(from left) Senior Rissel Anog, sophomore Lina Yu, seniors Tebi Diskul, Yashawini Jayakumar and Linh Nguyen enjoy their meal as they chat about the different snacks they’re having and other fun conversations.

As part of the decorations, members from AASU of different ethnics put in sayings in writing. (left to right) Chinese, Korean and Thai are shown and other languages such as Japanese, Arabic, etc. were hung up around the commons. “The point of the club is Asian representation and celebrate more Asian holidays and because Lunar New Year is a big part of many Asian countries. It gives a lot of representation for the unseen demographic,” senior Juna Tan said.

The end of school marks the start of the Lunar New Year celebration and students come down to the commons buzzing with excitement. Plates are getting filled and so are their stomachs.

Senior Aiden Kelly (right) chats with fellow AASU member sophomore Fred Chen (left) comparing the flavors of the mango and original Calpico drink, a fruity and refreshing popular Japanese beverage.

Junior Guillaume Fradet scans the table filled with various snacks and cuisines excited to try them out. “It feels really nice to participate in this celebration. I love exploring the different cultures and cuisines that I don’t always get to taste so it’s a really new experience,” he said.

Members from AASU and Students of Color Alliance (SOCA) sit together at a table to make cards for the Asian American Center of Frederick. “Making this cards just to like express Asian culture. As a half-asian like its really cool to see how the school has incorporated the sharing of different cultures throughout the student body,” senior Rissel Anog said.

Some of the more popular snacks that caught other’s attentions were the Choco Pie, Pocky and Hello Panda. Choco Pie is a Korean snack cake consisting of two small round layers of cake with marshmallow filling and a chocolate covering. Pocky is a Japanese snack consisting of a biscuit stick covered in chocolate. Hello Panda is a Japanese biscuit which consists of a small hollow shortbread layer, filled with crème of various flavors.

The Asian American Student Union prepares their Lunar New Year Celebration with red, gold, and white decorations. Members of the union look forward to this annual celebration of diverse Asian culture that took place on Feb 12. after school.

As the Lunar New Year celebration commences, students gather around the tables to get a chance to taste the diverse Asian snacks and cuisines. Members from AASU brought many food to share with the student body. “Basically everything was new for me but the matcha cookies were fabulous and the coffee jelly had acquired taste. All these new foods were so exciting to try and I’m really glad I came,” sophomore Taylor Simmons said.