Paly’s annual cultural assembly was held in the Perry Center at lunch, bringing together performances to celebrate the diversity of the student body on Tuesday, March 30. Organized by ASB, the event aimed to give students a platform to share their cultural backgrounds and foster greater understanding.
Junior and ASB president Katie Kim said the performances highlighted the range of cultures among the student body.
“Honestly, I was so moved, especially with all of the cultural representation, because Paly is so diverse, and we don’t typically get to see all of that representation,” Kim said. “It was really moving and it was a great way to show off Paly’s culture.”
Senior Danny Khan, who performed spoken word poetry reflecting his Mexican and Asian heritage, said his performance took a lot of preparation.
“When it came to writing my poetry, I really got to deep dive into just what’s important, what’s relevant to my people and my culture,” Khan said. “It took me approximately 2 hours to actually write it and get it everywhere that I wanted it to be.”
Khan said performing at the assembly allowed him to share something deeply personal with the audience.
“I got something to say, and it’s going to be truthful, and it’s gonna be with all my heart,” Khan said. “It means so much to me because this is my blood, my heritage, my culture. This is what my people do; this is what I do. And this means so much that we can finally show it off.”
Senior June Tau, president of the Polynesian Club, said getting to showcase her culture at school was special.
“I perform a lot for family things — we’re kind of obligated to do it and do it very often, but it’s really different to perform it for our school, so I’m happy we’re able to showcase these cultural dances to people who’ve never seen it before,” Tau said. “It’s my senior year, so we wanted to go all out for it.”
After the performances, senior Danica Chew said they left a strong impression.
“It’s necessary to be exposed to and open minded about different cultures and perspectives so we can better understand people in our community,” Chew said.