Remember when ECAASU first came out with a blurb about this year's theme, and we at The Blaaag were a little "eh" about it, because it sounded too corporate, too similar to the Beijing Olympics in being overly wholesome and pleasant? Well, "Distinct Worlds, One Vision" is now the official theme, and they have really tweaked their mission statement:

Asian culture is strong. It is deeply rooted. It has not waivered for hundreds of thousands of years. There are a multitude of them, each with their own distinguishing characteristics that we should be proud of and embrace. Yes, even though it is our strength, it is also our weakness. We are so focused upon our distinct worlds that we fail to recognize that even within all of these distinguishing characteristics, there is one thing that we have in common.

Major props to whoever thought of making ECAASU "green", which is entirely new for an APA conference, but this mission statement still doesn't scream "forefront of the Asian-American movement" to me. Now that I'm working in a museum and understand corporate jargon over marketing and branding, I'd really love to know how much the sponsors--Coast Guard, McGraw Hill, State Farm, Verizon, KACF, and RUSA--had in crafting these words.

ECAASU, I still remember last year when you talked about the need to change ideas by working from the inside out, which was your reasoning for legitimating a Coast Guard sponsorship, but how much are you (and all APA conferences, which endlessly need money) compromising in the process?

In the end, readers, I still want you to go to ECAASU, because it's pretty fking important to immerse yourself and grab some awareness. Late registration ends on the 13th (a whopping $65). Go to the website and do something.