After being postponed due to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) was able to finally hold their Lunar New Year celebration on Feb 11, while the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) held an online activity at the same time via Zoom. 

William Cheng, the newly-elected president of CSSA emphasized the importance of diversity to the expansion of the club’s activities. He said, “The tradition should be celebrated with face-to-face activities and include diversity.”

Over the past two years, student participation in school-based clubs was suppressed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These activities are clearly important to the cohesion of the campus community, but with a quick search of recent Dickinsonian issues, far fewer events were publicized in the last two years than in 2018 and 2019. 

“We made major adjustments in order to promote diversity, sharing this experience with students from different countries” said Leo Sun, the Executive of CSSA Photo taken by Cici Liu

Compared to past events organized by CSSA, the 2022 Chinese New Year celebration seemed more innovative and inclusive. New elements this year included traditional Chinese folk games, karaoke, and a talent show. Although participation in all activities was voluntary, students still showed great interest in participating.

The success of the Chinese New Year celebration could be the encouragement that the community was looking for, motivating students to immerse themselves in life on campus at Dickinson , and to create a stronger bond in the community.