San Jose State’s Associated Students Board of Directors met Wednesday on Zoom and introduced a letter of support for the Lunar New Year Day Act. 

The Lunar New Year begins on the second new moon following the winter solstice, or the first day of the new year in the lunisolar calendar, and extends until the full moon 15 days later.

The Lunar New Year Day Act, a bill introduced by New York Rep. Grace Meng, will establish Lunar New Year as a federal holiday. The bill would send a message of inclusion to Asian Americans. 

A.S. Vice President Nina Chuang discussed the letter because she was inspired by Meng’s resolution. 

The resolution is designed to push the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize the cultural and historical significance of Lunar New Year, expressing respect for Asian Americans and all who observe the holiday.

“I think that it’s important for us to recognize cultural religious holidays that affect a very big majority of our campus community,” Chuang said in a phone interview.

Chuang hopes the support letter will urge Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Ro Khanna, Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Eric Swalwell to vote “Yes” on House of Representatives 6525 to establish Lunar New Year as a federal holiday.

“If we do approve this letter, it’s more like our students are saying we want our government representatives to represent us as well,” Chuang said. 

It’s common for Chinese-American communities to work around the holiday season and then take off Chinese New Year to celebrate, she said. 

They usually don’t celebrate the new year when it’s the proper time, Chuang said. 

The bill does not yet designate a specific date for the holiday, and every year it falls on a different day because of the varying second new moon placements every year, according to a Jan. 31 BBC article.

Meng’s bill has 44 co-sponsors, meaning senators or representatives have added their names in support of the bill.

The letter is supported by SJSU’s Akbayan Pilipino American organization;  APID/A Task Force; the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers SJSU chapter; Spartan Wushu Club; the Taiwanese Student Association and SJSU’s Vietnamese Student Association.

Anna Verzosa, kinesiology senior and president of Akbayan SJSU, attended the Wednesday meeting in support of the Lunar New Year Holiday recognition letter. She said it’s important to highlight all the traditions and customs of Asian Americans.

Akbayan means “embracing in friendship,” and is an organization on campus based on Pilipino/Pilipino-American culture. It strives to increase the community’s knowledge of the 

Pilipino/Pilipino-American culture, according to the Akbayan SJSU website.

“To push for this act, it honors the history and customs of Asian Americans,” Verzosa said in an email interview.

“In a city and school where the majority of the population is [Asian American/ Pacific Islander], we have to ask ourselves, ‘what are we doing to support the communities that are uplifting our society?’ ”

Ashley Guerrero, A.S. director of intercultural affairs spoke about her appreciation for the letter during the Zoom meeting.

“I hope that we move forward with supporting this,” Guerrero said. “Because there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.”