The Asian and Pacific Islander Program at New Mexico State University will kick off a series of events this spring with a Lunar New Year celebration Feb. 12.
Source: New Mexico State University “News Release”
WRITER: Carlos Andres López, 575-646-1955, carlopez@nmsu.edu
SOURCE: Sophia Sangwanthong, zspook@nmsu.edu
The Asian and Pacific Islander Program at New Mexico State University hopes to build on its success from last year and reach more students in 2024.
Established in 2023, the API Program serves and supports Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across NMSU. In its first year, the program served more than 800 students through a series of events, activities and meetings.
“The success of the Asian and Pacific Islander Program at NMSU in its initial year has been astounding,” said Sophia Sangwanthong, director of the API Program. “We have served hundreds of students, had amazing success with events like Roshni and Lunar New Year, and have evidenced the need for not only API/AAPI student visibility and representation, but education and programming for the NMSU campus related to Asian culture.”
The API Program will kick off its spring 2024 events with a Lunar New Year celebration. Lunar New Year falls on Feb. 10, marking the start of the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese lunisolar calendar. The celebration begins at noon Feb. 12 in the Corbett Center Student Union ballrooms. It will feature lion dancers and other live performances, Korean food from K-Bowl and crafts. More than 300 people attended last year’s event.
“I am thrilled to go to the Lunar New Year event,” undergraduate student Kim Ballou said. “As an Asian American, I have not seen a lot of representation of Asian holidays and culture here in Las Cruces. This event makes me feel that NMSU and the API Program are here to embrace and celebrate our heritage in a way that has been missing in our community.”
Next, the API Program will commemorate International Mother Language Day. This worldwide observance, which began in Bangladesh, promotes linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The Feb. 21 event will celebrate cultures from Asia and beyond and feature performances from NMSU students that honor their mother languages and cultures. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Corbett Center Student Union ballrooms.
“As an international student from Bangladesh, it is very exciting for me to get a chance to celebrate National Mother Language Day with NMSU,” graduate student Fabliha Bushra said. “Bangladesh holds a unique place in history as the only country to have people sacrifice their lives for their language.”
Later this month, the API Program will host a Lantern Festival at the Tombaugh Observatory in collaboration with NMSU’s Astronomy Department. The Feb. 23 event – which falls on the first full moon of the new year in the Chinese lunisolar calendar – will allow attendees to observe the moon, Jupiter and other astronomical objects while learning about Chinese culture. It starts at 6:30 p.m.
“As an Asian American astronomer, I am excited about this collaboration between the API Program and the Astronomy Department, where we will be able to observe objects in the night sky at Tombaugh Observatory and share knowledge about the moon, planets and East Asian astronomy with the community,” Ph.D. student Audrey Dijeau said.
Next month, the API Program will host its first-ever Justice and Revolutionary Thought Conference. The March 26 conference will bring together scholars from NMSU and other universities for presentations on a range of social justice topics. It starts at 2 p.m. in the Corbett Center Student Union auditorium.
For more information, follow nmsu_api on Instagram. For additional information about support, resources and programming, email api_support@nmsu.edu.
