NEVADA – Wednesday marked the start of the Year of the Rabbit at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR).

“This is going to be the biggest event since COVID,” said senior Brian Liu Nguyen, who has been in charge of the event in the past.

Leilani Kupo, the dean of students, says that the holiday is a way to welcome Spring and pay respect to ancestors.

She said, “It’s really a chance to get together and celebrate both the water rabbit and, for the Vietnamese community, the year of the cat.” “So it’s a way for people to get together and support each other.”

The event makes Nguyen and other Asian American and Pacific Islander students feel seen and valued, and it’s also a chance to raise awareness.

“There isn’t as much Asian diversity in Reno as there should be, and the community doesn’t even know we’re here,” Nguyen said.

People were mostly thinking about parties, but they also took time to remember the people who died in the tragic mass shootings in California at Monterrey Park and Half Moon Bay.

Nguyen said, “My brothers and sisters said they would be at that festival that night.” “Thank goodness, nothing bad happened to them, but my heart goes out to those who have lost family members.”

For many people here, events like this give them hope and help the community come together after a tragedy.

Credits: KOLOTV

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