Weekly Spotlight | SASA Fest celebrates South Asian culture

Chelsea Mitamura Staff Writer

April is a month of festivals at Vassar, hosted by everyone from the ALANA Center to Strong House. SASA Fest, which will be on Sunday, April 20, is continuing the trend of celebrating spring on April weekends—this time with bhangra and South Asian food.

South Asian Students Alliance (SASA) was originally founded in the 1980s as an outlet for students to stay both culturally and politically conscious of South Asian issues. The club now boasts around 15 active members and up to 40 consistent participants. SASA meets on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in the ALANA Center to connect with and get to know other students of a similar cultural background.

“Coming from a very tight-knit, traditional South Asian family, I found adjusting to life at Vassar to be a bit difficult at first,” said Natasha Mir ’11, an active club member.“Becoming involved with SASA…helped me feel closer to home,” she said.

While SASA is predominantly South Asian, the club welcomes students of all ethnicities. “We’re very inclusive. We love having both South Asian and non-South Asian members” said Kothari. She also feels that the meetings are comforting and a great way to relax.

The group discusses relevant issues ranging from the political situation in Pakistan to skin lighteners, a discussion which was held in conjunction with the Asian Student Alliance and Black Students Union. SASA also hosts movie screenings, comedy shows and occasional large-scale events such as dinners or performances.

“While last year SASA was very big on promoting political identity, this year the club is more focused on culture,” Kothari commented. The club has recently brought a number of performers to Vassar, including a fusion jazz band and a successful Indian classical dancer who also taught a workshop, not to mention M.I.A. on Friday, April 11.

The club, along with Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE), co-sponsored M.I.A.’s performance, the year’s biggest concert. The club members were very excited when ViCE brought up this idea and worked hard to make it a memorable event. “She’s so politically active, as well as a huge performer. It’s perfect!” exclaimed SASA President Annapurna Karra ’10.

SASA has seen much more overall participation this year than in the past. The club recently held a successful bone marrow drive.

New members of the club have provided extra, hard-working hands. “It’s been really exciting because the freshmen are always there to help out…They’re giving the kind of support we haven’t really enjoyed in the past,” said Karra. These new members will be very helpful in upcoming weeks as elections take place to fill up official positions for the new school year.

“Every board brings a different idea of where it wants to take the club politically and culturally,” Kothari said. In this way, the club is starting to figure out what it would like to accomplish next year and what kind of group it wants to be.

“In general, it’s a really good time. All the people are great…that’s the reason all the events and meetings go so well…the people,” Karra remarked.