Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu once stated, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” On Feb 21. in Tilton Hall, Clark’s Asian Student Union (ASU) hosted a night of celebration and cultural immersion for the Lunar New Year. Through music, food, and cultural festivities to welcome the Year of the Horse, ASU gave Clark a night of education and celebration of the diversity that makes us all Clark Cougars.

The exact date or origin of the Lunar New Year is not recorded. However, the celebration can be traced back approximately 3,500 years to the Shang Dynasty. This era saw the development of the Lunar-Solar calendar. The calendar runs on a 12-year zodiac cycle, with each year represented by an animal. Each animal is also associated with a personality for the year and the people born in it, as well as an element. In 2026, a fire year arrives, marked by vitality, speed, and perseverance; the year of the horse.

On Feb 21., ASU kept this history and other Asian traditions alive in Tilton Hall with activity tables of calligraphy, origami, and lantern making, food, and raffle prizes. They ended the night with one of the most important traditions of the Chinese New Year: the lion dance. 

One of ASU’s Co-Presidents, Savannah Lee, shared her perspectives on the club, turnout of the night, and the importance of sharing Asian culture with the Clark community. Additionally, the impact of the lion dance. “Not only do lions bring in good luck, but they scare away bad spirits and bad luck..And one goal in like, ASU bringing the lions here is to not only, like, protect Clark, but…it’s like a very surreal experience…it’s something that I grew up with that makes me very nostalgic, it makes me emotional,” she shared.

Without a doubt, that surreal experience was brought to Clark’s campus with a local Worcester performing arts group, Imperial Lion Dance. With beautiful costumes, crowd interaction, impressive stunts, and loud instrumentals, an invigorating atmosphere was created. This experience was not only educational but personal. Along with other cultural and/or minority groups on campus, for many Asian American and Asian International students, finding inclusivity and representation can be a challenge in a predominantly white academic space. And in PWI spaces, for minority/cultural spaces, representation matters. Lee worded it perfectly, emphasizing “How important it is to have representation where people intuitively understand you. A space where people can understand each other from their lived experiences, where their identities cannot be removed. An automatic gravitation.” And with significant cultural markers like the Lunar New Year, they serve as moments of gravitation for a community. Club member Jun Chewning also provided his reflection on the broader impact of the lion dance. “I think it brought, like, cultural awareness to the non-Asian students of Clark, and it allowed for those students to experience something very authentic and spiritual to a lot of Asian people.” 

And overall, the turnout was a success, to which Lee expressed, “I thought we had a good mingle of everyone interacting with all of our cultural stations…and I just enjoyed seeing everybody take in culture they are familiar with and it’s like home for them and people engaging in culture that they are not necessarily from, which I really liked.” 

ASU continues to make steps in its journey to provide a space to foster inclusivity and community. “I’m hopeful that we have more opportunities to do things like this, where we bring the Clark community and our club together,” Chewning commented, “To bond with each other and make connections.” And as co-president, Lee also shared her aspirations for the club. “With ASU going forward, I just hope we have a really good year…a lot of events that connect and, like, bridge cultures as well. I’ve always wanted to create more spaces for, like, people with multiple identities…I just think culture is something so sacred and so important to be shared.”

Just as Lao-tzu said, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,’ ASU’s Lunar New Year celebration marked another step forward on the shared journey of diversity on campus.