Organization
Khmer Student Association at University of Washington
The Khmer Student Association (KhSA) is a registered student organization at the University of Washington in Seattle.[1] It serves the university's communities in Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell, and it offers community and cultural programming for Cambodian American students.[2] It is a member organization of the Cambodian American Community Council of Washington.[2]
History
The association was formed to help Khmer students succeed academically and professionally through college.[3] In the early 2010s, advocacy led by the Khmer Students Association and the wider Cambodian community led the university to begin offering Khmer language courses.[4]
On April 17, 2019, the association led "44 Years of Khmer Resilience" in Red Square on the UW campus. It planned the event after the Cambodian American Community Council of Washington did not hold its "Art of Survival" event that year. More than 100 people came to hear speakers, poets and musicians, and the evening closed with a performance by the singer Davith Phan, known as Davey Tsunami.[5] Ammara Touch was president, and Melissa Ouk, the cultural chair, helped plan the event. The UW Southeast Asia Center helped secure the venue, and faculty and Khmer community leaders helped with promotion, performances and equipment.[5] Two days earlier, on April 15, 2019, association members and Khmer American community members received a City of Seattle proclamation, sponsored by Councilmember Lorena González, recognizing April 17 as Khmer Holocaust Remembrance Day.[5]
In December 2025 the university's Khmer language program was at risk from federal, state and university budget cuts.[4] On December 10, association members spoke at a community gathering held to save it (Save Khmer at UW). They talked about finding and sharing space with other Khmer students, and Rumonny Oeun spoke about Cambodian immigrant parents who do not teach their children Khmer, and about adults who later seek to reconnect with their heritage.[6] In the 2025 to 2026 school year, the association was working to maintain the Khmer language program as part of its effort to preserve Khmer culture.[7]
Khmer New Year Show
The association's annual Khmer New Year Show presents traditional dance, music, fashion, skits and storytelling.[8] The association says it created the show to address how little Khmer culture was represented at the university.[8]
The 2026 show, on May 2, 2026, marked the association's 30th anniversary under the theme "The Spirit That Never Fades." It was planned for the HUB Ballroom and expected to bring together more than 500 students, families, alumni and community members from places such as White Center, Renton, Tacoma and Kent.[8] Students ran the planning, budget, logistics and outreach through committees for dance, fashion, volunteers, food, raffle, decorations and skits, and they reused clothing, decorations and props from earlier years. The project lead was Angelina Khun, with Rick Young as advisor and budget administrator.[8] The UW Campus Sustainability Fund awarded the show a large grant of $7,132 from the Services and Activities Fee for 2025 to 2026, used to reserve the ballroom.[8]
Community
General meetings are held every two weeks.[7] The association's student website names three pillars: education, community and cultural pride.[3] By the 2025 to 2026 school year, its meetings were organized around four: social justice, education, cultural preservation and community.[7] Through the school year it holds film screenings, festivals, performances and other events, and the Center for Southeast Asia and its Diasporas invites it to plan and fund events together.[1] It also works to build solidarity with other underrepresented groups.[3]
For 2025 to 2026, the association was nominated in the Commitment to Community and Service category of the 23rd annual GALA Awards at the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center.[7] It is one of the university's Southeast Asian student organizations.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Center for Southeast Asia and its Diasporas, UW student organizations
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cambodian American Community Council of Washington, Member organizations
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Khmer Student Association, University of Washington (student website)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Northwest Asian Weekly, UW Khmer program at risk (December 2025)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 International Examiner, UW Khmer Student Association organizes April 17 vigil (May 2019)
- ↑ International Examiner, community gathers to save UW's Khmer language program (January 2026)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center, GALA nominee descriptions
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 UW Campus Sustainability Fund, Khmer New Year Show 2026
- ↑ Diversity at the UW, UW SEA student organizations