2005 Mr., Ms. Asia pageant awards cultural knowledge

IU students, contestants and cultural enthusiasts packed the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre Saturday night to watch and participate in the 2005 Mr. and Ms. Asia pageant.\n"(The perception of Asians) should be like this," said senior Maggie Tsang, as one of her co-hosts for the 2005 Mr. and Ms. Asia pageant carried out a dignified kung fu kick. "Not like this. Hiiiiiiiyaaaaaaaaaaa!"\nThis humorous skit about the misconceptions of Asians on campus in the last few moments of the show seemed to summarize the event's main point: Asian students on campus are influenced by both eastern and western culture. The pageant showcased just as many hip-hop and pop numbers Saturday night as cultural performances, such as the Filipino tiniklang dance and the Korean drum. Contestants modeled chic streetwear as well as colorful traditional costumes.\n"The cultural dancing act, I was expecting more of that, instead of the modern kind of dancing and singing," said graduate student Ryan Padgett, who came to watch the show for a diversity class. "But I thought the Q&A was really insightful."\nOf the 26 contestants representing 13 Asian organizations on campus, senior Ferry Kristianto and sophomore Mianda Hakim, representing Permias, were crowned 2005 Mr. and Ms. Asia. They received a cash prize of $200, which was split between the two contestants. The event was sponsored by local restaurants Chow Bar and Sushi Bar, as well as the Residence Halls Association and the Commitment to Assist Student Initiatives. \n"It feels great. I've worked hard for this, and it paid off," Kristianto said. Besides the time put into practices and rehearsals, he said he once made an eight-hour trip to Chicago just to buy traditional clothing.\nJapanese Students Association contestants junior Shunsuke Baba and sophomore Mari Sakamoto were first runners-up, and Asian American Association's Christina Diem-Ho and graduate student Tony Truong were announced second runners-up.\nWhile a large part of the show was made up of talent performances, many judges chose to weigh the Q&A portion in separating the best candidates.\n"The Q&A did it for me," said Colin Chang, director of the Asian Alumni Association and one of the judges. "The contestants' knowledge of the culture is important."\nThe audience was invited to participate by voting for the Most Popular contestants, and the title was awarded by three votes to senior Kimberly Trocio and sophomore Jonathan Ramos, representing the Filipino Students Association.\nParticipants of MMA said they felt that this event was more than just a competition. Kristianto said that he had a great time getting to know people from different campus organizations. \nSome highlights of the show included a demonstration of the "Asian craze of computer games" by greek organizations Kappa Gamma Delta and Lambda Alpha Phi, complete with the Nintendo soundtrack and Super Mario Brothers characters.\nISPAA contestant freshman Lucky Chawla commanded loud cheering from the audience for his solo Bollywood-style dance performance.\nSakamoto wowed the audience by singing an English/Japanese version of "A Whole New World," while her partner Baba played guitar and sang along.\n"I think this has been a lifetime experience," said MC senior Sung Ahn. "You guys are all great. We'll see you again next year."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Lydia Song at lsong@indiana.edu.