On Friday, Nov. 14, the South Asian Student Association (SASA) hosted a movie night in the auditorium featuring the 2003 film “Bend It Like Beckham.”
SASA functions as a club focused on uniting South Asian students at North, with an additional emphasis on spreading South Asian culture in the community. They also attend events with other SASAs, such as this year’s Garba, which is a traditional dance from Gujarat, India. This movie night is another part of their initiatives to spread and spotlight South Asian culture.
This is the first time SASA has held a fundraiser, as they charged money for the tickets and had a raffle for various gift cards. Therefore, this is all new to them, due to their being a relatively new club that sprang up during COVID, so they have not had many opportunities to do events.
“We’ve been wanting to do one for a while, but this is the first time we actually got to plan one using the auditorium,” said Treasurer Shreeya Thakkar.
Immense thought was taken in choosing the movie to be shown. Eventually, they decided on “Bend it like Beckham,” which features a misunderstood Indian girl living in London who loves soccer, hence the name “Bend it like Beckham,” which references famous British soccer player David Beckham. The board members of SASA chose this primarily because it appeals to both types of prospective attendees: the movie is in English and shows elements of South Asian culture.
“We picked it so everyone can understand it and watch it, and it has multiple aspects to it. So we thought it’d be interesting [and] it would be good for the whole population. So this wasn’t just for people in the school who are South Asian, but for everyone,” said SASA President Aashi Patel.
While the event’s attendance did not turn out as planned, SASA was still proud of the work they have accomplished and hopeful for more participation in the future.
“We want people to experience our culture and our community,” said Patel. “You never know until you come.”
