MSU Denver Japanese Club
Devoting time and effort to the pursuit of Japanese culture and language studies.
MSU Denver
Celebrate APIDA Heritage Month
Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month occurs every year during the month of May to celebrate, uplift, and educate others about the complex history and identities of those in the APIDA community. Due to the nature of our academic schedule, the Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion (CMEI) recognizes APIDA History Month during the month of April. The CMEI and our partners collaborate every year to create programming surrounding the experiences and issues of the APIDA community. Through our events, we celebrate the vast diversity within the APIDA identity and bring to light issues that our community is experiencing in order to grow and heal.
Keep scrolling down to view all events for this month!
TRI-INSTUTIONAL EVENTS: OPEN TO THE AURARIA CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY
For events opened to the Auraria campus and community sponsored by the University of Colorado Denver, please visit the Asian American Student Services within the Center for Identity & Inclusion.
Experiences of Asian American Pacific Islander Desi American Discussion Workshops
Wednesday, April 6th & April 20th, 3:00 – 4:00 PM
While the experience of being Asian in America varies tremendously, there are shared cultural factors that play a role in defining mental health and supporting well-being, resiliency, and healing. Part of this shared cultural experience such as values, family connections, expression through spirituality or music, reliance on community networks, and church are enriching and can be great sources of strength and support. However, another part of this shared experience is facing racism, discrimination, and inequity that can significantly affect a person’s mental health. Being treated or perceived as “less than” because of the color of your skin can be stressful and even traumatizing. This virtual weekly workshop brought to you by the Counseling Center at MSU Denver will provide a safe space where you can share your narrative with supportive others. For more information contact: Jody Beardsley at
Equity Peer Leaders Present: The Film Tigertail Followed by Group Discussion
Monday, April 11th, 2:30 PM | CMEI Student Lounge, JSSB 237
The Equity Peer Leaders in the Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion (CMEI) invite the APIDA Community and our allies to join in community as we share tasty snacks and boba over the film Tigertail. We hope to spotlight APIDA narrative in art, while bringing our APIDA students’ representation on screen and an opportunity for our allies to continue to learn more. After the showing, we will engage in a group discussion, processing themes in the film that can connect to APIDA representation in the media.
Badminton: Lessons, Games, and Contests (Prizes Awarded Each Day)
Wednesday, April 6th, 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Thursday, April 7th, 11:00 AM – Noon | PE Building, East Court (PE 117E)
Join Campus Recreation and the Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion for some badminton. All skills and experience welcome. We’ll be offering lessons, games, and contests. Prizes will be awarded each day. Snacks and swag are also available. Walk-ins are welcome, but we do encourage folks to sign-up via the links below. Hope to see you there! For questions/comments, email
Dumpling Making & Social Hour | Thursday, April 21st | Hospitality Learning Center
Dumpling Making — 3:00 PM, Room #106 | Social Hour — 5:00 PM, 2nd Floor Lounge
At the Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion (CMEI) we are strong believers that food helps build community. So please join the CMEI, the APIDA Staff and Faculty Alliance, and the MSU Denver School of Hospitality as we bring Dumpling Making to our students. We invite our community to learn about the origins of different dumplings engaging your five senses. After we cook our dumplings, we will join in a informal social hour open to all (whether or not you attended the in-person portion) where we can begin building connections and enjoy more tasty treats.
Register in advance for in-person dumpling making as seats are limited! But don’t worry, we’ll be livestreaming the cooking tutorial and providing a grocery list ahead of time for those that can’t make it in-person!
APIDA Professionals Outside of STEM Panel Discussion
Thursday, April 28th, 3:00 PM | Heavy Appetizers Provided | Tivoli Room 444 – LoRaine Good
The Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion (CMEI) is partnering with various community organizations to provide APIDA perspective from professionals who are working in areas outside of STEM to students. Please plan to join for an afternoon of conversation and an opportunity for students to network with established professionals.
APIDA Student Organization(s)
Want to Learn More?
In honoring APIDA Heritage Month, below are additional resources:
- Support Asian Pacific Development Center of Colorado, which serve and support all immigrant and refugee communities with a whole health, community-based engagement approach through health, education, and advocacy.
- SEARAC is a national civil rights organization that empowers Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese American communities to create a socially just and equitable society. They are currently focused on policies regarding education, immigration and health and aging.
- For more information regarding mental health issues, you can find information and services on organizations like the Asian Mental Health Collective. For a list of Asian and NHPI therapists, visit the directory list.
- AAPI Emergency Response Network
- Asian Pacifica American Bar Association of Colorado
- Stand Against Hatred – Asian Americans Advancing Justice
- Stop AAPI Hate – Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action, San Francisco State University
- Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
- Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Get involved with the Colorado Asian Chambers of Commerce
- Chemistry by Weike Wang
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
- The Farm by Joanne Ramos
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Klanithi
- Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner
- Gook – Gook is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Justin Chon. It tells the story of two Korean American brothers running their father’s shoe store, and their unlikely friendship with a neighborhood 11-year-old Black girl during the first day of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
- Minari – A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American dream. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
- Parasite – Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
- The Farewell – Billi’s family returns to China under the guise of a fake wedding to stealthily say goodbye to their beloved matriarch – the only person that does not know she only has a few weeks to live.
- The Half of It – Friendless student Ellie Chu lives in the remote town of Squahamish, where she makes extra money writing homework papers for her fellow students. She lives with her widowed father and performs most of his duties as station master and signalman.
- Tigertail – Pin-Jui is a young boy from a poor family living in Huwei (“tiger tail”). His father died when he was a year old, so his mother sent him to live with his grandparents who worked in a rice field removed from Huwei. There, he meets a similarly aged girl, Yuan Lee, from a wealthy family. From here, we watch his journey as he immigrates to New York City.
- BTS – Also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band that began formation in 2010. With the rise in popularity of Korean music, BTS has hit the stage internationally and has amassed fans worldwide. Check out their songs, “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On” from their most recent album.
- Jai Wolf – Sajeeb Saha, known professionally as Jai Wolf, is a Bengali New York-based electronic music producer. He is best known for his singles, “Indian Summer”, “Like It’s Over”, and “Starlight”
- keshi – keshi (Casey Luong) was born in Houston, Texas to Vietnamese parents. Prior to making music his full-time career, he was a full-time nurse. He is now known for his distant falsetto vocals and textural instrumentals. Check out his songs, “2 soon”, “like i need you”, and “always”.
- LISA- Lalisa Manobal, known mononymously as LISA, is a Thai rapper, singer and dancer based in South Korea. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink formed by YG Entertainment. Lisa made her solo debut with her single album Lalisa in September 2021.
- NIKI – NIKI is an Indonesian singer, songwriter and record producer. She is currently based in the United States and signed with the record label 88rising. She was signed onto her label after her huge success on YouTube. Her newest album Moonchild features songs such as “Switchblade”, “Selene” and “Pandemonium”.
- Okasian- Kim Ji-yong, better known by his stage name Okasian, is a Korean American rapper and singer. He released his debut album, Boarding Procedures, on December 6, 2012.
- Rina Sawayama – Rina is a Japanese-British singer-songwriter and model based in London. Her newest album, Sawayama gained a lot of buzz this past year. The album was an exploration of identity, family, gender and sexuality, set to a backdrop of future-facing, genre-splicing pop music as she lyrically explores personal experiences from both her childhood and adulthood.
- Brown Taboo Project Notable Episodes
- Dear Asian Americans Notable Episodes