DeKALB — Students will have a chance to sing their favorite songs, with varying degrees of quality, along with traditional Filipino music at the Pinoy Karaoke Night. The event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday in the Asian-American Resource Center’s Multipurpose Room. 

The karaoke night was put together by the Philippine Student Association and the Tagalog 103 class. Along with music, snacks will be provided by members of the Philippine Student Association and Tagalog 103. Among these snacks are kakanin, a traditional Filipino rice cake, John Paul Dela Rosa, a linguistics student-at-large and coordinator of the event, said.

“The event requires [fewer] preparations because its primary purpose is to provide something fun and engaging for the students” Dela Rosa said. “We will have authentic Filipino activities for our students, at least once a month.”

Philippine Student Association is an organization that seeks to create strong relationships between Filipino students and other nationalities at NIU through activities, according to the group’s constitution. Tagalog 103 is a course that teaches students the official language of the Philippines. NIU offers a total of six courses related to Tagalog, according to NIU’s undergraduate course catalog. 

“We want our students to experience the Philippines even if they are not living in our country,” Dela Rosa said. “Organizing events like the Karaoke Night also helps us advertise our Tagalog class and provide an avenue for NIU students to experience the Filipino culture, whether they are in our Tagalog class or not.”

Philippine Student Association  is one of 13 organizations directly connected to the Asian-American Resource Center. Other organizations include sorority Kappa Phi Lambda, the Indian Student Organization and the Taekwondo Club. 

To contact the Asian-American Resource Center, call 815-752-1177 or email [email protected] or visit their offices at 375 Wirtz Drive.