A variety of cultural groups and student performers joined together Monday night at the Paul Robeson Cultural Center's Heritage Hall to raise awareness of the natural disasters that recently occurred in Asia.
The Asian Natural Disasters Relief Show, hosted by the Penn State Filipino Association (PSFA), held 16 different performances throughout the night, ranging from local student groups to solo student performances.
All donations went to the International Response Fund by the American Red Cross.
"Not a lot of students know of the current situation in places like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines," PSFA co-cultural director Ricky Jabarin said. "These areas were hit with typhoons and earthquakes and we wanted to do a fun fundraiser-type of event to not only raise awareness, but also collect any types of donations."
The relief show held a personal connotation for Jabarin (sophomore-accounting).
"I can relate to the ongoing relief efforts going on there because I have family that was affected by the earthquake that hit there early on in September," Jabarin said.
Rebecca Wright (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies), who performed Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" said she participated in order to do her part in helping out.
"I don't normally perform in front of crowds, playing guitar is just a leisurely thing for me," Wright said. "But I have a lot of friends in the [Filipino] association who were affected and I just thought it would be a good thing to do and be a part of."
Wright said her song choice seemed fitting for the event.
"It's an inspirational song that many can associate with, and I just thought it was fitting to perform it tonight," she said.
Other performances in attendance were the Asian Pacific American Caucus, which performed to a choreographed Korean song titled "Gee"; the Malaysian Society, which held a fashion show displaying the various types of fashion in Asian-Pacific countries; and the Khmer Students Society, who performed "Sent It On" by the Disney Channel Stars.
Urban Dance Troupe member Ayanna Harris (freshman-communications) said the variety of cultural groups joining together was what made the night special.
