Every year, College of Communication freshman Sarah Panko travels with her family to Chinatown in Chicago.

When there, she looks forward to dim sum, part of Chinese cuisine served during lunchtime.

"My family is pretty Americanized," Panko said, "but we do go to Chinatown every year to celebrate the Chinese New Year."

Visiting Chinatown is just one of the many ways Panko celebrates her multiethnic heritage — she is Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Yugoslavian and Irish.

Panko and other students will be able to commemorate their heritage and learn about others during Marquette's Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration, which had its first event Saturday. The last scheduled event is a Dec. 7 Soup with Substance discussion of the attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The month will celebrate "the different cultures that exist," according to Pam Peters, assistant dean for intercultural programs.

The celebration highlights the cultures and gives people "an idea of what's out there," Peters said.

When thinking of Asians and Pacific Islanders, "we don't always think of Indian, Malaysian, Hawaiian cultures," Peters said. "There's just a lot to cover."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Asians are those with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent, such as Cambodians, Japanese and Filipinos. Pacific Islanders include people with origins in Guam, the Samoas, Hawaii or other islands.

Peters encouraged students to attend the scheduled events.

"I think it's great for people to attend, especially the Indians dance performance, as well as the 'Outspoken,'" she said. "It's so important to discuss things about different cultures."

"Outspoken: Battling the Model Minority Myth," scheduled for Nov. 28, will address stereotypes — such as the notion that Indians are naturally smarter than other ethnicities — that put "a lot of pressure on (minorities)," Peters said.

The dinner theater event featuring the Natyarpana Dance Company will be held on Nov. 29. The event is "the highlight event of the celebration" and will discuss where the dances come from and their significance, Peters said.

The Bayanihan Student Organization and the Indian Student Association are helping with some of the celebration's events, Peters said.

College of Arts & Sciences senior and Marquette Student Government diversity commissioner Brent Bray stressed the importance of celebrating heritage.

"Many people have not been exposed to the heritage of Asian Pacific Islanders (and all that it encompasses)," Bray said. "Each ethnic group's culture has a great deal to offer and is beautiful in its own right."

Recognizing and celebrating other heritages is important to both Asians and Pacific Islanders and students with other backgrounds, Panko said.

"A lot of Americans do some of our traditions and they don't even know it," Panko said. "When people take off their shoes, that's actually a Japanese tradition…. I think it's good to see where they get their traditions from.

"It's good that they learn about it because American culture is very popular today and a lot of things are 'Asian-ized,' sort-to-say," she said. "So it's good to see where it's coming from.",”James A. Molnar”

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