This was the first year the event included organizations other than the Asian American Association. Public Health junior Sarah Lee, president of the Korean American Student Association, expressed her excitement about being involved.

“The event chairs of the Asian American Association reached out to us and asked if we would like to participate, to which we obviously replied yes,” Lee said. “We want to welcome any opportunity to be involved in cultural events alongside other Asian organizations because it’s truly fun for us.”

Liu elaborated on what it means to be Asian and how special it is to highlight the diversity of Asian culture.

“A lot of people, when they hear the word ‘Asian,’ think of a monolith,” Liu said. “In reality, that’s not the case at all. There is so much diversity among the different cultures within that umbrella term of Asian, and we are so excited that we have been able to bring that idea to the University campus and show that even within Asia, there are so many rich cultures.”

From pork buns to mochi to honeycomb, each stand offered something unique. LSA freshman Hannah Thibideau attended the event alongside her sister, LSA junior Ellie Thibideau, who was a returning attendee. Hannah Thibideau said she appreciated the variety of food available and the ability to see the unity between Asian American organizations on campus. 

“It’s really cool that all the clubs collaborate to put on this event,” Hannah Thibideau said. “They have to make a variety of food for everybody, and it’s nice to see them work together and get to provide an experience for other people with a little bit of culture from everywhere.”

Ellie Thibideau said the event strengthened her and her sister’s connection to their culture while away from home.

“We are Taiwanese, and we always enjoy experiencing any sort of Asian food since it’s really comforting to us,” Ellie Thibideau said. “Especially being away from home, it’s nice to have events like these that remind us of our culture.”

Daily Staff Reporter Anna Pierson can be reached at annapie@umich.edu.

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