Asian Student Alliance (ASA) is celebrating the first on-campus celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in April and May with events including panels, film screenings and a talent show to honor the contributions of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders to the DU community.

There is a need to celebrate Asian/Pacific American heritage, according to Philip Trinh, a senior computer engineering major from Thornton, Colo. and president of ASA, who has been actively involved in ASA since his freshman year.

“As far as I know, there hasn’t been any kind of Asian heritage celebrations on the DU campus before,” said Trinh. “This is the first time.”

Trihn compares APA month to Black History Month, celebrating where Asian/Pacific Americans are today and the issues they have. The events hosted by ASA will address various aspects of the social, political, academic and professional worlds.

DU is one of over 20 universities across the nation whose student alliances will be participating in the National APA Collaboration, which is focusing on bringing attention to the recent death of Danny Chen, a US army soldier deployed in Afghanistan who was racially ridiculed by his peers and superiors which eventually led to his suicide.

ASA will be putting on a Remembrance of Danny Chen tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Sturm 253, where the University of Denver Asian Pacific American Law Students Association will speak about Chen’s case.

“This event is supposed to raise awareness and be a call for action in the US military to address the issue of equality for Danny Chen and Asian Americans and for all identities,” said Trinh.

ASA has been planning this month’s celebration for some time, with each event spearheaded by an executive board member and several ASA members.

Vanessa Teck, a Denver native and junior majoring in intercultural communications and Digital Media Studies, has also been involved in ASA since her first year at DU.

“I think we’re often overlooked for many reasons and this month serves as a platform for us to voice the accomplishments and triumphs that Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders have had,” said Teck.

She took primary responsibility for facilitating last week’s APIA Professionals Board, one of the APAHM events where a panel of seven professionals in their respective fields including higher education, administration and engineering spoke with students.

The professionals addressed how they chose their career paths, encouraging students to explore various majors and jobs to find the right fit.

Although APAHM is officially set for the month of May, ASA is hosting events from mid-April to mid-May in order to allow students time to fully appreciate May Days and prepare for finals. Their kick-off events were the Human Trafficking Fundraiser from April 16-19 and Japanese Internment Speakers Forum on April 18.

“The Japanese Internment Speakers Forum was very successful. The fact that there were a lot of new faces who we’ve never seen at our events was a great feeling because it was good to see new people that we can reach out to in different parts of campus,” said Trinh.

Other events for the rest of the month include a screening of “Better Luck Tomorrow” on May 9, the first film to feature a full cast of Asian American actors.

APAHM will also host eXpressions, the biggest ASA event of the year, which showcases the artistic talents of students, both Asian American and not, from DU and around the nation.

“Asian Americans are usually assumed to be doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants, etc. but we are also artistically inclined and eXpressions showcases that side of us,” said Trinh.

ASA acquired a banner for any students to sign that says “The Asian Student Alliance presents the University of Denver’s 1st APA Heritage Month – what does it mean to be Asian American?” featuring a photo of Danny Chen. This banner will eventually be sent to Washington D.C. and hung there for the remainder of APA Heritage Month.

According to Trinh, ASA’s mission is to promote inclusive excellence across campus through events and programs that welcome everyone.

“You don’t have to be Asian to be a part of ASA. We all are open to people coming from all walks of life,” said Trinh. “We want to share our experiences as culturally and ethnically different people but we want to celebrate our similarities too.”