The Asian Pacific Student Union held a welcome party during lunch Friday, Sept. 19, to introduce new and returning upper and middle school members. Held in the Lantern Room, students played games and enjoyed Asian candies, such as Hi-chews and guava-flavored hard candies. Executive Board members Ashley Chan (’27) and Maia Kim (’26) said the event’s purpose was to foster deeper connections between APSU members.
“I think the reason why we wanted to host this event is to form more community between middle school and upper school,” Chan said. “We want to bond [Asian American Pacific Islander] members of the community and AAPI members of the larger Archer community in general.”
Last year’s APSU potluck, which Kim proposed to celebrate AAPI heritage month by serving traditional cuisines from different Asian cultures, brought the APSU and Archer community together. But Kim said she noticed a disconnect within APSU and wants to work on creating a stronger community this year.
“In the past, there’s been a divide between middle and upper school, and we just haven’t gotten to know the middle schoolers that well,” Kim said. “So this year, we’re hoping to include them in a lot more things and make connections across grades.”
The participants of the welcome party played a game which required students to tape an AAPI-themed image — like kimchi or Bruce Lee — onto their back, and try to find the student with the matching picture. After the game, students were given Asian candies as a prize and were served hwachae, a Korean drink typically made with strawberry milk, ice, a variety of fruits and sometimes Sprite. Attendee Ava Gabor (’32) said she enjoyed the drink as a refreshing, mid-day treat.
“The drink is really refreshing, especially because it’s really hot out. It has really good different fruits in it that you wouldn’t think of putting together,” Gabor said. “I thought it was really cool to see all the different cultures of the APSU.”
Last year, APSU hosted an AAPI heritage month potluck, a boba fundraiser and Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. To create stronger internal bonds, Kim felt the APSU Executive Board needed a way to warmly welcome new and returning members ahead of the Club Fair.
“I proposed the idea that we should do something at the beginning of the year, before club fair, just so we could get some new members and teach people what APSU is all about,” Kim said. “I think doing this is so important so that we can look out for the younger students and also just let them know that they can come to us with questions or if they need help, or just have a community within school.”
