About 400 students got a little life lesson Wednesday night about what it means to stand out.
The Asian Kaleidoscope Opening Ceremony in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom opened with a welcome speech from Phillip Cheng, Asian Kaleidoscope Month executive director.
He said the month-long celebration is meant to explore the histories, cultures and contributions of Asians and Asian-Americans.
Cheng said the purpose of this opening ceremony was to serve as a grand kick-off of a new decade of Asian Kaleidoscope months to come.
The theme of this year’s Asian Kaleidoscope Month is “Hold the Hyphen,” which is meant to challenge the perception of “what it means to be hyphenated,” according to Cheng.
The hyphen between the words Asian-American demonstrates the inability for a person to simply be American, he said.
Former NFL football player Esera Tuaolo, who is Samoan but was raised in Hawaii, spoke about coming out of the closet.
Tuaolo was introduced and talked about a situation he had faced a few minutes before walking onto the stage.
“I went back there to wait, and a gentleman there was like, ‘You’re gay?’ I said yes. He’s like, ‘You’re a Christian?’ and I said yes,” Tuaolo began.
“I just wanted to bring that up because before, I used to run,” Tuaolo said. “I used to have anxiety attacks and run away from situations like that, but not anymore because when you live in your truth you find your strength to stand your ground.”
Spoken word artist Alvin Lau also performed during the second half of the opening ceremony.
Asian Kaleidoscope Month and New Student Programs paid a combined total of about $10,000 for both acts.
