Whereas, the Lunar New Year is an important celebration in many East and Southeast Asian cultures and,

Whereas, UCI has a large Asian student population, both national and international, in which 40% of UCI undergraduates are Asian American, not including international students [1] and,

Whereas, on February 1st, 2016, a Lunar New Year Festival was held by a collaboration between the UCI School of Social Sciences, School of Law, Paul Merage School of Business and Long U.S.- China Institute [2] and,

Whereas, the festival was held in conjunction with numerous Asian American organizations such as Vietnamese Student Association and,    

Whereas, Lunar New Year is not a recognized federal holiday despite being celebrated by more than 5 million Asian Americans and,

Whereas, the rich cultures and customs of Lunar New Year should be recognized and celebrated by the University of California and,

Whereas, Lunar New Year events, including lion dance parades, artistic workshops, live entertainment, food tastings and beverages bring cultural awareness, pride, and school camaraderie to the campus climate of UCI and,

Let it be resolved that ASUCI recognizes the importance of the Lunar New Year as an integral tradition to many Asians and,

Let it be resolved that ASUCI strongly supports the continuation of an annual UCI Lunar New Year celebration.

[1] http://www.oir.uci.edu/files/enr/IIA07F-enr-by-ethnicity.pdf?R=837976

[2] https://news.uci.edu/social-sciences/colorful-lunar-new-year-festival-to-take-place-at-uci/