As spring flowers bloom, the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs has been offering an April full of opportunities to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. With the second week of April focusing on the Pacific Islander community, MESA hosted this year’s annual Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Gala at the Michigan Union this past Monday. Boasting a diverse lineup performing in celebration of the two communities, the event drew statewide collaboration from various university organizations including but not limited to the University of Michigan’s Spectrum Center, Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences, and the Michigan Student Power Alliance.
Rackham student Wren Palmer, a board member of the Oceania Student Association and performer at the gala, expressed her excitement at how the gala allowed performers to share the culture of Pacific Islander students and create a welcoming atmosphere.
“For us, (the gala means) being included in a label that often uses our name but doesn’t offer us space, so we are really happy that they reached out to collaborate with us,” Palmer said.
Before 2021, when the OSA registered as an official student organization, the University of Michigan also did not have a student group to represent individuals from the Pacific Islands and Oceania. To LSA sophomore Carly Salazar, a fellow performer, the gala served as an opportunity to give attendees a taste of her heritage.
“I am just excited for us to have a space to be able to share our culture and connect with other Pacific Islander students, not just here at (the University of Michigan), but across the state of Michigan,” Salazar said. “We just really want to create this welcoming atmosphere for them, show them that the PI voice is here at the University of Michigan, that we do matter, and that we do have our own space.”
After a land acknowledgment statement, as well as opening remarks reminding attendees of the importance of supporting the Pacific Islander community, the performance section of the gala started off with LSA junior Sanya Bhatia singing Hindi film song “Iktara” from the movie “Wake Up Sid.” The soothing, deep voice of the singer paired delightfully with the romantic message conveyed by the lyrics.
After Bhatia’s mesmerizing performance, the OSA danced to the song “Ulupalakua.” The hula, a traditional Hawaiian dance performed in the pāʻū (wrapped skirt), provided attendees with an opportunity to understand the many dimensions of Pacific dance traditions as performers danced barefoot and inserted chants throughout the song.
A series of Asian American student organizations also performed to celebrate their community’s rich heritage, influence and contributions. rXn, a dance group under the University’s Chinese Student Association, performed both traditional Chinese dance and modern American hip hop, featuring an array of props including swords, umbrellas, fans and flags. 58 Greene A Capella, an all-gender a cappella group, also introduced an enjoyable musical experience with the song “Fallin’.”
Following the acapella group’s vocal melodies, Music, Theatre & Dance alum Smarani Komanduri sang a song from the movie “Nenunnanani.” To close off the performance section, the Vietnamese Student Association sent a traditional Medley group to dance to the songs “Lắng Nghe Tim Em” and “Ghen.” A version of this dance was performed for the VSA’s annual cultural show “Dem Viet Nam” earlier this year, and attendees had a chance to see the dance again in which performers waved fans and ribbons throughout their dance.
The gala ended with an awards ceremony recognizing the efforts of Asian American and Pacific Islander students, staff and organizations to raise awareness of their respective communities, along with opportunities for photo ops and mingling. After the end of the event, organizers Public Health and LSA junior Amber Wei and LSA Senior Dalena Hoang spoke on their philosophy behind the event they had planned.
“We seek to acknowledge the regional, historical, linguistic, religious, ethnic and cultural differences present in the term AA&PI,” Wei stated. “Support for the PI community is essential, and as we continue to learn from each other, we hope to honor, uplift and amplify the Pacific Islander as a separate community from the Asian American community.”
As an audience member, I could instantly recognize the efforts that MESA and its staff were making toward generational change and healing. In particular, seeing audience members hailing from diverse ethnicities and cultures, as well as the strong passion of students who planned the event, made the experience all the more rewarding and special.
MiC Columnist So Jin Jung can be reached at sojinj@umich.edu.