New clubs have been forming all over Drake University’s campus this year and one is the Asian Student Union. This club is a place specifically for Asian students, offering them a safe space on Drake’scampus.
Aleeza Ahmar, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, is one of the co-founders of ASU and hopes students get a sense of community and belonging from the club.
“At a predominantly white institution, it is incredibly easy to feel alone, to feel different,” Ahmar said. “Since ASU holds closed meetings, our members will be able to have a safe space and feel like they have a place here at Drake.”
This club came to be not only from the hard work of students, but from a joke within a friend group.
“ASU was sort of a joke in our friend group, we were freshmen looking for clubs to join and we didn’t really find any multicultural space we could all be in together. We were like, ‘What if we created our own, wouldn’t that be something?’ and slowly it got more serious until we were submitting our application in December of last year,” Ahmar said. “So in that sense, ASU was built from friendship.”
Serenity Lo, a sophomore majoring in international relations and multimedia journalism, is the treasurer for ASU and is excited about the opportunities for this club and what it will bring to students of color.
“We know it is different for students of color on campus at Drake because it is a predominantly white institution, there aren’t a lot of safe spaces for students of color. We just want to be a safe space for those to talk about their culture and experiences,” Lo said. “It is a safe space on campus away from people who don’t understand you and your experiences.”
Priscilla Tuazon, a junior at Drake University, is happy about this new club coming to campus, especially after the disbanding of the South Asian Student Association.
“I’m excited to join the Asian Student Union,” Tuazon said. “When I first became a student at Drake I was looking forward to joining the South Asian Student Association and was disappointed to find it wasn’t a club anymore so having a new club where I can meet and relate to other Asian people is great.”
The regular meetings are closed for only Asian students, wanting to create a space for students where no one feels like someone is invading their space. A space where they don’t have to feel the need to mask themselves in front of other students. However, their events are open to all Drake University students.
