On Feb. 26, the Vietnamese American Student Association (Ole Vasa) partnered with Grove Grocery and hosted a Pho Night to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Mississippi experienced a large influx of Vietnamese immigrants around the 1970s after the Vietnam War. Now, Missississippi’s Vietnamese population makes up around 0.2% of Mississippi’s total population, according to the 2010 consensus.
Ole VASA aims to create an all inclusive atmosphere for all students, not just Vietnamese Americans.
Tristan Tran, co-President of Ole VASA and senior pre-pharmacy major, said that Ole VASA’s main focus is to create inclusion for all members.
(VASA) is a good place and a good association for people just to come together and explore our history and traditions that we all share what we grew up with,” Tran said. “So when people look at us, and or when people join that organization, they probably feel like, `Hey, this is a home away from home.’”
Ole VASA hosts many events that capture the home away from home essence.
Last semester Ole VASA hosted a formal, and in April Ole VASA will participate in the Eggroll Bowl against Mississippi State and USM.
For the Pho event, Ole Vasa’s goal was to distribute pho to its members to educate more on Vietnamese culture and create community.
Pho is a traditional Vietnamese dish, which consists of a bone broth with noodles and an assortment of toppings that is meant to be eaten together.
“It’s really famous for being like, oh, yeah, let’s get together and eat,” Tran said. “There are not many places up here that offer that for a dish. So we want to make a big big pot or and or big pots and serve it to people. So we’re bringing all these ingredients to Oxford to give that little bit of home back to these people.”
Grove Grocery collected non-perishable food donations for those who donated at the door. Attendees of Pho Night were encouraged to donate cans to Grove Grocery upon entry.
Tina Truong, director of Grove Grocery and vice president of Ole VASA, said that Grove Grocery’s message is welcoming all.
“We have a lot of patrons that are international students and we just want to be really inclusive,” Truong said.
Grove Grocery recently elected a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair to create an inclusive environment.
“It is a good event for both organizations, for Ole VASA to share the Vietnamese culture and then for us (Grove Grocery) to one, help with the food insecurity and to also just promote the idea of us welcoming all,” Truong said.
