By Amelia Kibbe
Features Assignment Editor
Although America welcomed the beginning of a new year more than a month ago, the celebration is just wrapping up for the Chinese. The Chinese New Year began on Jan. 31 and the celebration continues through tonight. On Monday, through the efforts of the Damietta Center and Asian Students in Action (ASIA), Bonaventure students hosted their own celebration of the Chinese New Year.
The event took place in the Loft of the Regina A. Quick Center and included a basic history of the Chinese New Year, performances of traditional Chinese music and dance, options for Henna tattooing and a traditional Chinese dinner.
The turnout for the event was outstanding. Every seat in the room was taken, forcing many to stand. The line to enter stretched all through the third floor hallway. Not only did several students attend, many professors and friars, as well as university president Sister Margaret Carney, O.S.F., were also present. The atmosphere of the room was crowded and joyful.
As guests entered, they were treated to several traditional Chinese dishes. The program began with a brief history of the Chinese New Year and how important it is to Chinese culture. After that was the dance of the dragon, a traditional symbol of the new year. The dragon, which required multiple performers as well as a dragon tamer, came to life via members of ASIA.
Monica Yalamanchili, a junior phychology and Spanish major, played the part of the dragon tamer in the dance. She was very pleased with the turnout for the event as well as the success of the show.
“I was shocked with how packed the place was,” Yalamanchili said. “I didn’t think there would be half as many people as there were. More and more just kept coming.”
Yalamanchili was also excited to play her role and support ASIA.
“The girl who organized this, Asha Matthews, asked for volunteers to play parts in the show,” Yalamanchili said. “I thought, why not? It was fun.”
Sister Margaret also enjoyed the show. She said she believes events such as this one are great to help raise awareness to campus diversity and are also fun for students.
“I was thrilled and touched to be invited to this event,” Sister Margaret said. “I think the huge success of this program shows that students really do enjoy learning about different cultures. I believe this event is the first of many like it.”
For Sister Margaret, the event was more than just a learning opportunity.
“I had a family friend who was a missionary priest in China,” she said. “I can remember praying for his safety. This event brought back many memories of that.”
The event was hosted by the Damietta Center and ASIA, but it featured guest performances by students from Alfred University. One of the performers played musical pieces on an ancient Chinese instrument called a guzheng. The other presented a slideshow explaining the origins of the Chinese New Year. She explained that every year in the Chinese calendar is represented by an animal, and this year is the year of the horse.
Chisato Dubreuil, art professor at Bonaventure and ASIA adviser, said the event was a success in many ways.
“The Chinese New Year is a huge event in Asian culture,” Dubreuil explained. “It was nice to be able to celebrate it here on campus. It was both fun and educational for those who came. The students who put this together worked very hard and it was well organized.”
Yvonne Makl, director of the Damietta Center, said the event was a work in progress for quite some time. It was part of a plan to make students more aware and understanding of all the different cultures represented on campus.
“We had thought about this idea for a while,” Makl said. “We realized we wanted to do something to celebrate different kinds of Asian culture, and this was a great way to learn about Chinese traditions.”
She said she was pleased with the outcome and credited the success to the students who helped put the evening together.
“It was great to see the members of ASIA work together to organize this,” Makl said. “Although our campus is small, we really are diverse. This was a chance to learn about another culture while having a great time. The success of this event shows great hope for the future of events just like this one.”
