The Beginning:
The Fall of Saigon, now referred to as Black April, occurred on April 30th, 1975. This event marked the beginning of a large refugee crisis comprised of millions of Vietnamese in the hunt for freedom.
With the creation of many Vietnamese communities and enclaves throughout the world, refugees came to their final destinations in hopes for a better life and future, not only for themselves but for the next generation.
Many young Vietnamese at the time struggled with assimilating to American culture, society, and way of life. Struggling socially and financially, few had the privilege of attending higher education.
Many of the first Vietnamese to navigate higher education along in the United States had to do so themselves. As the years went on, more and more Vietnamese entering universities found each other and formed what became the early stages of Vietnamese Student Associations across college campuses across the country.
With the creation of many Vietnamese communities and enclaves throughout the world, refugees came to their final destinations in hopes for a better life and future, not only for themselves but for the next generation.
Many young Vietnamese at the time struggled with assimilating to American culture, society, and way of life. Struggling socially and financially, few had the privilege of attending higher education.
Many of the first Vietnamese to navigate higher education along in the United States had to do so themselves. As the years went on, more and more Vietnamese entering universities found each other and formed what became the early stages of Vietnamese Student Associations across college campuses across the country.
UCSB VSA:
|
1974
Vertical Divider
|
The earliest known record of a Vietnamese interest group at UCSB
Notably occurring before the Fall of Saigon, an art exhibition featuring the works of Mai Vo-Dinh was held on campus, sponsored by a “Vietnamese Students Organization”. The students apart of the organization were most likely wealthy Vietnamese who could afford to study in the United States at the time. More information here. |
|
1997
Vertical Divider
|
Parker Le and the new Vietnamese Student's Association at UCSB
Records show a hiatus in activity from the early '90s to 1997; in a school climate with an 13% undergraduate Asian student population, Parker Le is one of the known presidents that helped the new VSA transition out of the hiatus. This organization has been stable from '97 until today. More information here. |
|
1998
Vertical Divider
|
The newly reinstated Vietnamese Student Association hosts Lunar New Year (Tết).
The biggest holiday within Vietnamese communities, VSA creates a space to celebrate for student who are unable to follow tradition and be with their families. This event also served as a time to share the festive cultural practice with the student population. More information here. |
|
1998
Vertical Divider
|
UCSB VSA's 1st Vietnamese Culture Night
Vietnamese Culture Night (VCN) is an entire student run production highlighting Vietnamese culture that contains performances like traditional dance and acting. VCN has become one of UCSB VSA's largest annual events, creating a space for Asian American student expression through its themes. It is also one the event that allows for the most participation from general members, helping to create friendships among our members. Most information about the first VCN has been lost, but more on the annual event can be found here. |
|
2001
Vertical Divider
|
UCSB VSA begins doing all-you-can-eat pho night.
In efforts to promote Vietnamese culture at UCSB through food, VSA begins hosting quarterly "All You Can Eat Pho Nights" as a fundraiser. Members would come together to plan and cook pho, a common Vietnamese soup that takes many hours to make. This was not something that could be found in the Santa Barbara area due to lack of accessibility, and the fundraiser was known to bring together VSA members, and had great support from other cultural organizations on campus. More information here. |
|
2002
Vertical Divider
|
UCSB VSA's 1st Pho King male pageant
Pho King, UCSB VSA’s annual male pageant, is aimed to bring male contestants from the Vietnamese Student Associations from throughout Southern California to compete and promote Vietnamese culture and foster community. The original goal of the pageant was to combat gender norms and stereotypes of Asian men being unattractive as commonly portrayed in media at the time, and has grown into one of the most successful and popular philanthropy events of the school year for UVSA. For more information on the first Pho King Male Pageant, click here, and for more information on the annual event, click here. |
|
2002
Vertical Divider
|
The earliest known record of a high school outreach program.
In the annual high school outreach program, VSA invites high school students from underserved areas in Southern California to visit UCSB and help them prepare to pursue and navigate higher education. The program is typically geared toward Southeast Asian students, but does not discriminate against its applicants. The program later came to an end, and began again in 2014. More information here. |
|
2004
Vertical Divider
|
The VSA intern program starts.
Each year, UCSB VSA Staff invites general members to get more involved in VSA by applying to be an intern. When it began, this program allowed only one new VSA member to get involved with VSA, but the program grew steadily over the years, having up to six interns in an academic year. Interns are highly encouraged to run for full staff positions for the following academic year. More information on the intern program can be found here. |
|
2005
Vertical Divider
|
VSA sends 46 volunteers to Louisiana to aid in Hurricane Katrina efforts.
Following the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, UCSB VSA Publicity Chair Vi Nguyen leads a student-organized group of 46 volunteers to aid affected areas of New Orleans for three weeks in December of 2005. Approximately half of this UCSB group stayed and worked in the 9th Ward, while the other half worked primarily in rural areas. UCSB had among the highest turnouts of volunteers of all the universities involved. More information on this can be found here and here. |
|
2009
Vertical Divider
|
VSA's 1st Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
A time to give thanks and pray for good fortune, VSA would host a festival that hosted many other Asian Pacific Islander organizations on campus to promote community. |
|
2010
Vertical Divider
|
The Big Brother/Sister, Little Brother/Sister program is started
UCSB VSA begins to stress the importance of creating a sense of family within the organization as a home away from home for its members. In Spring of 2010, the Anh Chi Em program is restarted, allowing older members to pick up younger members in a mentorship/older sibling position. Years later, this program is still very popular among general members, with entire families being founded through the various lines of anh/chi and em. More information on the initial goals of the program can be found here, and information on annual ACE pairings can be found here. |
2010Vertical Divider
|
UCSB VSA's 1st Winter Retreat
Held at the beginning of the winter quarter, these retreats were meant to encourage newer and returning members to strengthen friendships through multiple days of bonding with one another. Members are able to enjoy a change of scenery, as VSA takes on winter retreat in the snow! More information on the yearly retreats that VSA holds can be found here. |
|
2013
Vertical Divider
|
The high school outreach program is restarted
After a hiatus, UCSB VSA's high school outreach is restarted by then Philanthropy Chair Kathy Nguyen, and the next year she develops the program into a two-day overnight visit, where high school students from underrepresented parts of Orange County can come an experience a weekend in the life of a college student, where they are able to make connects with current college students who can guide them into higher education. Since then, the program has expanded even further; the program is now renamed V.O.I.C.E. (Vietnamese Outreach Initiative for College Education), and in recent years has been able to reach out to students all over California, targeting Vietnamese enclaves such as San Diego, Orange County, and San Jose. More information on the V.O.I.C.E. program can be found here. |
|
2014
Vertical Divider
|
UCSB VSA's 1st Fall and Spring Retreat
Held at the beginning of the respective quarters, these retreats are meant to encourage both newer and continuing members to make new friendships to build the UCSB VSA community. More information on the yearly retreats that VSA holds can be found here. |
|
2020
Vertical Divider
|
VSA's Pho Night was brought back
After a hiatus, VSA's 2019-2020 activity chairs decide to bring back the infamous pho night. Pho Night was meant to be an event where newer and returning members can share a warm meal that reminded them of home, as well as spend time with one another. |
2020Vertical Divider
|
VSA goes completely online for the first time
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools all over the world were forced to transition into online activities, including VSA. However, VSA continued to stay connected to the community through online activities and events. New and returning members were encouraged to join and interact through online platforms. More information on these online events that VSA holds can be found here. |
2020Vertical Divider
|
Webmaster position was officially added
In addition to the transition to online activities, the position of Webmaster was introduced to staff. |