Last modified: Thursday, March 25, 2010
IU celebration of diverse Asian cultures and peoples begins April 6 with lecture by CNN anchor Lui
Other events will include Taste of Asia and AsianFest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A lecture by HLN news anchor and correspondent Richard Lui will highlight Indiana University's early observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which honors the rich history and presence of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
Other highlights will include the annual Taste of Asia and AsianFest events, being part of a national "house party" and a communitywide children's art contest that brings together the landscape painting traditions of Indiana and China. The theme for the month's activities is "Lighting the Past, Present and Future."
Festivities will begin April 6 with Lui's lecture that evening at 7 p.m. in the IU School of Journalism Auditorium (Room 220) in Ernie Pyle Hall, 940 E. Seventh St. The event is free and open to the public. The journalism school is hosting Lui along with the Asian American Studies Program and the IU Asian Culture Center. The title of his speech will be "Developing Intercultural Practices."
The following day, winners of an essay contest co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, Asian American Studies Program and IU Asian Culture Center will be announced at the annual APA Heritage Month opening luncheon in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. The event is limited to invited guests.
Lui is a news anchor for HLN, serving as an anchor for the network's late morning programming and as a news correspondent for "Morning Express with Robin Meade." Based in CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Lui joined CNN in 2005 as an anchor for CNN.com.
In addition to anchoring weekday programming, his reporting has also taken him to Singapore to research container scanning technology at the world's busiest port and to Indonesia to examine underage sex slavery and the economic effects of the 2002 Bali bombings.
Lui previously worked at Channel NewsAsia, an English-only news network reaching 21 Asian countries and territories. Based in Asia, Lui anchored major breaking news stories including the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh and the 2003 SARS outbreak in Hong Kong. He also anchored live election results for Taiwan's 2004 presidential election and "America Decides 2004," the network's U.S. presidential election coverage.
Lui also was a producer and co-host for the network's flagship morning program "Prime Time Morning" and its news magazine "Insight" where he investigated issues such as North Korean nuclear weaponization and bird flu mutation.
He started as a reporter at KALX-FM in Berkeley, Calif. Before joining Channel NewsAsia, Lui spent 15 years in business, most recently serving at Blink Mobile, where he and his co-founders developed a patented process for the launch of the first bank-centric payment routing network.
His business career focused on new venture creation in various management capacities at firms such as Citibank, Mercer Management Consulting and Lazarus Data Recovery. Earlier in his career, he had multi-year stints during the early growth stages of Mrs. Fields Cookies and QED, an international oil spill clean-up equipment manufacturer. He has a bachelor's degree in rhetoric from the University of California-Berkeley and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Other events:
Taste Of Asia will begin at 5:30 p.m., April 16, in the IU Auditorium and will feature samples of Asian cuisine from various restaurants in Bloomington as well as a talent show. The free event also will include displays set up by Asian and Asian American interest groups on and off campus that reflect the cultural diversity within these communities. Doors will open at 5 p.m.
Another popular free event, Asian Fest, will take place 10 a.m. to noon, May 1, at the Showers City Hall Atrium and Outdoor Stage area at Eighth and Morton streets (in conjunction with the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market). It will feature Asian cooking demonstrations, musical and dance performances by Asian artists ,and educational and craft activities for the whole family. It is being presented by the ACC in cooperation with the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department and the Safe and Civil City Program.
Closing out the month-long celebration will be the State of Asian Pacific America House Party, 4 to 6 p.m., May 2, at the IU Asian Culture Center, 807 E. 10th St. Students at IU Bloomington will be joined by conference call with people at house parties all over the country being coordinated by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress.
Last year attendees at house parties all across the country got to hear from such noted guests as Barack Obama's brother-in-law, Konrad Ng; the White House's Tina Tchen; Assistant Secretary for Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth and Congressmembers Judy Chu and Joe Sestak. Students will join in a discussion and then write a report that will be posted on the APAP website with pictures. The reports will be submitted to the Obama administration.
More information about Asian Pacific Americans for Progress is available at https://www.apaforprogress.org. Registration is requested and can be done by sending an e-mail to acc@indiana.edu.
The Asian Culture Center coordinates many of the events at IU Bloomington, which will include ethnic festivals, gatherings and lectures reflecting immigrant history and cultures and diasporic experience. There will be performances of both traditional and modern music, a film showing, art exhibits, cooking demonstrations and an Asian knowledge bowl contest.
The ACC's Web site at https://www.indiana.edu/~acc will provide updates and further details about APAHM events. Following are the month's other events, which also are free and open to the public:
- "Asian Cultures Around Campus" will present free calligraphy lessons every Tuesday in April (April 6, 13, 20 and 27). The free lessons offered by instructor Xing Zhou will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the ACC. Zhou will share interesting facts about Chinese calligraphy as well as teach how to write in the ancient script. Beginners are welcome.
- "Images of China, A Cultural Kaleidoscope," a presentation by Xin Fan, a doctoral candidate in history at IU, from noon to 1 p.m., April 12, at the ACC. The talk will look at a variety of American cultural representations of China, how they have changed and historical examples of xenophobia. A light lunch will be served.
- "Asian Cultures Around Campus" also will present free lessons in the ancient Indian art of henna designs, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., April 12 and 26, at the ACC.
- "Beyond Chopsticks: A Crash Course in Intercultural Relations," at 7 p.m., April 21, in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave. Union Board is a co-sponsor.
- "Workshop on Energy Saving Cookware, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., April 22, at the ACC. Rama Cousik, an IU doctoral student and member of Association for India's Development (Aid to India) Bloomington Chapter, will demonstrate and explain how a unique and energy saving cooking device works. The workshop will show its potential and how it can be adapted in everyday cooking. The event is co-sponsored by the Food Studies Concentration in the Department of Anthropology.
- A children's art contest supported by the Felix Chen Memorial Fund. With the theme, "Chinese Landscape Painting and Landscapes in Our Own Backyards." Winning student entries will receive gift certificates for school supplies. The contest is open to all children from kindergarten to sixth grade in Monroe County. More information will be available online at https://www.indiana.edu/~acc/index.php.
- The annual Student Recognition Banquet, hosted by the Asian Alumni Association and the Asian Culture Center, April 30, at the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, 1000 E. 17th St. The contributions of student leaders, graduating students and volunteers will be recognized at the invitation-only event.
