On Saturday, Feb. 10, Vassar’s Asian Students’ Alliance (ASA) hosted their annual Lunar New Year dinner in the Aula. The space glowed warmly from paper lanterns and string lights. Attendees dined together at circular tables, celebrating the start of the Year of the Dragon.
This year’s event had an exceptional turnout. Co-President of ASA Sofia Satuito ’26 noted that they had prepared for about 80 guests but ended up selling around 120 tickets, though they were able to cover for the additional people.
The primary student organizers of the night, Emily Tieu ’24, Chi Nguyen ’26 and Claudia Lin ’27 said they began prepping for the event during winter break. In addition to the dinner, the event included palm reading, calligraphy activities and photo stations.
One change from last year is that Nguyen proposed to have dinner served family style. When asked about her favorite part of the night, Tieu said, “I think watching everyone eat together,” commenting that she enjoyed seeing people who did not know each other interacting at the tables.
ASA made a point of ensuring that many different cultures who celebrate Lunar New Year could find representation in the variety of cuisines offered. Tieu specified that they got Chinese food from Chan’s Peking and Palace Dumpling, Malaysian food from Pandan Bistro, Vietnamese food from Miss Saigon, and Korean food from Toro. All of the restaurants are local, located in Poughkeepsie, Wappinger Falls and Fishkill.
Nguyen explained the significance of the holiday to her, saying, “I’m international, so for us, Lunar New Year is kind of similar to Christmas.” She continued, “Coming to college, it was just kind of weird because like nobody really celebrates Lunar New Year here, and having ASA and this space is really meaningful to me in order to feel like this is still a part of me that is very important and is celebrated by the people in my community.”
Attendees of the event Yewon Kang ’26 and Kristine Kim ’26 also shared memories of Lunar New Year celebrations at home. Kang said that when she lived in Korea, “That’s the one time of the year I get to see all my cousins.” Kim said that her family always makes rice cakes, and Kang added that her family would make lots and lots of dumplings.
Another attendee, Alex Spitzer ’25, also said that growing up, her family celebrated Lunar New Year in addition to the regular new year: “It was just a time where we could all come together, and it was really festive and celebratory.” She added, “Having that space here, when I’m not with my family, was really nice and really special.”
For Tieu, ASA’s Lunar New Year dinner provides a new opportunity for celebration. Though she is of Japanese and Taiwanese descent, her parents did not observe the holiday much in the home, so this dinner gives her a way to celebrate the day with friends at Vassar.
When commenting on the importance of the event to ASA, Nguyen said, “We represent such a big community on campus that having the space for people to learn about new things and to be with each other and to know that this is, you know, meaningful and fun.”
Tieu added, “We worked really hard together…It was fun to put on something and show the Vassar community that this is important to us, but invite them in to participate, and for those who celebrate, to have that piece of home.”
Toward the end of the night everyone came out onto the porch of the Aula to set off confetti poppers. Colorful, shiny paper rained down as people yelled out, “Happy New Year!”