A new media platform has sprung up at Temple in response to a growing population of international students who want to voice their thoughts and share their cultures.
WoCrazy is a new student organization and website that uses social media to connect to other international students. Via Facebook and messaging app WeChat, the group constantly updates the latest information about resources, opportunities and events at Temple.
The website has six main channels: inspiration, entertainment, music, cooking, education and information. It allows students to film videos and start shows, like a cooking show that teaches viewers how to cook Chinese food and a monthly interview show called “Yi Ran You Yue,” or “Yi Ran With You,” starring talented international students in Philadelphia.
The team also produces a sitcom dubbed in Chinese and subtitled in English to entertain Temple students. Temple professors are also featured in some of the shows to share their points of view on different topics.
“What we are doing is trying to engage people in school activities, especially for Chinese people as we have the deep self-perception,” said Jie Xu, a sophomore finance major and president of WoCrazy.
Bokun Li, the website’s founder and a media studies and production alumnus, started WoCrazy as his independent study since 2013 after receiving the Lew Klein Excellence in Media Scholarship. He wanted to create an online project for students to work on.
He also realized many international students at Temple were confused about how to get involved, and they needed a platform to know about all the new things happening on campus. Li and his team did small projects like hosting a Free Food and Fun Friday event first to see the potential, prior to registering WoCrazy as a new organization.
As they moved along, the WoCrazy team expanded its mission to include community service. Last semester, the members participated in TU Cares Day, where they prepared meals for people in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
This past summer, the organization started the “WoCrazy Card,” a coupon card accepted at various restaurants in Chinatown if students also show an OWLcard. A full list of restaurants is available at wocrazycard.com.
“This is a good way not only to introduce Chinese culture to students on campus but also to promote ourselves in being more diverse as we have more non-Chinese students to join our organization,” Li said.
Students in the organization get hands-on experience with media by producing, directing and recording video and audio soundtracks.
Xilin Wu, a sophomore media studies and production major who just switched from finance, said WoCrazy is helping her realize a different goal.
“WoCrazy gives me a chance to get to know about media and provides me a stage to blend in with college life,” Wu said. “I have never imagined that I could make a video before, but now I can. I realized that calculating is not for me. What I really want is to go out and capture the beautiful life with a camera.”
Xu said the group is planning to recruit more international and American students who are interested in knowing about Chinese culture, in addition to keeping its nonprofit status.
“People can be motivated not only by profits, but also by passion, dream, friendship and love,” Xu said. “That is what WoCrazy has taught me, and that is the way I always want WoCrazy to be.”
Sylvia Dao can be reached at van.thuy.dao@temple.edu.
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