Sell-out crowd celebrates Chinese New Year with food, music

The Chinese American Students Association sold out their biggest event of the year one… The Chinese American Students Association sold out their biggest event of the year one night before it happened. The Chinese New Year celebration last Thursday drew more than 200 students to the William Pitt Union for a catered dinner and skits commemorating Chinese heritage.

Students crowded around circular tables with Chinese candy in front of every place setting and elaborate centerpieces that took an hour each to construct, according to Cultural Chair Vikki Lam. CASA members handcrafted all the decorations, including the paper dragon that hung over the doorway, creating a version of a Chinese bridge.

Members of CASA traveled as far as New York and Philadelphia to obtain supplies, including the blue-and-gold silk shirts and pants sported by the male board members.

“We got these in New York to look cool,” said CASA President Alex Cheng, who is a Pitt junior. He also pointed out his outfit’s coordination with Pitt colors.

Preparation for the event began in September, with all 86 active CASA members helping in the process.

“After today, I don’t even want to go through this again,” said CASA Vice President Vincent Cheng, a sophomore.

But CASA’s efforts seemed to pay off, as attendees were anxious to praise the celebration.

Symone Redwine, a senior and the vice president of the Black Action Society, said she wished she had participated in more intercultural activities, adding that she was “so happy to be invited” by her friend Adolph Sims.

Sims claimed to be so excited by the event that he “stopped dead in [his] tracks” when he saw the table CASA had set up in Towers lobby.

“I love the diversity,” Sims added.

Student Government Board members Charis Jones and Todd Brandon Morris had voted for the SGB to fund the event, and they also praised the diversity of the attendance.

“Our major goal is unifying the campus, and this event really hits home with our goals,” Morris said. “This is what we, as a board, need to model our population on.”

The popularity of the event was most visible in the line for the buffet, which was catered by Sun Gin’s Chinese Restaurant. Before the last students were served, many plates were already empty, with General Tso’s sauce and miniscule vegetables from fried rice and lomein the only remnants of a meal quickly consumed.

After the last call for seconds, CASA members took the stage to announce the start of the dance performances and skits. In previous years, the performances were left to the professional Organization of Chinese Americans, a group of high school students trained to perform in events such as the New Year celebration.

“But this year, we wrote some of our own skits,” Vincent Cheng added. “Hopefully, they’ll be funny.”

CASA members performed their rendition of the history and mythology behind the Chinese Zodiac, and Amy Yeu and Melanie Tran performed two songs in Chinese. The OCA performed four choreographed traditional dances representing historical events, such as the “Return of Mulan.”

Between acts, winners were announced in a raffle with prizes including a Chinese chess set and gift certificates to local restaurants. The evening closed with CASA’s performance of a chapter from the Monkey King, which Lam described as “one of the most famous stories in China.”

She added that CASA hopes to act out successive chapters of the story at future New Years celebrations.