Chinese Culture Club is a student organization on campus that tries to inform students about Chinese life while also including a bit of everything else: cultural aspects, food and games.
Matthew Trecek, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, is the president of the Chinese Culture Club said he was excited to get the ball rolling for this semester and into the next year.
“It’s been off to a slow start but we are currently planning events in November and things are looking good especially for next semester,” Trecek said.
“Sometimes we play a game like Chinese hacky-sack [Jianzi], we will have trivia cards out on tables if we have a food event. We also try to have movie events every semester,” Trecek said.
Other smaller events hosted by Jenli Ko, a professor of language, literature and culture, give students the opportunity to learn more about niche aspects of China. The topics covered at these events range from traditional dances to the economy and are open discussions.
Ko a professor in language, literatures and culture helps connect people to the Asian Studies minor and what is going on in the Chinese language program.
“Chinese language partners. I try to connect English learners with Chinese learners, we do have international students from China … so I pair students up so they can help each other out with their courses,” Ko said.
The first event of the year hosted by Chinese Culture Club was the Chinese Moon Festival, traditionally falling on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, this year the festival fell on September 21.
“The Moon Festival is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival which is like an equivalent holiday to Thanksgiving,” Trecek said. “It was early this year and what we ended up doing was Ko brought all these mooncakes and outside of Lalumiere we were just passing them out and telling people about what the holiday means.”
This Wednesday Nov. 3 in Lalumiere the Chinese Culture Club is hosting an event from 12-1 p.m. telling Chinese ghost stories and other tales. Snacks will be provided and a discussion will be included.
Events like this are the Chinese Culture Club’s way of informing and entertaining students about life in China, said Trecek.
Tongyu Wang, a junior in the College of Business Administration, has recently joined the club and is happy to be a part of the experience.
“I come here as an international student, so I think it is very interesting to share our cultures. There are a lot of differences,” Wang said.
Wang said that these differences are small but curious to notice. One of the differences is that Americans greet each other by saying “how are you?” but in China, the greeting is “Chi le ma [Have you eaten]?”
Wang said being Chinese offers a different perspective at the club and gives her the ability to help out more than other students. She also has an open dialogue with students about the differences between Chinese and American culture.
Wang said that being part of clubs and organizations has helped her meet people and get out of her comfort zone. She said this year has been a nice change compared to last year.
“Last year I didn’t feel all that involved because of COVID but this year I have had the chance to come out of my comfort zone … I like being here at Marquette, the connection is a lot tighter.,” Wang said.
Ko said there is a growing interest for Chinese language and culture not just in Wisconsin but in the United States. She said Marquette’s Chinese opportunities are a large attractor for some students.
“I’m hoping that the Chinese program can grow and we can contribute to the diversity and inclusion at Marquette University. Not only the people but the culture, we can provide different culture and opportunities, something unique for students … whether they are taking Chinese courses or not, I think they get a sense for different culture and people from different countries,” Ko said.
This story was written by Connor Baldwin. He can be reached at [email protected]
