Minneapolis, May 25, 2008 (9:12 PM CDT): As you may have already known, a tornado hit parts of Minnesota on the early evening of May 25. The tornado reportedly hit cities such as Hugo, Coon Rapids, Blain, and Lino Lakes, which are close to Minneapolis, damaging dozens of homes and killed a 2-year-old child.

Because the location of the tornado hit was not in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area, it is very unlikely that Thai students and scholars are affected. We are keeping in touch with our members and continue to monitor the news. If there is any update relevant to Thai students and scholars, the information will be posted here.

We offer our sincere condolences to those affected by the storm.

For more information, please contact ThaiSA President (Nawanan) at thaisa@umn.edu or 612-481-0310.

Minneapolis, April 1, 2008: The Thai Student Association at the University of Minnesota (ThaiSA) today announced that, as of March 23, 2008, it has officially changed its name to the Thai Student Association of Minnesota. This name change occurs as part of the association's transformative effort to reposition and restructure itself in order to better execute its missions and support its members. Initiatives that are part of this effort include the name change, the revision of its mission statement, the rewriting of its Constitution, and the founding of a Thai Student Associations Network (ThaiSAN) as a network of collaboration among Thai student associations across the U.S.

The name change is intended as a symbolic initiative to better represent ThaiSA's member community, which consists of not only University of Minnesota students, but also Thai students from other academic institutions in Minnesota such as Macalester College, University of St. Thomas, and Minnesota State University.

"For many years, we have embraced students from outside the University of Minnesota community. They have equally contributed and participated in our events and they are a vital part of our community," said ThaiSA's President, Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt. "Although it is nothing but a name, this name change will signal that we will continue to embrace and welcome them. We all are Thai students, and ThaiSA belongs to all of us!"

Read the press release here.