Bailey Thompson | News Editor
While the majority of students passed unwittingly through Hamersley Library on the evening of Nov. 12, a group from the Western Oregon University Chinese Students and Scholars Association prepared to perform a flash mob for the passersby.
“This week is International Education Week in the U.S, so our WOUCSSA students (wanted) to do a flash mob to spread Chinese culture,” said Justin Wang, an early childhood education major and leader in WOUCSSA.
When students from China come to Western, Wang shared that WOUCSSA’s job is to help them adjust to life in the U.S. and the new culture in areas like shopping, eating, and even safety.
“We organize Chinese students and Chinese scholars to make lots of activities and some student clubs,” said Wang.
With this flash mob in particular, there was a student in WOUCSSA who had experience choreographing dances, so she taught and performed a routine with a group. Then, after they performed, another group of students sung a medley of three Chinese songs: the first is a sweet and popular song by an artist from Hong Kong, the second is a traditional song many Chinese students know and the third is a song that talks about missing someone close to you. For the group, this final song was particularly powerful because they miss their families in China, and it reminded them of that.
If Western students missed this flash mob and would like another opportunity to see WOUCSSA perform, Wang and Odelia Zhao — another early childhood education major and leader at WOUCSSA — shared that the next opportunity to see and support them will be at the longer show, filled with song and dance, that they are putting together on Feb. 1 in hopes that the Western community will attend.
Further down the road, the group is also planning on having a fashion show towards the end of the year where they will get the chance to wear their traditional Chinese garments and share the beauty of the culture with the greater campus community.
Watch WOUCSSA’s performance at wou.edu/woutv.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Lam Lin. Video courtesy of Deborah Rezell.
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