Asian's Social Interest Association (ASIA)

Mission Statement

ASIA's mission statement, as stated on their web page http://www.dickinson.edu/storg/asia/main.htm, is this:

ASIA is a student organization designed to promote the awareness of the Asian culture in the Dickinson College community and throughout the greater Carlisle community through cultural, social and political activities.

Their main objective is to bring to light the Asian influence on campus and in the community. Their activities on campus are geared towards promoting the Asian influence on campus.

Events

The main goal of ASIA's events is to involve the Dickinson Community in each event so that the participants can actively learn about Asian culture. For example, ASIA invited Soh Daiko, a Japanese drumming group, to play in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium. What is unique about their performance is that, at the end, the drummers invite the audience to play daikos (the drums) themselves. This type of event succeeds in engaging the audience, and thus makes the learning experience fun and memorable. Dinners are also a main way in which ASIA promotes Asian culture. The excitement of interesting food usually brings a large number of students and faculty, yet each dinner directly relates to a specific Asian theme which the group hopes aids in educating those who attend.

Description

Effectiveness

When asked to rank their perceived effectiveness on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the most effective), a member of ASIA said he believed they were a 5. This may be attributed to the fact that ASIA's events are so geared toward student involvement. However, we are always interested to find out how the general student body would rank ASIA's effectiveness in raising awareness about Asian culture.

Problems/Dilemmas

Student Senate funds over 100 organizations on campus who all compete for resources (time, money, space, etc.). Many groups would agree that receiving as much of those resources as possible can be difficult. Also, being that this campus is very small, it can be difficult to get the amount of attention they would like from students. In short, turnout can be an issue for groups like this.

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This page by Goldie Pyka