By Kyle Bigelow

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Jordans and jerseys filled the south courts at the Seaton Center Sunday afternoon for a basketball tournament with two aims — to win a new ball signed by Julius Randle and the Harrison twins, and to bridge a wide culture gap.

The Chinese International Fraternity Alliance and Chinese Students and Scholars Association hosted the first ever CIFA X CSSA Chinese Basketball Tournament. The organizations organized the three-on-three basketball competition to build relationships within and outside of their community, as well as show off their crossovers.

“Everybody loves basketball,” business junior and CIFA director Bruce Zou said. “That’s how we like making friends. Through sports.”

Zou, a U.S. resident since 2006, and says he understands the effects of culture shock on Chinese students new to America.

“I’ve been here since middle school, but a lot of Chinese students just come here for college,” Zou said. “We want to get everybody exposed to American culture.”

CIFA was founded last year and carries the spirit of Greek social organizations by scheduling events that will draw students out of the dorms to enjoy their culture together and to share their experiences with the entire student body.

Psychology junior and founding member Kenneth Liang remembers the difficulties of being a new face in an unfamiliar world.

“I didn’t have a lot of friends,” Liang said. “[New students from China] don’t have to suffer like I suffered when I first came to America.”

Members of CIFA and CSSA (a national organization of students sponsored by the Chinese embassy) share similar experiences. They said Chinese culture is far more conservative than American culture, and the differences can be jarring.

“Americans think we only, like, study,” media arts junior Jada Wong said. “Our neighbors had a party, and we just walked in, and I say, ‘hi, I’m Jada!’ Then the girls come down to, we assume, laugh and not just drink.”

Traveling abroad, even for a few semesters, can place students outside of their comfort zone, and events like the basketball tournament and an upcoming paintball outing unite Chinese students at UK (the largest community of international students on campus) and creates the social confidence to take advantage of a unique cross-cultural learning experience.

BCTC agricultural economics freshman Weisheng Guo scored 18 points in their championship victory. When asked who should take home the Julius Randle ball, Guo said “Of course me!”