Mr. & Miss Asia take stage this weekend

Men and women representing 13 different Asian organizations across campus will be cat-walking across the stage of the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre Saturday night in hopes of becoming the next Mr. and Miss Asia.\nThe show begins at 7 p.m. with the doors open at 6:30 p.m., and admission is free.\nThe event, in its third year in this incarnation, is being hosted by the Asian Student Union, an umbrella organization representing the collaboration of 19 Asian student groups on campus. \nSenior Dina Eldrina, the coordinator for the Mr./Miss Asia competition has been putting together the show since last December. She said there are fewer couples competing than there are organizations under ASU because some organizations, such as the Pakistani and Turkish Students Association, chose not to participate for cultural reasons. \nShe also said the show will consist of three major components: the catwalk, the Q&A and the talent show. \n"For the catwalk, they'll be graded on how they pose and how confident they are, as well as the music," she said. "The Q&A will be about how knowledgeable they are about their specific country, how the country has coped with things and how the country has evolved. The second question asked is general and contestants will be graded on how sincere the answer is. The talent portion is judged on how creative they are and how much time we think they spent in preparation."\nWhile only 26 people are actually in the competition, many individual student groups are working hard to support their candidates by participating in the talent portion of the show. The Mr./Miss Asia Competition is considered one of the biggest ASU events of the year, and the preparation for the event has not always been easy.\nAt one point, ASU was faced with the decision of whether or not to allow sophomore Jeremy Karf, treasurer of the Asian American Association and who is not of Asian decent, to participate as a candidate. \nKarf said he is passionate about Asian culture, heritage and values, and that he would make as good a candidate as anybody else.\n"It's not like I'm doing this as a joke, it's not like I'm saying 'look at what a non-Asian can get away with it,'" he said. "I've wanted to do it ever since freshman year. It would offend me personally if a non-Asian did this as a joke. I have an understanding of the language, the culture, the history, the values and the morals."\nAfter much heated debate, ASU declined his request to participate through a vote. \n"We have no doubt that Jeremy can represent Asian culture well," Eldrina said. "What we have to consider is what would happen in the future if we set this precedent." She brought up the case that, while Jeremy was qualified, allowing him to participate would open up doors for other, less qualified exceptions in the future.\nKarf said he was planning to attend the event to support his fellow AAA members. He also said he was planning on requesting participation again next year.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Lydia Song at lsong@indiana.edu.