University and student organizations host events to celebrate APISAA month

Matthew Burkhart Staff Writer

Multicultural Student Affairs, University Libraries and Asian student organizations on campus are hosting an array of events for Asian Pacific Islander South Asian American Heritage Month (APISAA), celebrated at NC State from March 15 to April 15.

Alexius Pearson, the assistant director of Multicultural Student Affairs, is tasked with coordinating with and hosting space for culture-based organizations on campus.

Pearson said this year’s heritage month is being celebrated with the theme of “Unity Within Diversity,” which is the motto of NC State’s South Asian Student Association, EKTAA.

“To be in this space where the students are so loving, so open and just really big on connecting with each other, especially when you have the APISAA community — which is just so vast — is why we talk about unity within diversity,” Pearson said. “Specifically talking about the community and acknowledging the individuality of different cultures, the different religions and beliefs and still making a way to connect and celebrate and support each other.”

Although APISAA Heritage Month is nationally observed during the month of May, Pearson said the University opts to celebrate it between March and April with the purpose of celebrating Asian culture for an entire month before final exams begin.

“The community wanted to still be able to celebrate with their peers at the institution and not feel that kind of missing void to be able to connect to their community in a big way and have that space made for them and the acknowledgement of their rich history,” Pearson said.

University Libraries is presenting its Immersive Asian and Asian American Historical Timeline Exhibit on Thursday, March 23 from noon to 5 p.m. Victor Betts, student success librarian for special collections, is coordinating University Libraries’ APISAA Heritage Month events.

Betts curated the exhibit during his first year of working at NC State in 2019. He said there was no representation of Asian or Asian American history at the institutional level