Bridging Generations: The UCLA Nikkei Student Union
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In the fall of my first quarter at UCLA I decided to expand my knowledge of the Japanese American community in a fun, explorative way: the Nikkei Student Union (NSU). NSU is a student organization that places an emphasis on raising awareness for the Japanese American culture. Even though we are a Japanese American based club, a fair amount of our members are of diverse ethnic backgrounds. We welcome and seek to connect individuals with the common JA interest through various social events and sports activities/tournaments as well as development of leadership skills. One of our culminating events is our annual Culture Night, which addresses the Japanese American history and issues, both past and current, in order to promote both the culture and political awareness.
In addition to educating the UCLA community we continue the vision of the founders by maintaining a strong link and dedication to the community. We actively participate in the community, in Little Tokyo and beyond, in such projects as the Little Tokyo Health Fair, Chibi-K Fun Run, and more. In addition, in this past year we initiated one of our own volunteer program called Project Hashi, which bridges the connections between our students and the community based organizations located in Little Tokyo.
This collection is composed of photographs taken from September 2008 to June 2009. For more information about the UCLA Nikkei Student Union visit www.nikkeibruins.org
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Westwood Scavenger HuntAfter our second general meeting (GM) on October 7, 2008 NSU encouraged its general members to come out and join in on the scavenger hunt in Westwood. In this way students would get familiarized with the Westwood area and also have a chance to get to know new people. In …
Westwood Scavenger Hunt |
ylkawashima
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TailgatingOf course as a UCLA Bruin you can't forget the Blue and Gold!! NSU hosts tailgating during the Fall Quarter for the home games and we get to eat, chat, and cheer on the Bruins! It's a great way to just hang out and also have some school spirit.
Tailgating 2009 |
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Chicken KatsuOne of the great things about being JA in my opinion is the food!! Just growing up with all those wonderful dishes is more than enough reason to get together and eat! For one of our New Staff get-togethers we made our own dinner of freshly cooked rice, a garden …
Chicken Katsu |
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Intramural SoccerThe UCLA Nikkei Student Union also makes intramural teams for sports on campus. So for those who are athletic or just want to have fun, you can participate in soccer, basketball, and volleyball! Lots of students participated in their hometown JA leagues and they continue to be active in college.
Intramural Soccer |
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NSU Fall FestivalIn order to help enrich the UCLA community about the Japanese American culture we hold a Fall Festival in De Neve Plaza. Here, we had a booth so that people could come and learn the Japanese art of calligraphy, learning kanji, the Chinese characters of the Japanese written text. Students …
NSU Fall Festival |
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Carving PumpkinsAfter our First GM NSU encouraged its general members to come out and join in on the scavenger hunt in Westwood. In this way students would get familiarized with the Westwood area and also have a chance to get to know new people. In a race against each team we …
Carving Pumpkins |
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KaraokeAfter meeting some diehard karaoke-singers last year I have gone karaoke-ing more than I ever have in my entire life. It's always fun to just relieve some stress with your favorite songs and even if you're not that great it doesn't matter: just enjoy it. But there are definitely some …
Karaoke |
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10th Week DinnerDuring the 10th Week of each quarter we have our 10th Week Dinner, which is planned by the New Staff Committee. This was my first 10th week dinner and since it was right before Winter break we had White Elephant, which came out with some hilarious gifts.
Bridging Generations: The UCLA Nikkei Student Union |
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MochiFestWho can say no to mochi? The NSU Outreach committee held MochiFest where we were able to make (and eat!) our own Mochi. It was a fun, albeit somewhat messy, process and everyone was happy with the results!
MochiFest |
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Always Welcome, Never for SaleThe NSU Culture Night is an entirely student run theatrical production held every year in UCLA's prestigious Royce Hall. There are 4 performance groups, drama, Kyodo Taiko, NSU Modern, and Odori, whose members are entirely students, and led by student directors. In addition there is a Production Committee as well …
NSU Culture Night |
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NSU OdoriThe NSU Odori group performs every year in the annual Culture Night but this year they began to branch out and perform in various community events as well. They performed in this year's Little Tokyo Cherry Blossom Festival and are to take part in the upcoming Nisei Week parade.
NSU Odori |
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The End of Another Culture NightAt the very end of the Culture Night all of the different performance groups and the backstage and props crew came together to fill the stage. The diversity of our backgrounds and our differences in skills enrich our ability to express the Japanese American heritage and come together as a …
The End of Another Culture Night |
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Ski TripAfter a long, busy Winter quarter planning and producing our Culture Night, NSU hosts its annual Ski Trip at Lake Tahoe. We stay in Tahoe for 3 days, going snow boarding, eating out, playing games, making snowmen, and just having fun.
Ski Trip |
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APC OlympicsThe Nikkei Student Union is also part of the UCLA Asian Pacific Island Coalition, the mother organization of 22 Asian/Pacific-Island student groups. The APC Olympics was held during the Spring quarter to get as many of the 22 groups to come out and represent their organization in a fast paced, …
APC Olympics |
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project HASHIProject [n. proj-ekt, -ikt]: a large or major undertaking
Project Hashi |
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Students First!In addition to being active in the community NSU is also active in on-campus elections. Here we're all gathered for sign-boarding, where we help the Students First slate to put up their boards on BruinWalk so that everyone can see who is running for what student body position.
Students First! |
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Sushi FestThe Annual Sushi Fest~~ Each NSU family gets together and competes to gain the titles of 1)Best Tasting Sushi ,2) Best Family-Themed Sushi, 3) Most Traditional Sushi, 4) Biggest Sushi. My family's name was "Kumagumi", which meant "Bear" and "Gummy" (like gummy bears, but also GUMI like group/clan). Our family …
Sushi Fest |
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Sushi FestMost Traditional. And definitely looks appetizing. My mouth is watering!
Sushi Fest |
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Manzanar 2009Every year the UCLA Nikkei Student Union goes to Manzanar, one of the two concentration camp sites in California. This year NSU decided to make 1000 cranes to contribute to Manzanar in memory of those who were interned there. Before I went on this pilgrimage I never realized the scale …
Manzanar 2009 |
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Chibi-K MascotsWhat's would a race be without mascots?! UCLA NSU members dressed up as fruits and veggies to encourage the kids of the Chibi-K run to eat and live healthily. They definitely got their exercise :)
Chibi-K Mascots |
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INC BanquetTaken at the 2009 INC Banquet this photo does no justice in representing the girl to guy ration at UCLA's NSU! But it does show how much fun we had at getting together with the other INC schools. The UCLA Nikkei Student Union is a part of the Southern California …
INC Banquet |
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APIGNot A Pig, but the Asian Pacific Islander Graduation!! APIG was, and still is, a student-initiated graduation sponsored by the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition which strives to enrich and inform the community by allowing the graduating class to celebrate their unique cultures and academic achievement. This year's theme was "Inspired …
APIG |
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NSU Staff Shirt DesignAs a new design for the NSU Staff Shirts, kokeshi dolls came up and we decided to base our designs on them! I personally thought this was great because I soon learned that JANM would have a Kokeshi Doll Exhibit! Each doll represents a committee: Sports, New Staff, Cultural Awareness …
NSU Staff Shirt Design |
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NSU Banquet 2009At the end of each year, the weekend before finals, the UCLA Nikkei Student Union holds its annual Banquet. This year I had the privilege to be the banquet co-head with my wonderful friend Cyndi, and our wonderful "Newbie" class was pretty much our committee. Our theme for this year …
NSU Banquet |
2009 Tanabata Festival
Tanabata at JANM 2009
Beautiful Kokeshi Dolls: A Uniquely Japanese Folk Art
How to Make Your Own Tanabata Decoration
Simple Kokeshi Doll Tutorial
Bridging Generations: The UCLA Nikkei Student Union
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