What is Thai Smakom?

In Short
Thai Smakom is a group of students comprised with the effort to promote and preserve Thai culture and create awareness of issues that face Thai-Americans and Thais in the community. We seek to spread the Thai culture, help the Thai community, and of course, HAVE FUN!

History
In 1980, eight Thai students came together in recognition of the need to form a group specifically for Thais and Thai-Americans. They saw that the academic and social needs of Thais differed from the needs of other groups, including Asians and even Southeast Asians. After twenty-four years, Thai Smakom has grown from these eight Thai students into an organization of approximately two hundred members, with well over half actively involved, representing the three to four hundred Thai students currently on campus. Thai Smakom, which means “Thai Community,” is exactly that. Its purpose is multi-faceted, providing educational, social, and cultural resources to its members; the Thai community in America, as well as in Thailand; the greater Asian American community; and the UCLA community as a whole. As a cultural club, our aim is promoting diversity while preserving Thai culture and heritage by educating our community with a variety of programs and outreach projects that have grown due to the commitment of our members. Our ongoing projects consist of the Wat Thai Tutorial, New Wave – a program providing college students with the opportunity to give back to their community, TAYPA Mentorship Program, Intercollegiate Thai Student Association (ITSA), and many co-programmed projects with other organizations on and off campus, such as Asian Pacific Coalition. Establishing a presence on the UCLA campus and within the community will provide Thai students with service opportunities and a unified voice that was greatly lacking in the past.

Purpose and Objective
TO EDUCATE the Thai-American and UCLA community about the richness of Thai culture and of what Thai people can offer through providing a variety of cultural events and activities, such as our annual Cultural Night.
TO PROMOTE unity with organizations on the UCLA campus and off to highlight the diversity that exists in America today; to be accomplished through co-programming and networking events. Examples of these organizations include: the Intercollegiate Thai Student Association (ITSA), Southeast Asian Campus Learning Education and Retention (SEACLEAR), and the Asian Pacific Coalition (APC).
TO PROVIDE the opportunity for our members to give back through service programs within the community. Through this service, we will be able to foster relations between UCLA and the rest of the Thai community. Examples of these programs include: College Day and our Wat Thai Tutorial Program.
TO PROVIDE Thai and Thai-American students with a supportive atmosphere to form life-long relationships and serve as a forum for discussing campus and community concerns.
Thai Smakom serves as a bridge between Thai culture and the rest of the Thai and UCLA community. It is our goal not only to learn more about Thai culture ourselves, but also to share this unique experience with anyone who is willing. Thai Smakom strives to provide a friendly and inviting environment in which anyone, regardless of background, may enrich their lives and experiences with the exposure to the Thai/Thai American experience. Our goal is to provide a resource for the community outside UCLA, within UCLA, and among its members. By giving back to the outside community through such programs as Wat Thai Tutorial, we are able to establish a close ongoing relationship that benefits UCLA, Thai Smakom, and the greater community. By promoting relationships with other on-campus organizations such as SEACLEAR, APC, and SEAC through co-programming, we are able to promote both unity and diversity between UCLA campus organizations. Working with ITSA allows UCLA Thai Smakom to bridge relations with other intercollegiate organizations such as USC, UCI, and various California State Universities. Finally, by providing academic and personal support to our members, we hope to ensure their success as students of UCLA