News Release

About 1,000 Chinese students from 12 colleges and universities from across the region are expected to greet the Year of the Dog on Saturday, Jan. 21, at The Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus. The Chinese Student and Scholar Association at Johns Hopkins is co-sponsor of the event, along with CSSA chapters at other participating schools and the Chinese Embassy in Washington. Shaozhong You, the minister counselor for education affairs at the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. is expected to attend and will give a New Year's address. The program will include traditional Chinese folk songs and dance acts by colorfully dressed performers, including a dragon dance and martial arts show from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in Shriver Hall Auditorium. From 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., the movie "Wu Ji" will be shown in Shriver, while a dance party is held in Levering Union's Glass Pavilion. Levering Hall will also be the site for karaoke and poker and chess games during that same time period. All events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

Co-sponsors include the University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore; George Mason University and George Washington University. Other participating institutions are American University; the University of Delaware; Georgetown University; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Towson University; the University of Virginia; Virginia Tech and the National Institutes of Health.

Johns Hopkins has roughly 1,400 Chinese students and scholars, including U.S. permanent residents who are Chinese citizens, working and studying at its Baltimore campuses. On the Western calendar, Jan. 29 is the first day of the Chinese New Year period, which lasts 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most significant holiday of the year for the Chinese. (The new year celebration is taking place a few days earlier than the actual new year to accommodate the academic schedule of students in the School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health.) Campus celebrations have taken place before, but not to this scale, which organizers hope will attract many Chinese students and their families while providing an opportunity to introduce aspects of Chinese culture to others.

Reporters interested in covering this event should contact Amy Lunday at 443-287-9960.