Bringing Cultural Awareness to Tulane’s Campus

Now, I’ll be the first one to admit that there are a lot of student organizations on campus. In fact, you’ll have an opportunity to see and visit with all of them if you make your way to the Activities Expo held at the beginning of the fall semester. There’s bound to be at least one organization that piques your interest, whether it’s T/NASA, Tulane/Newcomb Art Student Association, or TUCP, Tulane University Campus Programming. Today, however, I’m going to tell you about an organization that’s near and dear to my heart: Tulane University Vietnamese Association.

Tulane University Vietnamese Association, or “TUVA” for short, is dedicated to informing the Tulane community about various aspects of the Vietnamese culture. Contrary to its name (and popular belief), TUVA accepts all members regardless of whether you are Vietnamese or not. As long as you have an interest in Vietnam and the Vietnamese culture, you are always welcome!

TUVA holds multiple events each semester. Each event normally displays a different facet of Vietnam. For example, in the fall, we normally have “Phở Bowling.” At this event, we take members out to a local Vietnamese restaurant where they can eat traditional Vietnamese foods, ranging from bánh xèo, savory crepes filled with pork, shrimp, and various herbs, to bún chả giò, vermicelli noodles with egg rolls. Of course, they can also partake in phở, the dish that lends its name to the event. For those of you who don’t know, phở is absolutely delicious! It is a noodle soup, normally served with either beef or chicken. After we’ve filled our stomachs with delicious Vietnamese cuisine, it’s time for bowling!

In the spring, we have a Tếtcelebration to bring in the Vietnamese New Year. The celebration includes several performances bridging together traditional Vietnamese culture and more contemporary Vietnamese-American culture. They vary from classic Tết songs to hip-hop dance performances. A normal feature of our celebration and most, if not all, Vietnamese celebrations is múa lân or lion dancing. The legend is that the lion would protect the people from and ward off evil spirits.

This is just a taste of what we do in TUVA. Hopefully, I’ll see you at an event soon! Besides TUVA (of course), what other organizations are you curious about or plan on joining?

My Phuong (Miya) Nguyen

Born and raised in New Orleans but now a Houston-area resident

mnguyen7@tulane.edu