| Date: | Saturday, May 16, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 6:30pm - 9:00pm |
| Location: | Soroptimist House |
| Contact: | cambodianstudentsociety@gmail.com |
| Website: | Cambodian Society Website |
Thank you to all the participants for the year of 2009!
During the 1960s, California State University of Long Beach (CSULB) hosted more than 100 Cambodian exchange students who participated in a USAID program to learn industrial skills. Among them was San Ramjek who came to CSULB as a student in 1962. According to him the first Cambodian Student Association, now known as Cambodian Student Society (CSS), was organized at CSULB in 1959. He was its president in 1962. A number of these former exchange students formed the Cambodian Association of Southern California (C.A.S.C.) in response to the demands of the first wave of refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge atrocities. According to CSULB Professor and CSS Faculty Advisor, Dr. Teri Yamada, C.A.S.C. is the oldest Cambodian mutual aid association in the United States. In December 1975 it was incorporated as a non-profit organization and renamed the Cambodian Association of America (C.A.A.).
The Cambodian Student Society of CSULB was originally established in 1984 by a group of Cambodian students. The formation of the organization has two main purposes:
Within its history, CSS has been very successful in providing services to fellow students and the community as a whole. CSS has assisted many Cambodian students and parents to become familiarized with the University campus and system through SOAR orientation. Every year, during the Cambodian New Year, CSS takes great efforts to proudly organize and host a cultural show for the community in order to promote friendship, understanding and awareness of the Khmer culture today.
Every year, we at CSS want to improve the organization to better serve the Cambodian community by recruiting more participants and outreaching closer to the community through social, cultural and educational goals. To recognize the Cambodian graduates of CSULB, CSS hosts a Graduation Celebration.
