WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center and LGBTQ Center on Sept. 12 will co-sponsor an evening with Dante Basco, an actor, writer, poet and producer who has appeared in multiple feature films.

Basco is best known for his roles in “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (Prince Zuko), “American Dragon: Jake Long” (Jake Long) and “Hook” (Rufio). He will share experiences from his career in film and television and talk about the importance of diversity in the entertainment industry.

Basco will also highlight his new short film “Bangarang” and perform original spoken word.

The event is free and open to the public and will take place at 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Hiler Theater in Wilmeth Active Learning Center.

In addition, the LGBTQ Center on Monday (Sept. 11) will host a screening of the 1999 film, “But I’m a Cheerleader,” which stars Basco. The screening will take place at 3:30-5:30 p.m. in B066 in Wilmeth Active Learning Center.

“Faculty, staff, and students alike have expressed such fond memories of Dante, particularly from their childhoods and formative years,” said Xavier Hernandez, director of the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center. “One of our center’s objectives is to highlight the diverse offerings of Asian Americans to our current global society. With that in mind, we hope that Dante’s reflections on his lifetime in show business will inspire a new generation of performers from various artistic backgrounds and cultural identities to embrace and channel their talents in order to make their voices heard.”

The Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center provides educational resources for the Purdue community and the Lafayette-West Lafayette community and hosts a number of programs and events to preserve, advance, and connect diversity at Purdue.

The LGBTQ Center provides programming that engages the campus and community with LGBTQ issues through a calendar of events, lecture series, advocacy, training opportunities and more.

Writer: Kelsey Schnieders, kschnied@purdue.edu

Source: Xavier Hernandez, director of AAARCC, xhernand@purdue.edu