East Meets West is a major cultural event which takes place on our campus each spring semester. It is a celebration of Asian culture that is presented by BAPSA (Babson Asian Pacific Student Association).

The purpose of East Meets West is to share various aspects of Asian culture with the Babson community in order to increase multi-cultural awareness across campus. This year, a well-attended East Meets West took place in Sorenson Theatre on April 13th. Members of BAPSA and groups from off-campus took part in the performance which included various skits, Korean traditional drumming, a traditional Indian dance, a modern rap song written by students. A fashion show playfully displayed modern and traditional clothing from many Asian countries and the evening was topped off by a performance by the rap band “Notorious M.S.G.”, the “original (NYC) Chinatown badboys”.

One highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Allison Carroll Award. This award is given to a student who best demonstrates a commitment to fostering a climate of understanding and respect within and between student groups on campus, to organizing campus-wide events that raise awareness of international issues on campus and to conducting himself/herself responsibly and maturely. Hence, the recipient of this award serves as an example of a true Global Student Leader. This year the Allison Carroll Award was presented to a highly deserving Sanjay Rama, President of Aman, Southeast Asian Student Association for all his efforts and contributions.

Finally, an added dimension to this year’s East Meets West event was the tsunami relief fundraising effort taken on by the program planning committee. Over $2,000 was raised through raffles and bake sales to help those affected by the devastating tsunami that struck Asia and eastern Africa in December. The money will be presented to Plan USA, a Rhode Island-based international relief organization currently providing support to those affected by the tsunami.

The event was attended by a diverse audience, including faculty, staff and students from a variety of cultural backgrounds. After the performance people gathered together in the lobby to enjoy Asian food of many types. Bubble tea was a particular favorite!