By John Fisher 
The Japanese Student Organization (JSO) of Stony Brook University held Japanese Night on Friday in SAC ballroom A.
The night was about celebrating Japanese culture and raising donations for the earthquake victims in Japan. A donation box was set up and people that donated 50 cents to the relief effort through either the Red Cross or the Japanese Society made origami cranes
“The purpose of Japanese Night is expressing Japanese culture in America, and this year, to show our support for the earthquake victims in Japan,” said JSO President Michael Petrucione.
Authentic Japanese food of inari sushi, yakisoba fried noodles, and tatsuta age fried chicken was served. Vegetable croquettes, chirashizushi and oden made of fish cakes with dashi broth were also included.
Games included shooting ping-pong Pokéballs in to Pokémon pictured cups, throwing paper ninja stars and catching falling origami paper with chopsticks. Popular activities were shooting rubber bands at paper cutouts of anime in shiteki, people fishing for balloons before the string on their hooks broke in Mizu yo-yo, and the Wii Super Smash Brothers video game challenge.
“All the different games made Japanese night very interesting. Some of the things I’ve never even heard of before,” said freshman Sarah Ha.
Each game awarded stamps that could be used to win prizes of erasers, bento, Japanese trinkets and soda.
Singers and bands performed traditional and modern Japanese music. Daniel DiLauro and his band were the beginning act and were followed by dance routines from the Chinese Association at Stony Brook. The JSO dance team danced to “Love and Joy” and were followed by bands Petrucione and XO. Taiko Tides, a club of traditional Japanese drumming, was the final performance.
“It was great working with JSO because we want to fundraise for the earthquake victims in Japan and are hoping to form a stronger bond with JSO. We love doing performances and bringing the Japanese culture to campus.” said Daniel DiLauro, the treasurer of Taiko Tides.
JSO Event Coordinator Yumi Masuda described the setup of the night. “It was a lot of hard work and we put a lot of time and effort in. We got a lot of support from our members and people of Japanese culture and we could definitely not have done it without our hardworking e-board.”
Students and teachers described the night as a cultural and rewarding experience.
“Japanese night is all about sharing Japanese culture and including everyone and showing the spirit behind the Japanese culture,” said SBU biology professor Joan Miyazuki. “It shows support and awareness of how the Japanese culture resonates.”
