The Tompkins South Asian Association allows students to engage with each other and meet new people with similar backgrounds. The club includes people that come from different areas of South East Asia providing students with an opportunity to socialize with students who grew with different heritages and students have been able to embrace their culture.

Sophomore Arin Dasgupta, is  president of the TSAA. He created the club to connect the South Asian community with each other. Students part of the minority can relate with one another and use that to bond with others. Like many South Asian students, Dasgupta felt like an outsider because he came from a different social background.

“This club is important to me because as a minority in America I felt like an outlier,” said Dasgupta. “This club allows others this opportunity to find people they share a similar culture with.”

He wants to plan many fun social gathering events that include traditional food to further expose the students to their culture. TSAA also plans to organize holiday events during the year for students to participate in. The fun gatherings and social activities will help bring people together. Dasgupta has many goals for the club by the end of the year. The most important one is building a safe community at Tompkins where students can embrace their heritage.

“I hope by the end of the year we can build a big open community that everyone enjoys to be a part of,” said Dasgupta. “I believe that this club is a good way to connect everyone to the south Asian population, as it provides fun gathering and social activities.”

Junior Siya Halapeti is treasurer for TSAA and believes that the club is not only about bringing people together but learning new things about the numerous cultures that exist throughout South Asia. She was inspired to be part of the club because of the uniqueness of the idea and concept behind it.

“There are clubs that cater to specific religions and cultures, but this club is really the forest institution that really brings together all of these numerous cultures and gives people the opportunity to learn while at the same time appreciating themselves and others,” said Halapeti.

The aspect of learning about new cultures and traditions appealed to Halapeti which compelled her to want to be part of the unique club. Students can gain a deeper connection to their cultural and ethnic identity within the school. To join, students have to fill out the Google form, which is posted on the TSAA Instagram. Students are also required to pay a membership fee.