The South Asian Union is one the many treasured cultural clubs at Aliso. The club focuses on the extensive culture of South Asia and is led by Club President Ansh Sharma (11), along with Nivedha Jeevanandam (11), Ira Adnaik (11), Saanika Parikh (11) and Aaryan Mangalekar (11).
Every Monday in Room 204, the club meets together with lessons, food and events that are all prepared. The members get to expand their knowledge of this culture and immerse themselves in it.
The club began when Sharma, club president, went to Club Rush as a freshman.
Sharma said, “SAU started when I was a freshman and I saw Club Rush … I saw all these different clubs about culture but I noticed that there weren’t any specifically for South Asian people.”
Sharma sought to have people connect with their South Asian background, while also creating an environment where people from other origins could learn about the culture. This inspiration helped him found this club in his sophomore year.
This year the club plans to do more to immerse all students of Aliso in South Asian culture.
Sharma said, “I want to make SAU more immersive for everyone on campus so it’s not just ‘Oh you just show up to a meeting one random Monday and that’s pretty much it’, I want it to be something that you can constantly see across campus.”
Last year the club did a couple projects and events but plan to expand on that this year. One example was a cultural project where members prepare a poster that shares an aspect of South Asian culture, and the projects will be posted on campus for students to see and interact with.
Jeevanandam also says, “We’re thinking of doing more fundraisers and a lot of other things to raise money so we can have more events like Holi.”
Holi is the festival of colors that celebrates life, joy and fertility. It is a common celebration for people to gather and throw colored powder to spread joy. The SAU plans to gather the community to celebrate this colorful holiday.
Diwali is the festival of lights and will also be celebrated by the club around early November. People typically light candles and sparklers to guide the Hindu God Rama home. The plan is to hold a Diwali event in the future in which students can come together to light candles and observe the holiday together.
The club will also be offering volunteer opportunities and announced a special event where they will be collaborating with Trabuco Hills High School’s South Asian Student Association to have students speak with other students in India from underfunded schools.
Sharma says, “We’re going to be helping them with English homework or basic literacy and we want them to connect and see more about western life, because these kids [have] only seen life inside the little village that they live in.”
The goal of this club isn’t just to have students receive volunteer hours but also expand the worldview of the students as they learn more about outside and foreign life.
The South Asian Union is a club run by passionate students who seek to inform students about their culture and to facilitate South Asian students to connect with their traditions.
