The Association of Pacific Asian Women will hold the 19th annual Building Bridges: One Brick at a Time from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Jones Theater in Daggy Hall.
Zoology major Kellie Ouye said Building Bridges is a chance for different clubs at WSU to show their cultural differences.
“Building Bridges is a free multicultural event put on by the Association of Pacific Asian Women as a part of the Coalition of Women Students'Week without Violence,” Ouye said. “Building Bridges is an event where we offer the various groups at WSU to showcase their unique point of view or culture usually via dance, song or PowerPoint.”
Sophomore pre-pharmacy major Paja Xiong said throughout the years Building Bridges has grown bigger and bigger as an event.
“Last year we only had around 15 clubs participate in Building Bridges, while this year we had over 20 clubs participating,” Xiong said. “Not only did the number of performances increase, but the performances are more diverse this year.”
Groups that are scheduled to perform at Thursday’s event include the Pacific Islander Club, Native American Women's Association, It Starts Now Campaign and Hong Kong Student Association.
The It Starts Now Campaign will be performing about a 20-minute piece filled with personal narratives or their individual experiences.
This will be the first time It Starts Now performs at Building Bridges, and Graduate Coordinator Adam Attwood said the goal of the campaign is to create an environment where everyone can feel accepted.
“Students, faculty and staff at WSU are working together with GIESORC to create a culture of acceptance and understanding for not only GLBTQ students, but any individuals who may feel marginalized,” Attwood said. “Students work with each other and visiting artists in workshops to create their own performance narrative that will be featured in a large-scale production at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year.”
Ouye said the event is meant to bridge the gap between different cultures. This event works to expose different cultures to each other and to bring together the various cultures represented here at WSU.
Xiong said Building Bridges is also the final event for the "Week without Violence" that is put together by the Women's Resource Center and the members of the Coalition of Women Students.
