Asian Club to change name to focus on Chinese
Photo Credit: Ryan Hornish
During a meeting on Oct. 24, the Asian Club announces that it will be changing its name to the Chinese and Asian Culture Club.
October 26, 2017
The Asian Club has changed its name after the school administration decided that the word Chinese should be included to make the club more similar to other world language clubs.
The new name is the Chinese and Asian Culture Club, which has spurred controversy among the club’s original members.
After Principal John Arlotta, who attended the Oct. 24 meeting, announced the club’s new name, some of the members spoke out against it.
“We should be encompassing other cultures,” one of the original members said.
Arlotta said that the Board of Education wanted students who took Chinese as a language to have their own language club. This follows Spanish, French, and Latin, each of which has a club dedicated to the language not the region.
Club adviser Zheng-Yang Yu, who teaches Chinese, explained that the “awkward situation” arose due to other languages having their own clubs.
Yu said that Arlotta wanted Chinese language students “to have what all other languages have.”
The name change will be mandatory, but once enough students join the club, it can be split into two separate clubs. The Asian Club would be one, and the Chinese Club another.
“I will definitely propose to split the two for next year,” Arlotta said.
Julia Piermatteo • Oct 26, 2017 at 4:49 pm
I find it interesting that the Asian Club is changing its name. Even though the language of study may be Chinese, I think Asian Club encompasses all different Asian cultures. I do see the point in wanting a specific Chinese Club, however, I would like to respectfully disagree with the decision that the club is required to change their name, and ultimately split into two clubs. It should be the club’s decision.