Linsanity, a documentary about the rise and challenges of Asian-American basketball star Jeremy Lin, visited Piedmont as students in economics classes looked to fulfill their speaker series assignment.

Economics teacher Gabrielle Kashani added the assignment to the curriculum to give students a chance to learn outside the classroom.

“It’s an opportunity to expand on activities in Economics,” said Kashani.

Linsanity was one of the options in the speakers series. Kashani said that the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee put on the movie, with shows in the Ellen Driscoll Theater on March 19 and in the New Parkway on March 22.

The Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee has been showing movies about socio-economic issues since 1997 as part of a diversity film series, according to their website. This helps people learn and discover the issues of race, culture, and income inequality around them.

The Piedmont Asian American Club sponsored the showing of Linsanity. Linsanity was the media’s nickname for the craze that swept the nation during Lin’s first several NBA starts.

As the first Asian-American NBA player, the film shows Lin’s struggle to succeed despite the racism he experienced.

Although he was the star of a high school state champion team in Palo Alto, he did not get drafted, and got cut from the Warriors. Lin got his chance with the Knicks and broke records for most points ever for first starts.

“It’s about engaging in the community and exposing Piedmont kids to the outside world,” Kashani said.