From Moon Festival to Lunar New Year, V-Nation, a student organization of Plattsburgh State, aims to introduce and promote Vietnamese culture to students on campus. The club’s general meeting is from 7 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday in Angell College Center’s Meeting Room 1.
Sophomore marketing and entrepreneurship major Hoan Ngo has been running the club as president for two semesters. As president, her role is to make sure everyone completes the tasks given to them. She said the club’s main purpose is to create a fun space for everyone to hang out together, learn more about Vietnamese culture and make new friends.
At each meeting, a theme or a specific topic is chosen and presented by the board members. There are presentations, movies, games or activities for everyone to enjoy during the meeting. Ngo said there are usually 15 to 20 people at each meeting.
“In our general meeting, we introduce all aspects of our culture from fashion to food, and we cover pretty much everything,” Anh Nguyen, V-Nation vice president and sophomore management information system (MIS) and business administration major said. “We have some special events when we celebrate our holiday like Moon Festival [and] Lunar New Year.”
During the fall, V-Nation participates in Night of Nations, a showcase for international students to show their talents and their traditions through music and dance.
“Last fall, we had more than 20 performers,” Nguyen said. “We danced in our traditional costumes.”
Ngo’s favorite memory during her presidency at V-Nation is also Night of Nations when everyone “had fun together practicing,” and hung out together after the show.
In mid-August, V-Nation presented the Moon Festival, where everyone made lanterns, DIY crafts and enjoyed Vietnamese traditional moon cake. In the spring, V-Nation hosted its own food festival in April and Lunar New Year.
All the traditional food and supplies were brought by Vietnamese members who go back home over the summer.
“They [Vietnamese souvenirs] are not expensive but iconic to present Vietnam,” Ngo said. “Just small stuff like candy [or] coffee, and we have a budget.”
The club’s goals are also to attract more native students, to spread more knowledge about Vietnamese culture to the community and to host more big events. V-Nation also just won the award for “most interactive club” from the PSUC Student Association.
The only challenge for V-Nation was that they could not find a stable meeting room for members at the beginning. However, Ngo said the board members figured it out, and now the club is running smoothly with each weekly meeting.
Email Hilly Nguyen at fuse@cardinalpointsonline.com
