UNT’s Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) hosted a Twitch stream to celebrate the Lunar New Year on April 1, joined by VSA members from chapters at universities across the country.
The stream, called Twitch by Night, lasted four-and-a-half hours and included classical and contemporary Vietnamese music and dancing. Officers from VSA chapters across the nation also spoke during the stream, and the event’s keynote speaker was Jubilee founder Jason Y. Lee.
Lee is a content creator and social media influencer with more than 18,000 Instagram followers and Jubilee’s YouTube channel has amassed more than 6.23 million subscribers. As the keynote speaker, he discussed the recent events of xenophobia that have faced the Asian community. Through his work with Jubilee Media, he has made it his mission to create a movement of empathy for human good.
Lee referenced the recent acts of hate towards the Asian community, highlighted by the murder of Vilma Kari in New York and the shooting of six Asian women in Georgia. These attacks against members of the Asian community have prompted social involvement and many are fighting to end this discrimination.
“We find ourselves in pretty difficult times — a lot of anti-Asian sentiment [has been shown] in our community recently,” Lee said.
Lee said the future is in safe hands with the upcoming members of society. He said viewers should be proud of their heritage and he hopes they will begin to build a better experience for Asian Americans.