On Wednesday November 15th, the FLHS Asian Cultures Club hosted a Diwali party for all of Ludlowe’s students and faculty after school. Students watched an Indian film, “Chupke Chupke,” and painted candles, which was a major hit among the students according to the club’s President, Olivia Chen. A potluck was also hosted, and students who are part of ACC were able to bring in homemade dishes for the party.
Diwali is the Indian festival of lights which celebrates the victory of good over evil. For many Indians, it also brings in the new year. To honor this, the event was centered around painting candles to parallel the diyas lit at night to bring light in the darkness. Chen said in an interview that “because Diwali is a very big holiday, I knew I wanted to have ACC shine a light on it.” Many students and staff at FLHS partake in the celebration of the festival of lights every year, and ACC did a great job of showcasing the importance of the festival.
A struggle ACC has faced in the past is primarily focusing on East Asian festivals, but one of Chen’s main goals since becoming president has been to celebrate all Asian festivals, and to start bringing more awareness to South Asian culture in general. “It really has been a struggle to bring more South Asian people into our club, and one of the main reasons is because the western media has portrayed Asia as only the east when in reality it is a huge continent filled with all different types of beautiful cultures,” Olivia stated. This event is just the start of their projects to highlight South Asian cultures with the help of ACC. With this festival, students were not only able to learn more about a culture that might have been unfamiliar to them, but they were also able to relate to their peers.
According to Chen, ACC has more events in the works that will represent South Asian culture. ACC hopes to eventually hold an event for Holi, an Indian festival that celebrates the eternal and divine love of two gods, as well as the upcoming spring season. The festival is characterized by its bright colors which are often thrown on other people in powder form. However, ACC’s next event will be its spicy noodle challenge set before winter break, where friends will be able to form teams and compete to see who can eat Korean spicy noodles the fastest. The date for this has not been finalized but ACC is very excited to present this event to the FLHS student body.
ACC is more than just another extracurricular at FLHS; it is a way to promote diversity and have students understand their peers. This club is an integral part of the FLHS community, and it is important to take note of their accomplishments. This event was just the beginning to the start of a new era for Asian Cultures Club.
