Students gathered outside the Student Resource Building for a Lunar New Year celebration hosted by the Educational Opportunity Program on Feb. 11. 

The celebration aimed to inform students who may not know about Lunar New Year, and provide a place for those celebrating away from home. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus

The event was held in collaboration with the Department of Asian American Studies and the Associated Students (A.S.) Office of the President. It aimed to teach students about the holiday and provide a place for those who celebrate away from home. 

At check-in, students were offered a red envelope with gold accents. Red symbolizes good luck, joy, and protection going into the new year, according to Chinese tradition. These envelopes are typically filled with money and given to loved ones. The presentation of the envelopes was followed by a raffle for gift cards to SloDoCo and Kin Bakeshop. 

Students were then directed outside where they gathered over trays of orange chicken, fried rice, and chow mein catered from China King in Goleta. 

Attendees were served orange chicken, fried rice and chow mein catered from China King in Goleta. Noura Elkhatib / Daily Nexus

The A.S. Office of the President provided boba from Mojo Asian Fusion Cafe. A.S.  President Le Anh Metzger, a fourth-year global studies, communication and Spanish triple major, expressed the importance of A.S. and the Educational Opportunity Program’s (EOP) collaboration for this event. 

“EOP is such an important department on campus, but they’re facing a lot of budget constraints, so I think it’s important for A.S. to help support them and be able to support their programming when possible,” Metzger said. 

Representatives from EOP, the Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity (RCSGD), Counseling & Psychological Services (C.A.P.S.), A.S. Office of the President and Department of Asian American Studies tabled inside the Student Resource Building (SRB) Multipurpose Room, allowing students to connect with university resources.

EOP helps fund the Asian Resource Center (A.R.C.), which is located on the first floor of the SRB and provides cultural resources such as peer counseling and community events like Lunar New Year.

Justin Luong, a third-year environmental studies and communication double major and peer mentor at the A.R.C. shared that he and other EOP peer mentors work to bridge the gap between the University and the student body by prioritizing student needs.

After facing major cuts, the 2025-26 A.R.C. budget is $300, with $100 being granted every quarter. Luong said these funds have only been used for emergencies and maintenance of the space, making community building difficult. 

“The lack of budget is really affecting our ability to pull the community together,” Luong said.

Fourth year Asian American studies and sociology major Kaleb Baladez highlighted the value of students utilizing the EOP’s resources and attending community events like Lunar New Year.

“There’s a lot of departments that are not utilized, and I think that’s part of why they face budget cuts, because people don’t capitalize on them being here when they are fully funded. People only find out when they start struggling, and I think that’s the issue,” Baladez said. “With everything that’s going on in the world, it feels like the world is against you, and it’s a necessity for these opportunities to be in existence.”

A version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the Feb. 19, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.