Organization

Cambodian Student Society (CSS) at Cal State Long Beach


The Cambodian Student Society (CSS) is a Cambodian cultural student organization at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).[1][2] It stages a Cambodian culture show each spring around Cambodian New Year and holds a yearly graduation celebration for Cambodian graduates, an event the university supports.[3]

History

San Ramjek, who came to Long Beach State as a student in 1962 and was president of the Cambodian Student Association that year, dates the first association to 1959.[1][3] During the 1960s more than 100 Cambodian exchange students studied at the college through a USAID program in industrial skills.[1] When the first refugees fled the Khmer Rouge, some of these former exchange students formed the Cambodian Association of Southern California, which the campus page calls the oldest Cambodian mutual aid association in the United States. It was incorporated as a nonprofit in December 1975 and renamed the Cambodian Association of America.[1] The graduation celebration page instead links the 1975 incorporation to the association now known as CSS.[3]

Campus sources date CSS itself to 1984, when a group of Cambodian students founded it. The campus organization page credits that account to Teri Yamada, one of the faculty advisors.[1][4] In April 2008 the society's president, Diana Chea, welcomed the former U.N. ambassador Sichan Siv to campus, a visit she saw as a way to gather and share Cambodian culture at New Year.[5] The Qhmer collective calls CSS the longest-running Khmer student organization.[6] In 2019 the society raised money for a trip to Cambodia, where members gave school supplies to students.[4]

Programs and events

The Cambodian Culture Show is held each April around Cambodian New Year to build friendship, understanding and awareness of Khmer culture.[1][3] Each show combines music, history, dance, martial arts and theater, and students write the script and build the props.[7] The 30th anniversary show, The Never-Ending Battle, was staged on March 29, 2014, at the Carpenter Center, directed by Dennis Son. More than 100 high school and college students performed, and dancers from Khmer Arts Academy and Spirit of Khmer Angkor of the Cambodian Association of America gave a classical dance piece. The Long Beach Post called it "the longest-running Cambodian culture show in the States."[7] The 2026 show on April 25 presented Kun Khmer, modern and traditional dance by the Mera Dance Troupe, live music by the Khmer musician Som Phath and a Khmer fashion showcase.[8] Associated Students allocated $7,945 to the show for 2025 to 2026, and its finance committee praised the show's leadership and outreach.[9]

The Cambodian Graduation Celebration honors Cambodian graduates of CSULB each year. It is open to any graduating student who wishes to take part, and each graduate receives a stole and five guest tickets.[3] In 2023 nearly two dozen Cambodian American graduates took part, and about 200 people attended.[10] The 2026 ceremony was held on May 3 at The Pointe.[3] Associated Students allocated $3,000 to the celebration for 2025 to 2026.[9]

In 2019 CSS and the Cambodian Awareness Organization (CAO) at UC Irvine co-organized the 15th Khmer Student Coalition Conference at CSULB, "Going Beyond Survival: Cambodian Intersectionality, Feminism and Education."[11] The society has also helped Cambodian students and their parents learn the campus and the university system through SOAR orientation.[1]

Community

CSS brings Khmer students together on campus and in the wider Long Beach community, and connects them with faculty, administrators and community members. It also promotes academic achievement among Cambodian students.[12][1] Membership is open to CSULB students, staff and faculty.[1] In 2023 about 10 percent of Cambodian students at CSULB were active in the society. Its co-president that year, Emily Touch, said it gave her a stronger sense of the Cambodian community and of what it meant to be Khmer.[10]

Officers and advisors

  • San Ramjek, president of the Cambodian Student Association (1962)[1]
  • Diana Chea, president (2008)[5]
  • Sitavy Thorng, vice president (2013 to 2014)[7]
  • Dennis Son, director of the culture show (2014)[7]
  • Sovannprina Kiet, president (2019)[11]
  • Emily Touch, co-president (2022 to 2023)[10]
  • Faculty advisors (2026): Dr. Teri Yamada, Dr. Leakhena Nou, Dr. Allan Taing, Dr. Sophea Seng and Professor Darith Ung.[3] Leakhena Nou was named as advisor in 2019, 2022 and 2023.[11][4][10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 CSULB Events & Orgs, Cambodian Student Society
  2. ↑ Cal State Long Beach, Co-curricular activities (PDF)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Cal State Long Beach, Cambodian Graduation Celebration
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cal State Long Beach, CSULB's roots in the Long Beach Cambodian community run deep (June 6, 2022)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Long Beach Current, Former U.N. ambassador speaks at CSULB (April 14, 2008)
  6. ↑ Qhmer, Meet the board (2020)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Long Beach Post, CSULB's Cambodian Culture Show Celebrates 30th Year (March 26, 2014)
  8. ↑ Kids Guide Magazine, Cambodian Culture Show, CSULB (April 25, 2026)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Associated Students, CSULB, 2025-26 recurring program grants (May 9, 2025) (PDF)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 The World, Cambodian American graduates: More than victims of genocide (May 30, 2023)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 VOA Khmer, Cambodian Student Conference to Discuss "Going beyond Survival" (November 20, 2019)
  12. ↑ CSS, home page

Sources

Retrieved from "https://dev.khmerconnection.com/w/index.php?title=Cambodian_Student_Society_(CSS)_at_Cal_State_Long_Beach&oldid=7766"
This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:16.