theBlaaag

theBlaaag: Now on Tumblr

2011-04-19T01:42:00.000-04:00

In keeping up with the latest and hippest technology, theblaaag has now moved onto Tumblr! Connect to the link below to keep up to date with theBlaaag!!

http://theblaaag.tumblr.com/

Cheers!

Asian-Americans in Asia

2011-03-26T22:49:00.003-04:00

This entry was not prompted by this 8asian.com article.

----

Hello BlAAAg,

I’m Belle, former (current?) co-Event Adviser of AAA, throwing random entries onto BlAAAG, currently at University of Hong Kong (following in the footsteps of our former Event Adviser, Annie). I may be making snarky remarks as an Asian American expat in Hong Kong, but first, this entire time has been really confusing, and I’m having the identity crisis that never really hit me during puberty.

On face value (prima facie!), Hong Kong seems to have two groups of people: expats and locals. Expats may be seen as ranging from non-Chinese people who were born in Hong Kong to migrant domestic workers and i-bankers to international students at university for the semester. Locals are generally seen (not defined) as Chinese people in Hong Kong; I make this “not defined” caveat because now knowing more about Hong Kong, it is very clear that HK identity is as muddled as the American identity. How do those non-Chinese who grew up in Hong Kong see their own identities? Are Mainlanders who migrate/immigrate to HK Hongkongers? If not, can they claim the identity? How long must they live in HK before becoming Hongkongers? Are Mainlanders whose parents’ permanent residency in HK grants them HK permanent residency make them Hongkongers? What I am having the hardest time grasping is where do I fit into all of this: What about HK-Chinese-Americans/British/Canadians/etc.?

I’m technically an expat. I’ve been an American all my life. I’ve never been to China or Hong Kong before studying here (it is my first time out of the U.S. and it slightly disappoints me that I can’t use my “never been there, can’t go back” line anymore). My English is far superior to my Cantonese, and my written Chinese and Pǔtōnghuà skills are basically non-existent. Honestly, with the minimal language training I’ve had, the only reason why I’m surviving in Hong Kong is the English language the Brits left behind. But no matter how American I may be (whatever “American” means), hardly anyone will believe I’m not an HKer at first glance. Sure, the second I open my mouth and my terribly accented (I’ve been told) Cantonese comes out, the cashier may know I’m a foreigner, but without that badge, they don’t believe my expat-ness. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not proud of my terrible Cantonese - I wish I spoke the language flawlessly, but my Cantonese has turned into a symbol of my foreigner identity here.

I feel that I am walking in the gray space between the expat world and local world. Let me explain. I believe that on an individual level, someone like me, Asian on the outside and (Asian-)American on the inside, would have no problem traveling in the expat world and local world: I can enjoy Soho (expat capital) as much as Shatin or Wan Chai. But what gray space I am speaking of is how society views me, how other people view me and accept me into their world. It seems like I will never be able to fully assimilate into the expat world, as I have an Asian face, but I would never be accepted into the local culture either because I have a foreign concept of the world with a language deficiency to boot. The constant microaggressions come from both sides: the looks that ask: why is this Chinese girl pretending she fits in with us or pretending she’s an expat, how come she can’t speak Chinese even though she is Chinese, how come she can speak Cantonese even though she’s American, why does she choose to speak English? With these preconceived notions, it seems that I can’t exactly fit into one or the other groups. If I am not welcome in either group, I am not sure where I am supposed to fit in.

I’m not sure what conclusions I wanted to draw from this reflection. After all, my exploration or aimlessly wandering in this gray space is nothing compared to the everyday and institutional discrimination non-Chinese people face, especially the discrimination endured by Filipina, Thai, Indonesian domestic workers. I do not know if other East Asian Americans are facing the same microaggressions or have the same thoughts. I guess what I’m wondering is where am I supposed to fit in? Must I prove to everyone in that group (if it’s not the gray area) every time of why I identify with them? But why should I have to? How do I avoid the hostility (from both sides)? Or maybe, do I have the best of both worlds: the mobility to move around, the privilege of acting as an in between, etc.?

P.S. Fun Facts

Fun Fact 1: In the 1800s, free-state California used Hong Kong as an example of why Chinese immigration should be limited. During that time, Hong Kong Chinese still employed muitsais (young girls bought by wealthy families to first, serve the family, and then usually, becoming a concubine to a son of the family). California implored that if the British could not stop Chinese people from owning slaves, how will California limit slavery when the Chinese immigrate with their muitsais?

Fun Fact 2: Some American universities (but not Columbia) warn their students not to participate in or observe Hong Kong protests, due to possible future ramifications. Never mind the fact Hong Kong Basic Law (mini-constitution) grants the right to protest Hong Kong affairs, and most protests in Hong Kong are state-sanctioned (all protests must have a permit from the government in order to proceed).

Fun Fact 3: Hong Kong, along with Mainland, participated in an Anti-American boycott in the 1905 to protest the unfair treatment of a Chinese immigrant in Massachusetts. After immigration officials raided a home of many immigrants, they arrested a man who was living in the U.S. legally without allowing him to show them his proper paperwork. He was later deported due to this incident. The man’s suicide in front of the American consulate in Shanghai sparked the protest.

Tags: firstworldproblems, firstworldguilt

Who the &%#$ knows about Asian American issues?

2011-03-05T00:39:00.001-05:00

I've been reflecting on my time here at Columbia, thinking about the existence of Asian American ideas and activism on this campus, and the effectiveness of the Columbia University Asian American Alliance as a whole. Do we base effectiveness on awareness, education, community service, activism, how many people show up to our events, getting a large membership? It's always easy to say an organization doesn't do enough, but it's also so easy to say that an organization can only do so much with the resources it has. Many AAA members are doing wonderful things, including picketing at Saigon Grill against sweatshop labor and exploitation, creating Asian American sexuality workshops, and creating teach-ins on Asian American Studies.

But the fact is that people just don't know about Asian American issues.

Part of it is that people are unclear about the term. As we broached in our last general meeting, "What the !%$@ is an Asian American?", the mere identity "Asian American" can span from descendants of peoples as far 'east' as the Middle East and as far 'west' as Hawaii. This is part of why Asian Americans in general have not really mobilized in recent years: there are so many groups defined under the umbrella term. Asian Americans are much more diverse, making the political term less effective than terms like "Black," which has a stronger historical context and shared experience in America.

One could say that Asian Americans have done plenty well here in the United States, that there aren't many negative stereotypes about Asians (good at math? yay!), that Asians have become a very much accepted race in the United States. There are plenty of health disparities, especially in Hepatitis B cases (who knew those were even a problem with this in the United States?) and cervical cancer rates. Asian American women 15-24 lead in the highest suicide rate among all ethnic groups, and APAs are more likely to commit suicide than the "average American." But who the hell knows about these issues? Yes, there are many students out there who know about the transcontinental railroad, Japanese (and Chinese, and anyone who looked Japanese) internment, but less know about the colonization of Asian lands through U.S. imperialism and the fetishization that has resulted, the enslavement of Asian peoples as coolies all over the world, etc. etc.

These issues seem so far removed from our contemporary reality as Asian Americans. Fact is, when many of us are seen as a 'model minority' it may seem like we don't have issues. That, to say the least, has been extremely frustrating to face, both at Columbia and in general.

I know I, for one, was only brought into Asian American issues because of a hate crime my family was connected to. I want to share with y'all a piece of an email I sent to a (great!) Asian American and Ethnic Studies professor, Gary Okihiro, who's helped a lot as I conceptualize Asian American issues (I was fortunate enough to take his class before I sent him this: take an Asian American Studies class, y'all!):

So when I was six, my mother told me that a relative of mine was really famous somewhere and that he had died. I had no idea who this man was, and casting off my mother as sensationalist, I proceeded to eat my dinner. Later, when I was twelve or thirteen, I was watching a PBS documentary about the Chinese in America, and a moment came on when the doc. started mentioning a pan-Asian movement that begun in the eighties, and I felt empowered. The screen kept plastering a picture of a man who had been killed and where this movement started. My mother came into the room, proceeded to point at the screen, and told me, "Yeah, you're related to him." I found out that man was Vincent Chin. Lily Chin was my maternal grandmother's sister, making Vincent Chin my mother's adopted cousin. [...] I've been struck by how little my family speaks about him; I think the whole family has just tried to put that past behind us and move on, and I think there's some sadness that the case never really went anywhere.

I've always been sad but proud to say I'm related to a man who, as a martyr, started a pan-Asian American movement that hasn't been matched since the 1980s. But at the same time, I wish I didn't have to be related to a martyr in order to be interested in these issues. Indeed, the documentary Vincent Who? shows just how little our young generation knows about Vincent Chin-or, really, many general Asian American issues. These things still exist: just look at cases of Asian deliverymen being killed, the 2008 assaults on Columbia students, of whom five were Asian, and all the people who are discriminated against after 9/11 for looking un-American or terrorists. Don't get me started on the perpetual foreigner myth.

As I leave Columbia this year, I can't help but think that many people are stuck in complacency. I feel like so little know what Asian American issues are out there. People can hold up other causes, of course, but so little is mentioned about Asian American issues.

All of this information and experience I've gathered stirs anger in me. I know I'm not the only one who's had kids pull their eyes back at me or random streetwalkers say "ching chong cheeeee" to me on the streets. It is with this anger that I teach first-grade students how to navigate this biased and racist world. It fuels me. Does it fuel others? I hope so. There's too much in this world to be angry about, and we have to turn that into something. For now, we have to show people that these issues actually matter. I don't want to be preaching to the choir all my life, now.

Our Men and Women in Uniform

2011-02-25T16:49:00.002-05:00

Last weekend (February 18th to 20th), I attended the 2011 ECAASU at UMass-Amherst, and while I met some wonderful new friends, the underlying messages that I took away from those two days were conflicting. As many of you might have heard, ECAASU has been taking large sponsorships from the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, CIA, and TSA. While, understandably, a conference as large as this needs this level of funding to function, the way in which the conference was ultimately carried out bothered me.

Grassroots organizations that were born out of oppression have been historically known to disregard military sponsorship in the name of ideology (citation needed but I do not have). And the history of ECAASU, as relayed by the poignant speech made by Professor Vijay Prashad, is embedded in minority empowerment and suck it to the big man attitude (citation also needed that I do not have). An organization such as this should not be accepting money from an oppressive institution such as that of the American military that ignite wars around the world. But, perhaps, as argued by many, it is time we allow military involvement, for inclusion of the brave men and women who fought so that we can have this discussion in the first place. Inclusion, as stated by the ECAASU national board, is what ECAASU strives to achieve.

Inclusion is a valid point, and I am far from wanting to exclude the participation of the Asian American brothers and sisters who serve in the military to protect the freedom and democracy that we take for granted. However, the argument here is not about the individual military personnels, but the ideological conflicts between the oppressive military and a grassroots campaign born because we were just so fed up with oppression.

I agree that the military establishes our place in our current global society. Without the military, we as Americans would not be enjoying the privileges that we so take for granted. I do not want to antagonize the brave men and women who risk their lives daily so that I can be blogging right now. I understand why such a large chunk (perhaps way too large of a chunk) of our national budget should go to the military. (Though, if I might add, the military really needs to stop throwing money away at dictators and political conflicts we have no right to partake in.) The military is as far from perfect as our society is from equality, but as things are today, I appreciate our leverage, I appreciate that we can have these conversations and discussions and accusations against our military.

However, there is a right time and right place for everything. A weekend that was suppose to be about Asian American empowerment, fight against oppression, and the progression of the AA movement, became a recruitement camp for the Navy and Coast Guard. A ceremony that was suppose to teach young Asian Americans about how they can become leaders in their own right, how they can help to mobilize the movement, became about how as a Coast Guard, you will have amazing stories to tell your grandchildren. Perhaps that was not the intended result the ECAASU planning board had wanted, but that does not change how that weekend played out.

I want to conclude by thanking our men and women in uniform for their dedication and sacrifice. They are our heroes, no matter how we look at it. As the older sister of a teenager brother who wanted to join the Marines because he believed it was a great way of paying for college, I want to save the discussion of the relationship between the military and American minorities for a later time. For now, I am glad we are now having serious discussions about corporate/military sponsorships.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

2011-02-03T19:58:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for stopping by! Wishing you all a great new RABBIT year!

MY Chinese Parents

2011-01-10T23:24:00.002-05:00

Recently, a WSJ article titled “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” by Amy Chua, has stirred discussions across forums and social websites. (On my facebook page alone, I saw several arguments brewing.) It was skewed, insane, and yet authoritative. Here there was this highly successful woman, an Ivy League graduate, and a professional, who is giving her account of how she, this authentic Chinese mother, understands how to produce successful children using her “superior ways”. She had data: “In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that ‘stressing academic success is not good for children’ or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.’ By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way,” she has results (read: her talented daughters), and she was willing to share. But she made me feel uncomfortable with her generalizing statements and manipulative techniques (predominantly because WSJ is making it sound like it’s coming from this authoritative Law professor, hey she must totally know what she’s talking about). While trying to read through her article, I wanted to jump in and help her daughter Lulu, and I thought of how insane she makes all Chinese mothers sound. However, Amy Chua did make me reflect upon my own upbringing, (as if I haven’t done that enough already after going through medical school applications), and how I was raised.

I come from a low-income immigrant family. My mother worked in a sweat-shop for most of her early years in the U.S, and my father was in construction. They worked long hours everyday, 364 days a year (one day rest for the Lunar New Year, I guess), and every single penny of their hard earned wage disappears at the end of the month. So typical was my story of being that eldest daughter, filial and hard working, who took care of her younger brother, took care of family finances, immigration issues, and eventually went on to attend a prestigious school to discover the cure for AIDS, all because of my Chinese mother who pushed me…WAIT, what?! No. That didn’t happen, and while I do take credit for writing checks for our monthly bills and translating our immigration papers, I didn’t make it to Harvard, I didn’t discover a cure for AIDS, I am not hardworking (well okay, I am hardworking when I’m not indulging in kdramas, sleeping, or staring at some blank space), and my mother hardly had the time to sit down with me to work through thousand page SAT drills. But I didn’t turn out a complete failure, did I? According to the model minority standards, I might have. (Darn it Mother, why didn’t you beat more math into me?)

Too often, was I rejected from scholarships because I didn’t work with a Nobel Prize winner in some stem cell research (but I should’ve because I am that brilliant Chinese immigrant). Too often, was I not featured on the front page of the Tsing Dao Times (the popular Chinese newspaper) for not winning a full ride to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or MIT because I fought against all odds and succeeded with my innate brilliance. And quite frequently as a teenager, I hated my mother for not being THAT Chinese mother. She was un-educated, and her feet always hurt. She didn’t understand how to read my report cards, and she never attended any PTA meetings. She was too unChinese, and I once blamed her for my inability to compete against kids who had parents driving them to violin practices, to expensive tutoring, and to whatever else they didn’t drive me to. They held me back. I had a strict 5pm curfew in High School, and oftentimes couldn’t attend late night band practice, golf tournaments, and school plays. Sleepovers were out of the question, and video games too, but that was because my dad couldn’t trust anyone and we couldn’t afford video games. And I really did believe this while growing up. No matter where I was in life, I felt I wasn’t good enough, and not because of pressure from my family, but pressure from American society. I couldn’t ever feel happy with where I was, because I felt I could have done better, because I’m supposed to.

While I was going through the medical school application process, I felt so insecure about the brevity of my resume. I felt so self-conscious about the leadership positions that were expected of me. I wasn’t president of all 300+ clubs at Columbia University, and goddamn it, I don’t play an instrument to the level of some Julliard graduate. (Because if Chua’s 7 year old daughter can play the violin, so should I right? Especially since my mother was straight from the mainland.) My GPA was okay, but why couldn’t I achieve that 4.3 (because Columbia/Barnard offered A+’s). My MCAT score was okay, but definitely far from the perfect 45. I have failed at being “Chinese.” I couldn’t compete, and while I do make fun of it here, I feel these have become real expectations of us.

Amy Chua’s article perpetuates this Model Minority that I so hate. Her “authority” instills in the minds of those unfamiliar with “Chinese Mothering” ideas that we (those we were raised by Chinese mother—first generation immigrants) should all be beyond amazing. (AND why is the entire process of nurturing a child called “mothering,” where’s the damn “father” word, ugh, I must go talk to Beck Young about this.)

But I ask: when is it my time to shine? This amateur flutist, this bad singer-song writer, and this perhaps a bit above mediocre think-tank? Like I was telling my friend Hadley when we were dinner-ing the other night, I feel content with where I am, and I think that’s okay. I love my parents for who they are and how they have given me space to create my own self ("own self"... sounds redundant, is that grammatical edible?). We are not all amazing, and I think that’s just OKAY. And lady (Amy Chua), if you want to be a psycho mom, do so, but don’t instill in society ideas of where we come from and what we must do.

[23:11] Ai-Lin: damn; why didn't i have a mother like amy chua
[23:12] Michael Dea: omg....seriously
[23:12] Michael Dea: you would have been in harvard
[23:12] Michael Dea: or yale
[23:13] Ai-Lin : but seriously, her article perpetuates a societal stereotype
[23:14] Ai-Lin : dude; all them white ppl gonna think we're all smart
[23:14] Ai-Lin : and it makes it harder for me to get into med school
[23:14] Ai-Lin : cause they expect me to play violin like that woman's daughter
[23:14] Michael Dea: that is true lol

Microaggressions, a new project by two former Blaaagers

2010-12-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

Hey all! This is former co-editor David back from the dead.

This week, I started the Microaggressions tumblr with former Blaaager Vivian. We originally wanted to collect the little incidents and anecdotes in our lives that make our Asian American and intersected experiences marginalized. Then we had the idea to put it up on tumblr and collect submissions.

An email and a Twitter account later, this was born. We've had shoutouts on Jezebel and Racialicious. And now, our very own Asian American Alliance blog.

Please send it to your friends and loved ones! Submit posts you have encountered yourself!

Statement of Solidarity with Steve Li

2010-11-24T21:55:00.001-05:00

Who is Steve Li?

Steve Li is currently being detained in Arizona for immediate deportation. On September 15, 2010, ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) raided Steve’s home and arrested his family. Steve is ethnically Chinese but was born in Peru and was brought to the United States when he was just 11 years old. Steve was not even aware of his immigration situation until the raid. Now he has been detained for over a month and is set for deportation to Peru any day now. He has no family or friends in Peru and would be homeless upon arrival. He is a warm and loving person and all he wants to do is finish school at the City College of San Francisco and pursue nursing. He qualifies as a DREAM Act student.

For more information, read this article.

What can you do to help Steve?

Sign the petition!

Call: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director, John Morton
ICE Office: (202) 282-8495, if voicemail box full, call live line (202) 732-3000Script: “Hi, I’m calling to leave a message of support for Shing Ma “Steve” Li A#076-143-010 who is scheduled to be deported on Monday. Steve is pursuing a degree in nursing and he is an asset to our community. I ask that John Morton please step in and defer his deportation, thank you.”

Statement of Solidarity with Steve Li

We, the concerned members of UC Berkeley’s Asian American student community, condemn the isolation, detention and potential deportation of City College of San Francisco student Steve Li and urge elected officials to amend this injustice.On September 15, 2010, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials apprehended Steve Li, a 20 year-old nursing student at City College. Li, who was born in Peru, is currently being held alone in Arizona and awaiting deportation to his birth country. His parents were since released and are awaiting potential deportation to China; however, ICE officials have neglected to explicate why Li was separated from his family. Li’s story is simply one of the expected 400,000 deportations that will be occurring this fiscal year, almost 10 percent over the Bush administration’s 2008 total.

While it is legally correct that the Li family broke the law in illicitly staying in San Francisco, their story illustrates that the law itself is inherently broken. Until his arrest, Li was unaware of his illegal status and simply attempting to live the tale of hard work and perseverance indoctrinated into every American. Li’s family did in fact previously attempt to gain documentation, but their petition for political asylum was denied in 2003 and in 2004. This case is a testament to the fractured immigration system that, on a quotidian basis, deals out inhumane treatment to a racialized underclass–including the prized “model minority” of stratified American society.
As Asian Americans and students at Berkeley, however, we do not aim to advocate for Li because he is a disempowered individual. Our outrage is predicated by the fact that Li is a student just like us and could have been anyone in our communities. According to a report by the University of California Office of the President, Asian/Pacific Islander students constitute 40-44% of undocumented students in the UC system. For obvious reasons, undocumented students of any race typically do not put their illegal statuses up for exhibition. Though we may not know who among our friends and classmates are next, we do know that unjust institutional factors constantly threaten members of our community whose struggles are most invisible.
It is imperative to recognize that Li’s case is not a historical juggernaut for our community. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act barred the immigration of Chinese nationals to the U.S., emerging as the first conspicuously racist exclusive immigration law in this nation’s history. The California Alien Land Act of 1913 prohibited Asians already in the country (referred to as “aliens ineligible for citizenship”) from owning property. Given that the first anti-immigrant laws targeted Asian Americans over a century ago and that we are about to deport an Asian American for a crime he didn’t even realize he committed, it is blatantly incorrect to say that we have learned from our past and that our history of facing discrimination is over. It is for this reason that we denounce the detention of Steve Li and urge elected officials to stand up against it, for our communities, and for our future.
Signed,
[APAC] Asian Pacific American Coalition
ucbapac@gmail.com
[hb] hardboiled asian/pacific american newsmagazine
hardboiled.berkeley.edu
[PASS] Pilipino Academic Student Services
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~pass/
[REACH!] Asian/Pacific Islander Recruitment/Retention Center
http://reach.berkeley.edu/
[SASC] Southeast Asian Student Coalition
sasc.berkeley.edu

and in solidarity,
Columbia University Asian American Alliance
www.aaacolumbia.org

Why Columbia’s AAA is standing in solidarity with UC Berkeley Asian American student groups?

This is simply because UC Berkeley responded a bit urgently than Columbia AAA did and it is necessary that this statement is released as soon as possible. Columbia AAA is also currently in the process of writing a statement in hopes to have other student groups on campus and on the East Coast to sign on it.

(Compiled and edited by Belle Yan)

Reaction Post

2010-10-05T03:02:00.004-04:00

Not that you should ever read Bwog comments, since they are as informative and placating as SFGate comments, but here is one on the Town Hall on Barnard's recognition of sororities:

Anonymous

Two arguments:

1)
Clearly, IGC shouldn’t get money or be allowed to distribute money for members of sororities who are Barnard students and do not pay the appropriate fees.

If this means that sororities stop allowing Barnard students, so be it.
If this means Barnard starts charging students more for the fund, so be it.

2)
As a male CC student, I would only be okay with my money funding Barnard girls if I had received my quota of drunk Barnard-sorority sister sex. But I haven’t. So see above.

Anonymous
Sad, Sad, Sad Asian

Without passing judgment on the first comment, sarcasm or not, why must every guy who cannot get a girl be Asian? It was unprovoked, there was no conversation about race on the whole page, it's simply a comment that came out of nowhere.

Uh. WTF?

Failed Dream? And a Rally for Sanity

2010-09-30T01:24:00.000-04:00

September has failed to pass the Dream Act in Congress. The Dream Act is legislation that would have enabled children who were brought to the United States by their illegal parents to gain a path to citizenship if they entered college or the military after high school. Many of these children have grown up accustomed to calling the U.S their home. It just doesn't make any sense to deport 'Americans' out to a country foreign to them, losing valuable contributing citizens of our society. As an immigrant myself, I am disappointed at the turn out of this long awaited legislation.

Why is there such a bitter anti-immigrant sentiment amongst our legislative sectors? Have we forgotten that even the Forefathers that carved the backbones of the American Constitution were descendants of immigrants? Have we forgotten that outside of the rightful Native Americans that are wrongfully quarantined in reservations we are all descendants of immigrants? Immigrants work backbreaking hours day in and day out, tending to crop fields, cleaning your toilets, working in unruly conditions for meager wages, at jobs Americans find dirty and degrading. How are they taking YOUR jobs.

Has America gone insane?

Where have we been?

2010-08-20T14:54:00.001-04:00

Dear reader(s),

I hope your summers have been well. Amidst the sunshines, Moscow heat waves, and flood in

Pakistan

, I want to thank you again for tuning in with us here at theblaaag. So the question still remains, 'Where are our editors?' As the previous update mentioned, David and Marilla were seniors the last time this editor's corner was updated. And one-plus year later, the two founders have graduated from the Columbia undergraduate community and are probably doing something to better the world. A few months ago, both submitted Blaaag Senior Wisdom pieces, which I hope you will be interested in reading. (Marilla's, David's). As your new moderators, Annie and I hope to keep the site updated while still maintaining the original styles and formatting our previous editors created. Please check out our new staff page and see who's posting today!

Stay tuned.

Ai-Lin

Link Roundup

2010-07-28T19:33:00.002-04:00

Judge Blocks Parts of Arizona's Immigration Law (NY Times)
The big news of the day. Any celebrating is of course, a bit premature - what is horrible about SB 1070 is not just its content but that it merely formalizes a lot of practices and anti-immigrant, anti-Latino/a sentiment that has been ongoing and will continue for quite some time.

Afghan War Diary, 2004 - 2010 (WikiLeaks)
An overwhelming amount of classified information relating to the current war in Afghanistan. The New York Times, The Guardian, and Der Spiegel all have their own features analyzing the leak. If you are generally terribly pessimistic about US military operations there won't be a whole lot to surprise you but it's still a fascinating read. Just as fascinating is WikiLeaks as an organization itself - the New Yorker has an excellent profile on its founder Julian Assange. This is also a good companion to the domestically focused Top Secret America feature over at the Washington Post from last week.

Essence Hires White Fashion Director, Leaves Loyal Readers Asking Why (Clutch Magazine)
I don't have much to add, other than that it's depressing that I should even have to say that the idea of a "post-racial" America is ridiculous, but here we are again.

Court's Leniency Ruling Is Too Late for Deportees (NY Times)
Given AAA's involvement with the Qing Wu case (big what up to Annie and Belle!) this article sounds pretty familiar. This quote struck me in particular though - "the Obama administration...is on track to deport a record 400,000 people this fiscal year."

Beating that Dead Horse: On Media Representation

2010-07-23T17:23:00.006-04:00

There's been a lot of things to get angry, upset, and disturbed by recently (actually, always), but I figured I'd ease into blogging with a slightly more accessible topic.

APA media representation increasingly seems to be the defining cause for mainstream, neoliberal APA youth activism; a development that I'm not exactly thrilled by. Yes, yes, the whitewashing of The Last Airbender is frustrating, but when the battle lines are drawn this narrowly it becomes easy to slip into highly problematic positive/negative, good/bad image binaries that tend to exclude just as much as they include. It causes victories to be as narrowly defined as the kid in Up and the latest role John Cho is cast in. There's a lot more to be said about this, but I'll save that for a more lengthy, theoretical post later on.

Despite all of my serious misgivings with media representation politics, I still can't help but smile at this quote from a recent post by Atlantic blogger and Vassar professor Hua Hsu on basketball player Jeremy Lin and the upcoming reality show K-Town:

As someone who grew up seeing very few Asian Americans on television, I still find myself mystified, even thrilled, whenever I come across one, even if my views on media representation have softened. There's something irrationally and inexplicably bemusing about these moments.

I really couldn't put it more perfectly. Sometimes it's easy for me to forget that when I was a Chinese kid growing up in an overwhelmingly white, Midwestern suburb, I was the yellow Power Ranger for Halloween (seriously) and Shelby Woo, not Nancy Drew, was my hero. And it's easy for me to gloss over my brief but strange obsession with the children's show Ni Hao Kai-Lan, where I'd camp out on the couch, utterly fascinated that there was someone on Nick Jr. speaking Mandarin and eating noodles. Of course, this isn't to say that my viewing practices are in spite of politics or separate from them (the show isn't so much targeted at APA children as it is a response to the increasing "utility" of Mandarin proficiency, Kai-Lan lives with her stoic yeye because...obviously), but that the combination makes for a surreal, complicated, and yet highly enthralling experience.

All of this is to say - I am so fucking excited for K-Town.

Asians against Asians in America

2010-07-06T13:11:00.000-04:00

I was at the bank today when a woman barged through the doors wailing. Be it that I live in a Chinese bubble, everyone in the bank, the tellers, managers, customers, were all Chinese [American]. The woman had apparently withdrawn 2300 dollars in cash from Chase bank and wanted to transfer it to another bank. She left the vicinity and returned thereafter because the teller at the other bank claimed that the bills in her hands were counterfeit. The woman was frantic and threatening the teller at Chase that she'd call the police. The teller, oblivious to the woman in front of her, continued with her work and pointed her towards the manager. The customers on the line, including myself, were shaken. How can a big brand name bank give out fake bills? The woman approached the bank manager, and was ignored. The manager continued with her phone call and did not move from her seat even after she had hung up, completely ignoring the woman waiting in front of her desk. The woman began to scream, yelling injustices in two Chinese dialects. Go ahead, call the cops, the manager said, not once raising her voice.

I was appalled and stared at the scenario before leaving the bank. I forget sometimes how different things function in Brooklyn, compared to the comfortable Upper West Side (Manhattan) services that I've grown to spoil myself with while away at school. I obviously do not know the whole story, and my portrayal of the events may or may not have been accurate, but it reminds me of how differently we treat one another because of our shared heritage, or lack thereof. In this case, it seems in my neighborhood at least, Asians treat "Americans" much more respectfully than their fellow Asians. In restaurants, banks, bookstores, and all kinds of shops, I've witness the odd tendencies and injustices that Asians commit against one another. The bank manager knew the customer could not speak English, and regardless of her incessant threats that she'll dial 911, we all know the woman would not have been able to communicate her woes to the operator. The manager was right that nothing can be done about the bills. The woman had left the bank and no one knew if she could have swapped the fifties before returning. However, the complete lack of professionalism the manager displayed makes my head drop in agony. Had this woman been an "American," would the manager have acted differently? Had this woman known English, would the manager at least have the decency to glance at the complaint. Why is it that when Asian Americans provide service to fellow Asian(s) [Americans], we observe such a discrepancy? Why do we kiss-ass whites while downplaying others?

I've always hated it when people tell me that Asian Americans lack the unity that is necessary for a movement. I resented it because a part of me knew it was true. Behind the model minority myths, and the stereotypes, we're so torn between those [Asian Americans] who believe that we can rise in American society as we are now, and others who realize that we need the political empowerment to justify our existence as just Americans. While we do boast high percentages of our population in professional careers, (e.g, doctors, lawyers, etc), I feel we are a long way from social progress in that sense. While many professionals acknowledge, embrace, and attributes parts of their success their backgrounds, many do not.

Recently, I've also become quite angry about the 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' casting issue. Many have called us racists for opposing an all white cast when the producers and the director have stated repeatedly that they only picked the best persons for the job. However, they fail to see the real issue. There are so many talented Asian American actors out there, and rarely do we see an opportunity open up for them on the big screen. Most of the scripts written in Hollywood do not call for an Asian lead, but I feel Avatar had that potential. The discussion then becomes an argument over whether the main protagonist of the series was indeed Asian. Many feel because of the ambiguity of anime, the characters can be anything. Well then, my argument still holds. Never can an ethnic minority play a white man's role, so when an ambiguous role comes along, why won't you give the Asian man a chance?

Well in the end, the movie was a flop and I'm quite tired from bickering with people on these forums. Why are we targeting a single movie? Why do we not put more Asian Americans in power in the movie industry to increase our own representation?... But as it turns out, Asian Americans hold a good number of seats in the industry.

Quoting from Hollywood and Asians: Do we really need more Asian Americans In Positions of Power?:
"We're our own worst enemies....We're taught to assimilate, to not make waves, to be followers. Maybe once we're allowed into that exclusive club, we wait to fit in so badly that we don't want to give the impression that we're favoring "our own," sometimes to the point of going in the opposite direction and making an effort to reject our community."

Maybe I'm going too far with this, but it does set up for quite a bit of discussion.

GOP's Bright New Idea-- Americas Speaking Out

2010-05-27T23:35:00.002-04:00

Oh, the Grand Old Party. They have provided me with so many great hours of pure entertainment. Recently, they have launched a new site titled 'America's Speaking Out' intended to 'connect' the public with congress so that the national law makers can understand what America truly wants. Obviously, the republicans have no concept of internet trolls and forum gunners. The website has been getting tens of thousands of views within hours, showing us that America is definitely speaking out. So what do Americans really want?

1. "Sometimes when I get to the bottom of the yogurt cup, the shape makes it harder to get the last bites. I tried using both a spoon and a fork, with some luck. I think Yoplait should redesign their package so it's easier to get to the bottom of the yogurt."

2. “We should make english the official language of the US and stop spending tax dollars on translations for mexicans! if english is good enough for baby jesus, its good enough for Americans”

3. "Make iPhones available through Verizon! AT&T has fairly poor service and coverage, and a lot of Americans would love to own an iPhone but would not sign up with AT&T."

4. “eliminating minimum wage laws will allow companies to hire many more Americans for just a fraction of the price. If Mexicans can work for 2$ an hour, so can we.”

5. “I'm so sick of evolutionists peddling their anti christ agenda. Leading Christian scientists have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the Jews buried the dinosaur fossils back in the 1920s.”

LOL!!

And now, without further ado, I would like to share with you all a website presented to us by the GOP. ENJOY!!

http://www.americaspeakingout.com

Happy Summer!

Ai-Lin

Blaaag Wisdom: Marilla Li

2010-05-15T23:11:00.001-04:00

1. Name
Marilla Li

2. Plans after graduation
Concrete goals include: Full-time gig doing Health Education at Charles B. Wang Community Health Center down in Chinatown; film production and outreach for THE LINE campaign (www.whereisyourline.org); submitting a short fiction piece that never seems to get done, will never get funded, and may not even see a single film festival.

Loftier, less attainable goals include: Studying for the GREs, implementing better sex and health ed programs in schools, obtaining an MPH and an MA in film, blogging (with David?), and generally continuing to spread awareness on all issues concerned with gender, sexuality, and health.

3. Favorite hang out spot(s) on campus

Zanny's, Max Soha, SIPA Lehman Library, the Columbia University Equipment Room (no one ever notices it's there until they have to go), the Well-Woman Office (119 Reid Hall), all parts of the Diana (Despite the uproar about the APAAM flyers, you should know that Barnard students--maybe not faculty and administrators--embrace it as "the Vag" too), and finally, the recesses of my questionable sanity.

4. Things you wish you knew earlier in your college career
That coalition building is one of the most difficult and necessary things to implement in a college campus; that every peer and authority deserves more credit than received; that it's your own choice to produce commitment and consistency in your work; that our identities exist in a "multiplicity"; that it's better to communicate frustration and anxiety than to feign normalcy; and that despite being validated by esteemed institutions like Barnard or Columbia, one can't ever lay claim to knowing or understanding anything.

5. If you had the power, how would you remedy the current oil 'spill'?

First, I would educate myself on what is happening over at the Gulf. Second, I would try to educate others about what is happening through different media outlets, while simultaneously spreading consciousness about the positions of power that these different outlets have (e.g. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/oil_spills/gulf_of_mexico_2010/). Third, I would build an archive of these different resources and critically examine the ways that the information is being transmitted. Rather than accept information as it is, readers and viewers should always be critical. Who is transmitting this information? What stake do they have in discussing the oil spill? What other countries have experienced or are currently experiencing a similar situation? Have we heard about those other incidents or not, and why? This unfolds not only the networks of power that underpin the incidents leading up to the oil spill, but also what media is doing to negotiate and mediate those networks.

6. Additional comments

You always have the power.

Blaaag Wisdom: David Zhou

2010-05-15T16:17:00.002-04:00

1. Name: David Zhou

2. Plans after graduation: Flying places, biking places, workin' on my knowledgez! Aka traveling and more school.

3. Favorite hang out spot(s) on campus: Any room in which you can see the sunset over New Jersey. Any kitchen where friends convene to cook.

4. Things you wish you knew earlier in your college career: How incredible the consent orientation training + program is, how to use student power effectively, and the glory of Beyoncé Knowles.

5. If you had the power, how would you remedy the current oil 'spill'? That's a big "if". I want to bankrupt BP, but I want a lot of things.

6. Additional comments: (1) Listen to people, critically. (2) Be open to ideas, but never take them for granted. (3) Lastly, while there is no substitute for being a kind human being, you don't have to be nice to do good. Trouble the water. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was short, sweet and - hey - written in a student magazine: "Pick fights. Those are my two words of advice to future generations... (1) Pick (2) Fights."

Congratulations to all our SENIORS

2010-05-12T03:00:00.003-04:00

Dear Readers,

It is May 12th, 3:15am. I want to take this moment to congratulate all the seniors that will be completing their undergraduate careers. I want to thank all of you for making a difference on and off campus during your time in college. No one can ever sum up the memories you all have helped us create in mere words. For this, thank you.

However, before you graduate, I hope you'll also take some time to give us some words of wisdom.

The questions are as follows:

1. Name

2. Plans after graduation

3. Favorite hang out spot(s) on campus

4. Things you wish you knew earlier in your college career

5. If you had the power, how would you remedy the current oil 'spill'?

6. Additional comments

-Ai-Lin

As-Am Health Disparities Panel: This Friday!

2010-02-06T03:08:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say a quick shout-out about an event that's coming up: an Asian American Health Disparities Panel! Hosted by AAA, the event's happening next Friday, the 12th, at 7:30pm in the Satow Room in Lerner! As posted on the Facebook event page (linked here):

Health disparities are NEVER on the Asian American agenda, even though the average American household spends over 15% of its income on health care.

We will grow to comprise over 5% of the American population in the upcoming years and yet the Asian American voice is one of the most neglected minority voices in the United States. Health disparities are a hush-hush topic that households try to avoid, and the lack of sufficient national research studies done to support the present Asian American population is a cause for concern. Our main goal with the panel is to try to stir that sentiment, that voice!, to hope and encourage more studies done in this field.

The panelists include Ms. Alexandra Belcher, Dr. Ming-Der Chang, Dr. Shobha Krishnan, Dr. Dennis Yi-Shin Kuo, and Director Rebecca Sze.

Everyone on the board is really excited about this: we'll be exploring issues like cervical cancer and Hep-B rates, mental health, health care access, and stereotypes that may perpetuate these issues. Come on over, and bring your friends! This should be very interesting.

=) Annie

Welcome to a New Year, folks!

2010-01-15T01:28:00.001-05:00

Hey, loyal readers of the blog! I know I'm late (two weeks late now, to be precise) to call out the New Year, but just wanted to say that as a new semester approaches, we at the BLAAAG and on the Asian American Alliance surely want to wish you all a good year! We will be quite busy, and with a whole lot of resolutions for 2010 (blogging more, anyone?). We will be getting ready for ECAASU soon, holding different panels such as an Asian American Health Disparities panel, holding our second Crossroads conference for Asian American high-schoolers, and much more! And I'm back from Hong Kong, ready to start a fresh semester at Columbia, as will other contributors to the site. Keep it moving! (And soon, we'll be able to say Happy New Year once again: the Lunar New Year, that is! It falls on Valentine's Day this year.)

Shifting languages: problematic?

2009-10-21T12:36:00.003-04:00

Hey, this is Annie from all the way from Hong Kong. Yes, I am abroad, as a former AAA member asked my good friend and Barnard VP for AAA, Ai-Lin today. But wanted to bring forth an article that hit the front page of the NYTimes Page today. This has been happening for years: Mandarin is eclipsing Cantonese as the dominant spoken language in Chinatown! An influx in the Mandarin-speaking population as well as an increasing interest in learning the Mandarin language have shifted demographics. Cantonese, for those who are unfamiliar with Chinese languages, is a dialect of Souther China; Mandarin is the official language of China, and the two are quite different dialects. While the written characters are the same for the most part, the dialects are such that a Cantonese speaker may not understand a Mandarin speaker, and vice versa. In addition, many of those in Chinatown are Taishan speakers: Taishan is a dialect of Cantonese which Cantonese speakers may not understand!

Now why am I concerned? Part of it is a personal reason; Chinatown is where I was born and raised, and still consider home today. I've grown up using my broken Cantonese/Taishanese to buy groceries, wander around, talk to my parents, etc. Put in context, my parents are Taishanese, and speak Cantonese. My mother speaks a bit of Mandarin, while I believe my dad does not understand it at all. As the article mentions, historically it was Cantonese speakers who immigrated to this country and made lives here. Chinatown, especially, is a place where one can make friends, connections, a living, and generally have all you need-- without learning another language. We've seen problems at the voting polls because of language barriers and limited resources (side note: you all should consider helping AALDEF on Election Day with its Poll Voting Survey! more information is linked). This already underrepresented group (albeit increasing in awareness and political clout) is beginning to be alienated from its home, Chinatown!

And it's not just a problem in Chinatown; this has worldwide implications for whole groups of people who've lived their lives with only one language. In Hong Kong already, there are schooling shifts to teaching Mandarin and English, as Cantonese is not as widely used, primarily only used in Southern China. (The Chinese dept. at the University of Hong Kong, on a side note, only teaches beginning Cantonese to exchange students, while Mandarin is available through an intermediate level). Now I am not saying demographic shifts or the teaching of different languages are a bad thing; Chinatown was once a Jewish and Italian neighborhood, and I understand completely the role of cultural diffusion. What I am saying is that something needs to be done to make sure these communities are not alienated and eventually endangered or exploited. This is especially applicable to the Asian-American community, which has such a diverse number of languages. I understand it may be inevitable that Chinatown shifts in languages as more Mandarin speakers arrive in America, but yeah, I'll be helping my dad translate throughout. I just hope that if and when Chinatown and other places like it change, as is inevitable, that others will be helping those like my dad, my fellow Chinatown-ers and those beyond its limits.

Survey on racial microaggressions

2009-10-12T14:52:00.001-04:00

Please help out by filling out this survey!

Hi,

As a PhD student in counseling psychology at Columbia University, I am currently working on my dissertation regarding the Asian American experience with racial microaggression (a contemporary form of racism). I was wondering if it would be possible to send out the survey link/following email through your listserv/blog or post it on your website?

Survey link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ejZ2mHdOih8PuAUYMz5yoA_3d_3d

Thanks for helping to further research on racism against Asian Americans!

Annie

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Asian American participant,

As a PhD student in counseling psychology, I am currently recruiting Asian American participants for a study on experience with racial microaggression. The data collected will assist researchers and educators in understanding how Asian Americans experience modern forms of racial discrimination.

Your participation is completely voluntary and confidential. There is minimal to no physical or psychological risk involved in this study. The survey should take about 20 minutes.

Survey link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ejZ2mHdOih8PuAUYMz5yoA_3d_3d

Please forward this survey link to as many of your Asian American friends/family/colleagues/listservs as you can and ask them to forward this on.
If you have any questions about the survey/research, feel free to email me at ail2103@columbia.edu.

Thanks in advance!

Annie

Amazian Am Varun Gulati

2009-10-08T12:33:00.004-04:00

I am utterly stunned and captured by Varun Gulati's (SEAS '10) response to a column posted in the Spec by Rajat Roy. In his column, Roy makes some strong criticisms regarding the existence of "cultural" groups on Columbia's campus, and how they can sometimes be too insular to merit their funding.

Race was, is, and always will be a divisive issue on this campus. However, we have created a new word that doesn’t spark as much controversy but means essentially the same thing to the layman (and yes, even though we are Columbia students, we, for the most part, are still laymen). This word has some truly nefarious implications, and at Columbia, we have seen how big an issue it can be.
This word is—“Culture.”

I am not joking. “Culture” is causing more harm than good at Columbia. Let me clarify—culture in and of itself is inherently good. Every person needs to be cultured and be exposed to other cultures. However, Columbia does “Culture” in a way that only hurts the overall community. It wouldn’t cost that much in terms of man-hours or money to rectify this situation. In fact, changing this could increase the amount of money available to all students.

And Gulati puts him into perspective.

From the explicit identification as “cultural” within each constitution, cultural groups under the Activities Board at Columbia received only 4.4 percent of student life fees for clubs, the equivalent of less than $7 from each undergraduate. Especially in recent years, these groups have made extraordinary efforts to create collaborative programs and outreach to the entire Columbia community with little funding, contrary to the insinuation that an organization’s “worth” is entirely dependent on its funding.

Through five major cultural showcases in the 2008-2009 academic year, nearly 3,000 students, families, professors, administrators, and New Yorkers were given a glimpse into the communities that make up the diverse cultural fabric of Columbia University. The real problem here is not the lack of open cultural events, but the unawareness and apathy towards these hundreds of events. Ultimately, this causes the perpetuation of repulsively ignorant statements, including “’Culture’ is really a definition of insularism where people of the same group can meet and hook up.”

Bigoted generalizations such as these inappropriately dismiss the genuine interest of the thousands of students who engage in events thrown by the cultural organizations, none of which are exclusive in membership or attendance. To label these groups’ funding needs as unworthy or their intentions as incestuous is oppressive and insensitive. [emphasis mine]

Though Roy does give examples of "cultural" groups that, in his view, make good use of their funding allocations, I can't view as legitimate the argument that "insular" groups don't deserve their funding. What kind of campus culture would we have if we could only experience the "cultures" of those who could successfully market and sell them to their peers? Shouldn't we also value the groups whose priority is to support constituencies that experience a lack of resources or representation?

Update; John Liu wins runoff election for NYC Comptroller

2009-10-02T15:22:00.000-04:00

Hey, all: this is Annie, all the way from Hong Kong catching you up on the latest news. It still baffles me somehow to see so many Asians in office here in Hong Kong, as I'm generally not used to the sight back in New York or in America in general. I'm taking a class here called "Hong Kong and the World," which is all about Hong Kong's role in this globalizing world; it's been really interesting so far. I recently got to hear Margaret Ng, Legislative Councillor, speak about rule of law over here in Hong Kong and the ever-confusing Chinese influence on Hong Kong (well, at least to me: I have a lot to learn). But enough about Hong Kong. Here's the real news:

I found out via multiple Facebook postings/statuses/etc. that John Liu recently won his runoff election against David Yassky (as the Times reports)! While the poll sites were pretty empty on the 29th (as is typically the case for runoffs), Liu won convincingly, beating Yassky 56-44, and will face Joseph Mendola in November to become Comptroller, the equivalent of the city's accountant. Although Liu's rival for Comptroller, Joseph Mendola, is a Columbia Law School graduate himself, I'm sure the Columbia Blaaag crew would agree with me that it'd be much more interesting to see NYC's first Asian council member become NYC's first Asian-American comptroller. Congrats, Liu! (Although a Daily News editorial doesn't seem so quick to congratulate him or his campaign financing)

Columbia Named "Best College/University for AAPI Students"

2009-10-02T13:20:00.011-04:00

Hey everyone! This is Laura, AAA's current political chair. I know this post is coming a little late, but I just wanted to officially announce that Columbia has been named one of ten best colleges/universities for AAPI students by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP)!!!

On September 24th, APAP, in association with Angry Asian Man, recognized Columbia for "holding the institution accountable to its campus community and getting active in the surrounding community to make a difference." Columbia's student activism, including 2007's hunger strike, the campaign for worker's rights at Saigon Grill, and action regarding an arrest of a Korean student marked with racial slurs are highlighted. The post also mentions Columbia students' work with AALDEF and AAA's AAPI high school leadership conference, Crossroads.

A huge thanks to everyone who nominated us! I feel extremely lucky to be AAA's political chair at a university with such strong commitments to student activism and community service.

You can check out the article here and here.

Other colleges/universities recognized include Dartmouth College, UCLA, University of Southern California, Oberlin College, University of Massachusetts at Boston, UPENN, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Loyola Marymount University, and Pitzer College.

NYC Comptroller Race Headed for Runoff

2009-09-16T23:40:00.003-04:00

As many of you probably already know (via the Times), City Councilmen John C. Liu of Queens and David Yassky of Brooklyn ran for New York City comptroller on Tuesday September 15th. If elected, Liu would become the first Asian American to hold this office. He led the primaries at 38% of the vote, just short of the 40% required to avoid a runoff. Yassky took second with 30%, while Councilwoman Melinda Katz of Queens was third with 20% and Councliman David Weprin of Queens was fourth with 12%.

It has been a competitive race, with the candidates raising $10 million between the four of them. Compare this with the $5 million spent on 2001's election for the same position. Unfortunately, like Liu said in a Chinatown dining hall, "I gotta ask you for two more weeks." I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Spotlight on Dartmouth

2009-09-14T22:44:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Dartmouth for being one of APAP (APA for Progress) and Angry Asian Man's "Best Colleges and Universities for AAPI Students!" Among other things, Dartmouth is cited for its student involvement in various intiatives in coalition-building, furthering the institutionalization of Asian American Studies, and community service. What I am personally most jealous about is the (hott with two T's) list of Asian American stars they've hosted: Helen Zia, Maxine Hong Kingston, Gary Okihiro, Captain and Chaplain James Yee, Valerie Kaur, Mari Matsuda, Frank Wu, Shilpa Dave, Margaret Cho, David Choe, the Slant Performance Group, and Lisa Lowe. C'mon Columbia, we've got some catchin' up to do! [There will be plenty of this at CultureSHOCK, in case you were wondering...]

So, way to go Dartmouth! But for those of you who are thinking, "Let's take 'em down," take a moment to nominate COLUMBIA!

NOTE: For the full article about Dartmouth from the APAP website, click here.

Hong Kong!

2009-08-22T08:04:00.002-04:00

Hello, all! So as I, Annie, mentioned last entry, I'm going to be a correspondent in Hong Kong this semester. I have arrived! It's my second day here: I've so far gone through a ton of Hong Kong, and it's pretty great. I love the in-your-face buildings that are always 20+ floors high, kind of like a taller New York. But I also love the green mountains that are always in the background, a reminder that amongst all the busy urban life, there's also a need to remember the smaller things in life, the natural things that, while so obvious sometimes, need to be remembered. And of course, there are many more things, but that would take a long time to explain.

Anyways, I am very interested in all the things I'll be doing here, and, more importantly, how I can relate it back to things that I know, including American things. Amongst all the stores and businesses stacked amongst one another are McDonalds, Burger Kings, KFCs, and a sea of people that, as my cousin on my dad's side put it, really like wearing clothes with English words, no matter what they say (you'll see like KCIMEY SOUME shirts and KNIE shoes back in China, for example. Interesting). And very different lifestyles, philosophies on things that I've already seen. And college life at the University of Hong Kong will be quite different.

I need to catch up on my New York news. I feel so out of the loop now haha, and it's only been two days.

Anyways, enjoy the rest of summer! I'll keep updating.

-Annie

Euna and Laura are free!

2009-08-10T00:46:00.003-04:00

Hey, all. My name's Annie, and I'm the Event Advisor of AAA as well as a new blogger for the BlAAAg! I'll be our resident Hong Kong person for awhile, as I'll be abroad for the semester. But for now, I blog from Chinatown, NYC, where voting, immigration, gentrification, and so many other issues still apply, as throughout the world still (and you better not forget it!). I thought I'd write an entry as summer winds down, and thank y'all who've been reading this blog for quite some time, even through these cool summer months. I'll be writing periodically about things happening in the HK; I'll elab more once I'm there (the 19th is approaching!)

Anyways, it was big news when Euna Lee and Laura Ling, journalists who crossed the border to N. Korea so many months ago, were freed last Wednesday: it was the first article on the NYTimes site for a day and a half, woot! Bill Clinton made a 20-hour private visit over to North Korea and spoke to Kim Jong Il, supposedly just on humanitarian issues (but who knows what could have gone on there). Anyways, Il gave a special "pardon" to the two, who had been there since mid-March. The video of their return was pretty damn emotional.

As for US-Asian relations, who knows how this can affect things. Sure, the Obama admin. has been claiming that Bill went on his own and that they had no say in it, but there must've been some approval by the White House to get the girls out. North Korea, too, has been given its share of good press, which has been rare for the isolationist and expanding nation. Perhaps this'll be the beginning of resuming and progressing talks btwn. the UN and North Korea, which has been threatened with so, so many sanctions in the past. But for both sides, this looked pretty darn good. We'll see.

It's been cause for celebration, too, not just for the families of the journalists and the U.S. government. This has been huge news, too, for a good portion of the Asian-American community in America who've been keeping an eye on this story for quite a while. For some months, I was beginning to think that the two could be there for years. What could that have said about U.S. policy? I wonder, too, what this story could mean for a lot of the community out there in the future. But hey, we'll see again.

Us AAAers (yes, we still talk, despite the summer recess) kept touch about it, and our VP from Barnard suggested a celebration once people return to campus! Yay! But we'll stay in touch about that...and cultureSHOCK... and OCM apps... and other things and events, as we've been planning for the new school year. Stay tuned to this blog, our upcoming Twitter page, our Facebook group, for more and more updates!

-where it's A.T.

Yesterday: Hate Crimes Prevention Project

2009-08-05T09:36:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was the Third Annual Hate Crimes Prevention Art Exhibit, presented by OCA-New York and coordinated by our great friend and Blaaag-writer Ryan Fukumori / Heiroku. A bad night and some bodily ailments left me unable to go at the last minute (sorry, Ryan!), and no word yet on whether or not fellow writer David went, but those of you who are in New York and heard about the art exhibit - Did you go? How was it? Was New York City Councilman (and Comptroller Candidate) John Liu fantastically vague and diplomatic as usual? Did our dear friend Taiyo do a good job of counteracting that by being provocative and saying too much (which, I think, is how it should be done)? What were students' art work like? Did it inspire any new thoughts or emotions in you?

Senior Profile: Nhu-Y Ngo, CC '09

2009-07-29T16:08:00.011-04:00

If you remember our last (and only) Senior Profile post back in May, then you already know that our beloved '09ers have trouble responding to Blaaag-related requests. We still love them, but with a bit of added sadness that they're holding out on the awesome stories (which we know exist; we've partied with them, after all).

Name, school
Nhu-Y Ngo, Columbia College

Hometown
Lincoln, Nebraska (technically Hue, Vietnam--I'm transnational, baby)

Greatest achievement
Being the first in my family to graduate from college and being a somewhat respectable role model for my three younger siblings. And inciting dance offs at Curry in a Hurry and NYCAASC, respectively.

Most hilarious anecdote from student organizing
I once was called an "illegal" at a city council meeting in Fremont, Nebraska. My absurd sense of humor makes me think its hilarious. Tragic, a bit, but totes hilarious.

Favorite yearly/semesterly tradition
How insane/irrational/illogical/ridiculous everyone becomes during finals/term paper season, so much so that they don't mind my painful cries (known in the AAAPC circle as "Ngoises").

Fondest memory of AAA/PC
The late night runs to Hamilton Deli, and the lovely friends I have made. Awwwzz. And when some of us drove non-stop from New York to Atlanta for NAASCon...and back. The Cracker Barrel stops along the way were worth it.

Favorite neighborhood haunt
I really like La Negrita, day and night. Though it has poor lighting for reading during the day.

Your weakness or poison, five words or less
Saji's chicken katsu

The name of your future dissertation
I'm not sure, but I know it will most likely involve Beyonce and immigration history.

What you'll miss most and least about Barnard/Columbia, post-grad
I'll definitely miss the friends I saw regularly on campus (who are now spread throughout the United States and world, doing a-ma-zing things!), the interesting conversations, the requisite college angst, the time to explore my interests and call it academia, and the four boys & supporters of EC1412. I won't miss the twisted excitement I experienced when the Red Bull promoters rolled up to Columbia with free energy drinks.

Where we can find you in ten years
A few years out of law school and most likely having life crisis number three.

Where we can find you in thirty years
Sipping sweet tea on a porch, hopefully living near a lake with my family, contemplating that life crisis I had twenty years prior, and doing what I love.

Dream occupation(s) other than the one you're pursuing?
I want to be a public interest attorney, but secretly, I want to write for MTV reality TV shows.

Three words of advice for incoming AAA/PC'ers in the 2013 class
1) Take care of yourself. Self-care is extremely important, especially when balancing school, life, activities, relationships, etc. It's good to take time out for yourself.
2) I had some great mentors during my college career, and I encourage you to seek them out. They can be profs, staff, upperclassmen, etc. And once you're an "upperclassmen," mentor others.
3) Obviously, challenge yourself and everything you believe. Don't think in absolutes and dichotomies. Everything is annoyingly nuanced--it'll drive you insane. That's a good thing.

No rest for the weary

2009-07-22T10:59:00.003-04:00

So, I'm kind of a hater. Well, actually, I'm a big hater. But it's mostly out of fun and love. And I totally hated on Blue Scholars a while ago. I'm thinking about it now because I'm listening to them at work as I write some depressing piece on immigrants and the economic downturn, and am thinking about how much I love the self-titled album. I guess what I want to do right now is say I'm sorry--I actually feel bad about that entry now. I felt it a bit last August when I saw Geo and Sabzi open for Hieroglyphics in Omaha, Nebraska (Midwest, holler). And we all have our contradictions and tensions.

Okay, back to work.

9500 Liberty has a new website and spiffy trailer

2009-07-17T14:42:00.005-04:00

I've probably posted about this before, but filmmakers Annabel Park (121 Coalition, an organization to help pass HR 121, the "comfort women" resolution) and Eric Byler (director of Charlotte Sometimes, Americanese) have been working on 9500 Liberty, a documentary about the immigration debate in Virginia. It's been an ongoing YouTube project so far, but hopefully there can be some sort of cinematic feature or whatnot.

They have a new trailer! It's pretty shocking. You really need to just watch it.

AALDEF housing project seeking volunteers

2009-07-16T09:40:00.002-04:00

A note from AALDEF:

We have scheduled the following big outreach days for our housing needs assessment. Please let us know if you are available to help on any of the days. For the days that we are in Queens, people who can speak all Asian languages are helpful. For the days that we are in Sunset Park and Chinatown, Chinese speakers would be especially useful. But our surveys are translated in many languages so even if your bilingual language ability is very limited, we could use your help. If you can volunteer, please email the person coordinating that day (see below for emails) with (1) the day you can volunteer (2) available times, (3) any language ability, and (4) cell number.

Outreach Days
--Friday, July 17: Jackson Heights, Woodside, Elmhurst (9:30am-5pm) – Email: Tony at choim (at) berea.edu

--Saturday, July 18: Jackson Heights, Woodside, Elmhurst (11am-6pm) – Email Kim at ksarabia (at) indiana.edu

--Sunday, July 19: Sunset Park (11am-6pm) – Email Stephanie at ss3511 (at) barnard.edu

--Saturday, July 25: Sunset Park (11am-3pm) – Email Tony at choim (at) berea.edu

--Friday, July 31: Jackson Heights, Woodside, Elmhurst (11am-7pm) – Email Sulekha at gango20s (at) mtholyoke.edu

--Friday, July 31: Chinatown (11am-7pm) – Email Kim at ksarabia (at) indiana.edu

--Saturday, August 1: Chinatown (11am-6pm) – Email Stephanie at ss3511 (at) barnard.edu

--Sunday, August 2: Sunset Park (11am-6pm) – Email Stephanie at ss3511 (at) barnard.edu

Bethany Y. Li
Equal Justice Works Fellow
bli (at) aaldef.org
212.966.5932 x213

It's true. We just released a pack of amazians.

2009-07-13T22:40:00.012-04:00

A few months ago, we asked six graduating AAAPC amazians to fill out fairly extensive senior profiles for us. Only one did. Regardless, two months out of school these dedicated and passionate people are doing incredible things left and right.

A brief overview of what some of these '09 graduates are up to... because we can get tired nagging them for their profiles. I'll keep this short and first names only (and in no particular order) so as to keep stalker activity to a minimum.

PC/SAAS members Joanne and Saffiyah are prepping for Teach For America, in the Bronx and New Orleans, respectively. I am reminded they also have a bajonk number of additional affiliations, including NYCAASC and ROOTEd/MSA/APAAM/USCC, respectively.

Fellow Blaaager and NYCAASC/APAAM/SAAS/AdCo/PC matriarch Nhu-Y is working at the Migration Policy Institute. Word out on the street is she might work at somewhere awesome in NYC in the future? (Am I being very careful?)

Fellow Blaaager and APAAM/PC/USCC/NAASCon/lots-of-things member Ryan is working on the Hate Crimes Prevention Art Project, in affiliation with OCA-NY, Ana Luisa Garcia Community Center, SAYA!, and Chinatown Youth Initiatives. We see his web design/Photoshop skills remain in good shape.

Blaaager-wannabe and PC/USCC/NAASCon rock star Christina is an intern for the Applied Research Center. We're seeing some awesome articles by her on Racewire, concerning topics ranging from children's healthcare to hate crimes to Michael Jackson. We only wish she wrote for us when she was here!

PC/SAAS/AdCo member and consummate foodie Jamie is in South Dakota, working for Re-Member, an advocacy organization for the Oglala Lakota Nation on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She's enjoying the vast open space, Midwest thunderstorms, and roving buffalo.

If you're a senior who has yet to send in your profile, please do! We'd love to hear about the little details.

PostSecret backlash?

2009-05-27T23:49:00.004-04:00

Check this out... new site called PostMimi seeks to be the PostSecret for Asian Americans. It could try to broaden itself a little - "Mimi" is "secret" in Chinese...

Thoughts? Does it help bring out difficult conversations or continues to stigmatize certain issues?

THE END OF FINALS!

2009-05-15T15:01:00.003-04:00

WHOOO!
Stay tuned for: Senior Profiles, graduation notes, end-of-the-year reflections, and more!

Holla for that dolla! Larry and Dennis are in the Amazingly Queer Race for Economic Justice!

2009-05-14T12:14:00.005-04:00

A week ago, our friend, ally, and graduating senior Christina Chen forwarded a message from Larry Tantay and Dennis Chin (the man whom I love to give shoutouts), who are participating in the Amazingly Queer Race for Economic Justice, which is a fundraising benefit "for a great cause: fighting poverty and homelessness in the LGBT community. Nurture your inner child, challenge your friends and co-workers, and have fun while supporting the community and drawing some good karma".

Larry and Dennis have been posting vlogs to update friends, family, and lovers on the progress of their fundraising (hint: see 3:55):

The race is on Saturday, May 30th, so be sure to show up and show your support!

Holla for that dolla! Larry and Dennis need $$$ to race!!

A fundraising page by Larry Tantay

Hello family, chosen family, colleagues, lovers, and soon-to-be-lovers,

Our team (the FOBs - Fabulous, Outrageous Bitches) has just registered for the Amazingly Queer Race for Economic Justice.

The race is a competitive scavenger hunt here in NYC for prizes and sweet sweet glory, but most importantly a great cause: challenging and changing the structures and institutions that create poverty and economic injustice in queer communities.

We want to raise $700 for this race and we really need your help to get us there before the deadline, which is in a few days.

Can you give $20 to support this great cause? If you do, we'll give you love in our vlog. Check out our first vlog here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxV_G2MnbuQ

$20 would be great, but anything you can give means so much. You can make your secure donation below.

When we take the prize (which you know we will - I mean, two sexy Asian men with even sexier politics. How could we lose?) we'll be sure to include you in our victory speech.

One time for the Gaysians!

HOLLA!!!!

We love you all,

Dennis & Larry (the FABULOUS, OUTRAGEOUS BITCHESSSS)

Star Trek

2009-05-11T11:39:00.003-04:00

Are you wondering why we haven't talked about J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, despite our obvious excitement about it? That's because we haven't seen it (see: finals). Boo hoo. So don't talk about it until after Wednesday, when we've seen it in IMAX!

Finals

2009-05-11T11:30:00.000-04:00

Good luck, everybody!

No Justice for Vincent Then, No Justice for Luis Now

2009-05-10T03:47:00.005-04:00

The case of Vincent Chin, where two white men publicly brutally beat a Chinese American man to death in 1982 and only received 3 years probation each, is an open sore in Asian American history. While Asian American activists took the case to court, filing the first federal case of a hate crime against an Asian American, the killers were still acquitted of all charges (including committing a hate crime) by an all white jury in Cincinnati.

Most recently, two young white men beat to death Luis Ramirez, a Mexican immigrant, while taunting him with racial slurs. The killers were also acquitted by an all white jury of all charges including third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation. Although the Vincent Chin case has passed but is continually remembered by the Asian American community, Luis Ramirez's case is still active. This is where crossracial coalition and alliance work is crucial.

So far, this is the only petition/action I've found, but let's all please keep our eyes peeled for more actions to come. Petition

---------------------

No Justice for Vincent Then, No Justice for Luis Now

Editor’s Note: Last week, two of the young white men who allegedly killed Mexican immigrant Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Penn. were acquitted by an all white jury. The case mirrors the first federal hate crime prosecution involving an Asian American. Carmina Ocampo is a Skadden fellow and staff attorney at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) of Los Angeles. Immigration Matters regularly features the views of immigration advocates and experts.

Last July, Luis Ramirez, a Latino immigrant who worked in a factory, was brutally killed by a gang of drunken white teenagers motivated by their dislike of the growing Latino population in their small coalmining town of Shenandoah, Penn. Two of the young white men who killed Luis were recently acquitted by an all white jury of all serious charges including third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation.

The facts of this case sounded all too familiar to those of us lawyers who work on civil rights cases. They mirror the facts at the heart of the 1982 Vincent Chin hate crime case.

Luis Ramirez was taunted with racial slurs and beaten to death during an altercation with a group of drunken white teenagers....Luis’s murder occurred during a time of increasing anti-immigrant sentiment directed primarily towards Latino immigrants, exacerbated by the economic crisis. Vincent Chin’s murder took place during a climate of intense anti-Asian sentiment directed at the Japanese who were blamed for taking jobs away from American workers. Helen Zia, a well-known Asian American civil rights activist described the early 1980s as a dangerous time to look Asian. The same may be said for Latinos today.

In both Luis’s and Vincent’s cases, the killers argued that their actions should be excused because they were drunk, the victims were the aggressors, and they were merely exercising self-defense during a drunken brawl.

Senior Profile: Ryan Fukumori, CC '09

2009-05-10T01:35:00.009-04:00

Again, we end the year by asking our exalted seniors (there are some in every year!) some questions about their time, Asian Americana, and memories of organizing at Columbia. Since sending them out, our eager fellow Blaaager Ryan Fukumori was the first to respond! May we take wisdom from his words. Also, if you're a senior who got this - DO YOUR PROFILE I COMMAND YOU. That's all.

Name, School
Ryan Heiroku Fukumori, CC

Hometown
Northwest Aztlán, a.k.a. Berkeley, CA

Greatest achievement
Clocking in nearly 100 hours in the first Party Room without smelling like I was decomposing (or so I hope). Or 50 Yen.

Most hilarious anecdote from student organizing
At the 2008 New York City Asian American Student Conference, I attempted to stave off the effects of sleep deprivation by drinking a few of those 6-hour energy shots . They did the job, but they also made me really weak in the knees, which Nhu-Y claimed was polio. She was also throwing things at me all day. And I'm not sure this is hilarious to anyone beyond ourselves...

Favorite yearly/semesterly tradition
Pacing nervously and drinking six cups of water right before cultureSHOCK performances

Fondest memory of AAA/PC
April 21, 2007, eating gravy & cheese fries with Geologic of Blue Scholars in EC1412, after they performed their first show (ever!) in NYC. Blue Scholars played drinking games (with Street Fighter, of course) and bought us food from Hamilton Deli, and their manager passed out on an air mattress at 5am while Geo smoked cigarettes out the window and waxed poetics & politics with us. For a bunch of the '09ers it was the end of our tenures on the AAA board--elections were that following afternoon--so it was a great parting gift.

Favorite neighborhood haunt
The Intercultural Resource Center--I never lived there, but I've spent innumerable hours there in meetings and made connections to a lot of amazing people doing great progressive work in their organizations, peer circles, and communities. Also, Saji's has the best Japanese food in the area, hands down (I may not speak the mother tongue, but I do know the cuisine)

Your weakness or poison, five words or less
Poison: I plead the fifth, Weakness: Funyuns

The name of your future dissertation
Get back to me in five years, when I'm actually writing one (aaaahhh!)

What you'll miss most and least about Barnard/Columbia, post-grad
Will: Having the time, space and energy to explore new things, starting my day at 2pm, and the people with whom I've been fortunate enough to spend my time here.
Won't: the folks (and there are a lot of them) who filter everything through middle-class politics and don't consider their own class privilege in what they say, think, or do. And the, uh, aftereffects of eating at John Jay, to put it politely.

Where we can find you in ten years
Struggling to win tenure at some nondescript institution of higher learning in California. And, raising kids? What a scary thought.

Where we can find you in thirty years
Coming to the inevitable and horrendous conclusion that I've become technologically illiterate, as my kids look on embarrassingly.

Dream occupation(s) other than the one you're pursuing?
If I had Jeff Chang's job, but I also got to drive an ice cream truck.

Three words of advice for incoming AAA/PC'ers in the 2013 class
1. Asian Americans are people of color! Building bridges with Latino/a, African American, and Native American students, and critically engaging the issues common to multiple communities of color, were huge sources of inspiration and empowerment for me and definitely helped break down the (mis)conception that Asian Americans have to be an isolated student population on campus. And hell hath no fury like a multiracial alliance fighting for institutional change.

2. I came here with a lot of problematic attitudes about gender and sexuality. It hurts to admit that, but I owe everything to my sistas who (whether they know it or not) helped me break down my own sexism and promote gender equality in my everyday actions, not just my words. So, to my fellow APA men: really take the time to learn from the women around you, and don't be afraid to be wrong. And--the notion that Asian men are effeminate really does suck, but if we start upholding sexist and homophobic ideas to combat that stereotype, we're part of the problem and not the solution.

3. This isn't original, but: HAVE FUN! It's not worth the time if it's all chores and obligations. Make friends, and make the most of the opportunity and learn new things.

13, 10-year-old boys arrested for threatening to rape Asian American girl

2009-05-07T20:00:00.004-04:00

Boulder, Colorado -

Two Boulder middle-school students have been arrested on suspicion of harassment and a bias-motivated crime after police said they called a 12-year-old girl and threatened to rape and kill her because she’s Asian-American.

The 13-year-old boys — and a 10-year-old boy, whose arrest was pending — are suspected of calling the girl’s cell phone at 9 p.m. Monday and using explicit and violent language to describe raping her.

link to rest of article...

--------

Boulder also happens to be my hometown, which claims to be the most liberal place in Colorado but has consistently been in national people of color news for hate crimes including an incident where an Asian American student was held at knifepoint and forced to say "I love America" and another incident with a university publication article calling for a "war on Asians" and "hunt."

How is the "most liberal" town in Colorado the site of the majority of the state's high-profile hate crimes? political liberalism ≠ anti-racism

Margaret Cho to star in Drop Dead Diva

2009-05-04T18:28:00.004-04:00

Margaret Cho, one of my perennial favorites, is starring in a new Lifetime show, Drop Dead Diva, this summer. Airing on July 12th, the show will also star Broadway actress, Brooke Elliott, according to Theater Mania. The show is about a shallow model reborn as a brilliant plus-size attorney, played by Elliott. Cho's role in the show is the attorney's assistant, serving as a comedic foil to Elliott's character.

See below for her first interview with CNN below, where she also talks about Asian Americans in the media, Betty Brown, her new term "Asian adjacent," her new music album, as well as her role in the queer community.

A Blaaager gives some senior wisdom

2009-05-03T15:02:00.005-04:00

http://www.bwog.net/articles/senior_wisdom_nhu_y_ngo

Our very own Nhu-Y Ngo gives some senior wisdom for the masses! The Blaaag will soon have these as well for our graduating '09ers. They will inevitably be more yellowbrown-centric and cracked out.

Some key references are elaborated upon below:

Acronyms - Vietnamese Students Association, Asian Pacific American Awareness Month, Asian American Alliance Political Committee, and Advocacy Coalition. All groups which are, I believe, The Shit.

Little brother - He has a love/hate relationship with chips and is perhaps unhinged in time.

The Solomon R. Chao Memorial Party Room - Camp-out room in Butler beginning Fall 2006, last witnessed Spring 2008. All Blaaagers and AAA/PC members have partaken in its festivities at some point in time. Important characteristics: Pepperidge Farm cookies, Ryan's verses on the whiteboard, Facebook Scrabble, smells of ass and strawberries.

There are more, but this reminds me of May Lin's Senior Wisdom back when I was just a little frosh.

Kollaboration NY 2009 Releases Promo Video

2009-05-03T13:56:00.008-04:00

From the KollabNY Fam:

Dear Kollaboration Friends,

As Kollaboration New York gets closer to the show on Saturday, June 27, 2009 one thing is certain. New York is the place for dreamers. Among its stoops, skyscrapers, and subway stations, there is an unmistakable undercurrent of dreams realized, on their way, taking shape. Getting closer.

In our pursuit of helping realize dreams, KNY has been blessed to receive the moral and artistic support of the New York music and entertainment community. A few local artists (not necessarily competitors) spent weeks to help put together this video in celebration of our mission. This project is a collaboration in the truest sense of the word. An homage to New York City, its dreamers, the pursuit of dreams...

To getting closer.

For details about the event, see Marilla's original post here. Tickets go on sale next week here.

AALDEF Looking for Housing & Environmental Justice Project Intern

2009-05-02T15:19:00.003-04:00

Another AALDEF Internship opportunity! Not overkill.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is the first organization on the East Coast to protect and promote the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education. For more information about AALDEF, please visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

Internships for the summer of 2009 are available in the following program areas only:

Housing & Environmental Justice Project Intern: Responsibilities include conducting field research on housing needs in Chinatown, Sunset Park and other Asian immigrant neighborhoods in New York ; interviewing residents; coordinating data from field research for a housing needs assessment; and contributing to a report on Asian Americans and their housing needs.

Description of Summer Internship Program:

The summer program is ten weeks, from approximately June 1^st through August 7^th. Interns work full-time and are supervised by attorneys in specific program areas. Summer interns attend weekly brown bag lectures on a range of public interest legal topics along with interns from other legal defense funds and civil rights groups. AALDEF also provides trainings in housing law, naturalization procedures, and immigration law. The position is unpaid. However, in previous years many AALDEF interns have been successful at securing independent funding. Academic credit can be arranged.

To Apply:

· Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to be received by AALDEF on or before Friday, May 8, 2009 at the address below. Please indicate why you are interested in focusing on the Housing & Environmental Justice Project in your cover letter. For email applications, please write “Summer Internship Application” or “SIP Application” in the Subject. Fax or email applications are acceptable, but email applications are strongly preferred.

· Any bilingual ability should be stated in the application. Bilingual ability is helpful but not required. Chinese, Punjabi, Bengali, and Urdu-speaking applicants are especially urged to apply.

Summer Internship Search (Undergrad)

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

99 Hudson Street, 12th floor
New York , New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303

For more information, contact: Bethany Li at 212-966-5932 x213 or bli@aaldef.org

Call for Submissions: Anthology of Hmong American Literature

2009-05-02T15:14:00.002-04:00

The Hmong American Writers’ Circle (HAWC) in association with Heyday Books will publish an anthology of literary writing focused on the Hmong American experience, specifically on the connection to the Central Valley, its land and people. A section of the anthology will include original artwork/photography.

April 1, 2009 to August 31, 2009

Guidelines:
• Topics: experiences involving Hmong/Hmong Americans in the Central Valley
• Accepted genres: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, plays
• Format: Microsoft Word, size 12, Times New Roman font (should you be sending pieces that require you to vary sizes and font styles, please email your concerns prior to submitting, to:
HawcSubmissions@gmail.com)
• Previously published pieces accepted (please ensure you have rights to reprint)
• Simultaneous submissions accepted
• Publication in this anthology is not limited to only Hmong American writers
• Pieces written in Hmong accompanied with an English translation are welcomed

Submissions:
• Submissions in multiple genres welcomed
• 3-5 poems, 1-3 pieces of fiction, 1-3 pieces of creative non-fiction, or 1-3 plays
• Only email submissions accepted, please send your submissions to: HawcSubmissions@gmail.com
• Include a cover letter discussing your background (include any experiences as or with Hmong/Hmong Americans in the Central Valley), and literary accomplishments or publication (if applicable); cover letters should include name, address, phone number and email

Contact Information: HawcSubmissions@gmail.com

NYU's AHM Closing Ceremony: TODAY!

2009-04-30T01:25:00.006-04:00

So...this image is not uploading correctly. But, anyways: NYU is throwing a closing ceremony for their AHM (Asian Heritage Month) today! It'll be down at the Kimmel Center of NYU at 6:30pm. Food will be served...for free! Performers will be Ill-Literacy, Heather Park, and Phyllis Hetjian, with Brian Jian emceeing. Go check it out.

Get Yo Freak On at V-SPOT

2009-04-30T01:06:00.005-04:00

Join TASA, KSA, AAA, and APAAM for an epic semi-formal party next Monday (May 4th) after the last day of classes! Known last year as "Fornicasian," the party planners have decided to continue with the tradition of sexual innuendo, naming this year's event "V Spot." Check out the Facebook event for details. Admission is $30 for a wild night of mayhem and an open bar from 11pm-1am. Venue is "Amber" at 27th and 3rd, a 10-15 minute walk from Penn Station. We'll bring the dranks, you bring the party. Email AAA (aaa@columbia.org) if you would like to reserve a spot!

APAAM 2009 Closing Ceremony

2009-04-29T23:55:00.003-04:00

This Friday, May 1st, (sadly) marks the end of Columbia's celebration of APAAM 2009. The closing ceremonies will be held on the Barnard College quad at 7pm. (The rain location is Lewis Parlor.) Dinner will be served, and featured artists include El Gambina, Danny Katz, Kevin Nadal, and John Flor-Sisante. Photo contest winners will also be announced. (There was a photo contest?!)

Anyways, it's been real, folks. APAAM 2009 has featured many interesting discussions and wonderful collaborative events, so congrats APAAM board! My personal faves were "Who is Asian American?" and the screening of Corinne Manabat's Excuse My Gangsta Ways. Hope everyone had fun!

APAAM and APAMSA Present: Asian American Premedical Info Session

2009-04-28T01:05:00.002-04:00

Asian American Premedical Info Session

Wednesday April 29th, 8:00 to 10:00pm in C555, Alfred Lerner Hall
Have a discussion with medical students from Columbia to learn more about the medical school application process and experience from an Asian American perspective. Get in contact with a mentor for advice in the future.

Free snacks and drinks provided!

Organized by APAMSA (Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association) and APAAM (Asian Pacific American Awareness Month) of Columbia. Sponsored by OMA (Office of Multicultural Affairs) and Charles Drew Premedical Society of Columbia.

AAA Crossroads 2009

2009-04-27T03:50:00.004-04:00

This weekend marked a monumental occasion in Columbia AAA's history: the first ever high school student conference! Named Crossroads 2009, it served to educate and empower today's high school youth by providing them with information and discussions about various salient Asian American issues in today's society.

The Blaaag loves spring

2009-04-24T16:16:00.002-04:00

Therefore, The Blaaag (or maybe just Marilla) also loves tulips:

Happy Primavera.

APAAM Presents: CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities

2009-04-24T16:07:00.005-04:00

CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
http://www.caaav.org

Date: Monday, April 27, 2009
Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: IRC Extension, 554 114th Street (114th and Broadway)
City/Town: New York, NY
Email: apaam2009@gmail.com

Come learn more about issues of gentrification in New York City, current CAAAV campaigns against evictions and landlord harassment, and how you can get involved in the movement.

Asian Pacific American Awareness Month (APAAM) is an annual celebration at Columbia University dedicated to promoting awareness of Asian Pacific American (APA) issues and history among the Columbia student body.

http://www.cuapaam.com

Check it on Facebook.

Reader: Why do you post so many APAAM events?
Marilla: Because over half The Blaaag staff is on the APAAM board. We are all its slaves.
Reader: Oh, okay.

APAAM Presents: Hip Hop Dance Workshop

2009-04-24T16:03:00.001-04:00

Check the Facebook event.

Apply for Columbia Political Review Editorial Board Positions!

2009-04-24T03:43:00.001-04:00

Dear all,

Apply for the 2009-2010 Columbia Political Review editorial board! Applications are due next Monday, April 27, at 11:59 PM.

The magazine is looking to fill the following positions on next year's staff:
- 2-3 managing editors*
- 6-7 senior editors*
- 2 business managers

- 6-7 campus editors*
- 2-3 copy editor*
- 1-2 art editor(s)
- 3-4 fact-checkers
- 1-2 layout editor(s)
- 1 web editor

Catherine Chong and Alex Frouman were elected last week as Columbia Political Review editor-in-chief and publisher, respectively.

The managing editor, senior editor, and business manager positions require interviews, which are tentatively scheduled for May 5 and 6.

You do not need to have had previous involvement with the CPR to apply for a position on the editorial board. Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions about the given positions after reading the descriptions below.

The following is due by Monday, April 27 at 11:59 PM to karen.hl.leung@gmail.com:

There are three parts to the application: your (1) proposal, (2) resume, and (3) one writing sample (only if your position is starred) or sample web design (only if you are applying for web editor). Please put your (1) name, (2) phone number, (3) e-mail address, (4) class, (5) major, (6) school, and (7) which position(s) you would like to run for at the top of the application. You can apply for more than one job.

The proposal should include a little about yourself and why you’re qualified for your chosen position. This part of the application should mostly focus on what you'd like to see the magazine emphasize, as well as any changes you would make. The proposal should be no more than one single-spaced page.

If you are applying for positions that are starred, also attach a resume and one writing sample (no more than 6-7 pages).

A few suggestions:

Potential managing editors should discuss how they approach editing on the level of argument and style, and how they would handle editing an entire magazine's worth of content.

Potential senior editors should discuss how they would work with writers and handle the day-to-day editing process.

Potential business managers should discuss the administrative and business aspects of the magazine (advertising revenue, changes that would affect the budget, etc.). Business managers are also responsible for coordinating the responsibilities of the campus editors, as well as event planning.

Potential campus editors should discuss how they would communicate with student groups, recruit writers, and generate story ideas for the magazine.
Your application does not need to be long, but it should contain as much insight into the desired position as possible. Current staff members must submit the same application as non-staff applicants, and should specify which position they would like to run for.

Let me know if you have any questions. Past issues can be downloaded at cpreview.org - these might serve as inspiration. Good luck!

Karen Leung
outgoing editor-in-chief, CPR

Movie Review: Serbis

2009-04-22T23:41:00.003-04:00

While watching Brillante Mendoza’s film Serbis, viewers may only take a slippery hold on the many secrets that linger inside the campy porn movie theater (appropriately called “Family” Theater), that doubles as an underground hotspot for gay prostitution. The latter point seems to be the more arresting aspect of the film, but Mendoza isn’t interested in the men who engage in pleasure-for-profit. They consistently remain nameless and faceless. Mendoza is instead interested in the family that runs the theater, whose own disarray parallels the crumbling of the theater itself, as prostitutes and customers run rampant under blind eyes.

That the story circulates around a movie theater is significant, because there are times when watching certain individual’s activities feels like an act of voyeurism. There is the opening scene, in which a nude Jewel boldly applies lipstick and, while observing her self in the mirror, puts on a sexual display with a series of gestures and endless mouthings of “I love you”. Whatever and whomever she is doing it for remains unclear, but there is a blatant sexuality, vanity, and privacy to her act, and those qualities are broken when Jewel realizes that, in fact, her nephew has been watching all along. This is one of many moments in which characters (and viewers) are put in the uncomfortable position of feeling unwelcome as they open doors, seeing what probably shouldn’t be seen. Yet, despite all appearances, that which is seen can no longer be erased from the mind.

The quality of voyeurism has much to do with the notion that each character has a particular position and place in this microcosm, and while crossing certain places may be unallowable, it is also unavoidable. The people running in and out of the theater are many, but there remains an unspoken agreement of where each one belongs. Through an observable series of everyday routines, one is trained to understand that Ronald runs projections (while masturbating) in the reel room; Alan trades projection reels and paints posters (while bedding his girlfriend Merly in between); Nayda stands in as the married theater matriarch (while fighting an attraction to her cousin Ronald); and so on. No mention is made of how this pattern came to be; it just seems to have been this way for as long as anyone could remember. Here it becomes clear that the family operates under the illusion that people can run by pure mechanics, can automatically stabilize their selves, and can be free of wrongdoing or mistake. Even the movie theater itself, a porn house, is maintained under the illusion that sex can be distilled and rendered immobile, resting as paintings on the theater walls or as a picture on screen for the price of a movie ticket. In fact, much more is brewing under the surface. Whether anyone knows, or wishes, to acknowledge this, remains unclear.

This droning routine, rendering even sex stagnant, makes one look to smaller, more quotidian gestures to find any hint of disruption or untidiness. Mendoza sets everything up so that seeing a man being sucked off by a boy for a modest fee is no longer shocking; but catching Ronald looking one moment too long at Nayda is. The losing principle of Serbis, it seems, is that life should be anything but messy. If things do get messy, then clean up the mess, pure and simple. As Nanay Flor, the aging mother, says, “There’s a lot to fix in this movie house”, but she fails to recognize that perhaps some things, like her divorce, can’t really be fixed. Near the end of the film, Mendoza withdraws from the family and leaves the theater. The final scene rests on two complete strangers, men who briefly converse about nothing in particular, and the film reel burns up, leaving a gaping hole in the screen. The gesture reads like a "fuck you" to this concept of social mechanization to which the family--and on another level, the audience--so desperately adheres. With people, there is no smooth running or compartmentalizations to be had, so let them remain confusing and opaque, even in the movies.

CCSC Clear Party flyer: "Two Asian girls at the same time"

2009-04-22T09:09:00.009-04:00

If you haven't seen it already, there is a flyer circulating Columbia's campus, created and distributed by the Clear Party in lieu of CCSC elections. Read further for an image and some of the e-mails that have been circulating in response to this flyer:

Hey lovely people,

Some of you might have found out about this already, but there's a flyer for the student council campaign of the clear party that reads "Two Asian girls at the same time". Since finding out about it from eagle eye Vivian, I've gotten increasingly irritated.

So far, a few people have contacted this group about the issue of this flyer. I was talking to Sam Stanton, and she thinks it's a ripe time to get CCSC to mandate some type of anti-oppression training for all its members, or as many as possible. Something could be done with the elections board as well. (This comes out of the fact that somehow, someone involved with CCSC didn't get the fact that this flyer was offensive.) Nhu-Y says we should involve the administration, ppl the councils look up to. All things to talk about...

I suggested to Sam that we use the time right before the APAAM meeting on Wednesday to discuss things to do. So, 10pm, Lerner 5th floor? What do people think? Hopefully something worth pulling off before the end of the year?

If you haven't seen it, ~~it's hanging in Hamilton right now between floors 5 and 6 in the west staircase I think.~~

David

---

Hello folks,

I am e-mailing you guys to express my deep concern over a flyer from your party that I saw in Hamilton. I noticed a flyer that said "Two Asian Girls At The Same Time". I understand that you guys must have thought that was funny, but it is really upsetting. Not only is it a play off of a racist fetishization of Asian women that directly corresponds with the effeminization and invisibility of Asian men, as well as American imperialism, but it is also a heterosexist and patriarchal male fantasy that has contributed to the invisibility of Queer women. As a Queer woman of color I find this deeply offensive.

I wanted to e-mail you guys before I took any other actions, so that this issue could be resolved with maturity and expediency. I am asking that you please take down all of those flyers immediately. I also think it would be appropriate to release an apology. Please let me know what you decide to do as soon as possible.

Thank you

Samantha Stanton

Columbia College, Class of 2009

Who is Joe Wong?

2009-04-22T09:03:00.001-04:00

Actually, he kind of resembles my cousin:

USCC Election Results

2009-04-19T23:13:00.000-04:00

Executive Co-Chairs: Yadira Alvarez and Nicole Beach
Political Co-Chairs: Aretha Choi and Andrea Russell
Events Co-Chairs: Takako Kono and Destiny Sullens
Campus Liasons: Nancy Trujillo and Jia Ahmad
Communications Chair: open
Funding Co-Chairs: Maggie Jiang and open
Public Relations Co-Chairs: Wendy Bermudez and Alise Green
Webmaster: open

Ride or DYCAASC

2009-04-18T12:02:00.007-04:00

I am currently at New York City Asian American Student Conference (NYCAASC, aka "Nice Sak"), sitting in on a panel titled "Gender Expressions: Breaking the Binary" and taking poorly shot Photobooth pictures with my Macbook.

The description of the workshop:

Gender Expressions: Breaking the Binary

The popular idea that there are two distinct groupings of gender, with everyone falling neatly into one or the other, is simply nothing but a social construction. There is a broad middle ground that goes unaccounted, as every person is perceived to fall under one of two “checkboxes”. Not only does one’s speech and mannerisms influence this perception, but mere appearance is a sure instant telltale “sign” for classification: male or female. How does this affect APi/APi Americans? What are the tools that we need to strike down stereotypes? Why is this “clear-cut” mode of classification problematic for the APi community? Panelists ranging from various gender identities will lend perspectives in navigating the gender binary into more than just a spectrum and breaking down barriers set by society.

Speakers:
* Valerie Francisco (FiRE)
* Venancio Cabel (APiCHA)
* Calvin Sun (ECAASU)
* Shakthi Bhaskar (Columbia University)
* William Lee (betterasianman.com)

So far, there have been many awkward moments and hesitant conversation, but I think the speakers are getting into their groove. Though I was a bit turned off by William Lee's heteronormative introduction of himself. He describes his website as an Asian American Askmen.com, and says it teaches Asian American males how to get "tail" AKA women AKA OBJECTS. He focuses on what he means to be masculine and has introduced examples of masculinity, like "Denzel Washington". He says you can teach masculinity (which I am assuming involves sleeping with a lot of women and wearing a suit), as he was formerly an "effeminate heterosexual." Cracked out on insane energy drinks right now, I want to barf. His points reinforce the "gender binary" that we are trying to break down in this discussion. Fortunately, members of the audience and some panelists are keeping him in check. Granted, he admits his shortcomings and says he does not force his opinion upon anyone but rather "provides information." Still, I find this information a bit dangerous.

And gladly, we have a wonderful moderator, our own Blaaager and former NYCAASC Co-Directer, Marilla Li. I also have a soft spot for NYCAASC as I was a Columbia co-director with Marilla last year.

David, Katie, Sahil, sadness.

Oh shit, Valerie just knocked him down. I heard snaps from the audience.

Anyway, for more information about NYCAASC, visit the website here.

F My Life Post

2009-04-17T00:04:00.004-04:00

So I came across this FML post. I was in a really weird mood; I swear that I usually don't spend time on moany, angsty-teen-ish sites like this.

Today, I saw an old Caucasian lady drop her purse. Out of kind intention, I ran to pick it up for her. She hit me with a wooden cane she was holding in her right hand. Multiple times. I gave her the purse back. She hit me again and said "Fuck You Yellow Rat," before she walked off. I'm Asian. FML.

What?! Yellow Rat? First of all, I don't even know where this racial slur came from. Second of all, it's instances like this that remind us how real racism still is. Despite its altered form in today's overly politically correct society, the underlying sentiments clearly have not changed. Granted, this woman is old and probably grew up in a very different world, so perhaps this particular instance is not such a grave indicator of the state of society today. Still, it makes me sad and angry. WTF? Get over yourself old lady; that "yellow rat" is probably paying your social security bills!

Columbia East Asia Review seeking Editor-in-Chief

2009-04-16T15:55:00.001-04:00

The Columbia East Asia Review (CEAR), a Columbia undergraduate
academic publication entering its third year, is looking for an
Editor-in-Chief for the 2009-2010 year! Please see below for more
information.

The Columbia East Asia Review (CEAR) is an annual online and print,
peer-review academic journal dedicated to furthering knowledge of East
Asia through the promotion of research and interdisciplinary dialogue.
CEAR has three primary goals: first, to publish superior undergraduate
research of East Asia; second, to educate undergraduate contributors
and CEAR members about the academic publication process; and third, to
foster interest and idea exchange in the field of East Asian Studies.

In its second year, CEAR received over 100 submissions by
undergraduate students from three continents. In addition, its
substantial fundraising accomplishments allowed it to publish articles
online as well as in print. This year, CEAR was sponsored by more than
17 on-campus institutes and organizations. The Spring 2009 edition of
the Columbia East Asia Review will be launched on Friday, April 24,
2009 both in print and on our website, www.eastasiareview.org.

Position Opening: Editor-in-Chief, '09-‘10

Responsibilities:
- Coordinate the day-to-day operations of a fast-growing undergraduate
academic journal in its second year
- Manage the call for submissions, content selection, editing, and
final printing/publishing
- Lead a team of almost editors and technical staff
- Build a sustainable financial architecture for the journal
- Expand the publication’s publicity and reach through a campaign to
expand awareness of the journal at other universities across the
nation

Requirements:
- The applicant must be a student of Columbia College, SEAS, Barnard,
or General Studies
- Interest in East Asian Studies and knowledge of the East Asian
Studies community at Columbia
- The energy and know-how to run a quickly growing undergraduate publication
- at least 2 years of journalistic/publication experience (leadership
experience preferred)
- Dedication to building a dynamic academic community of
undergraduates inclusive of all disciplines as they relate to East
Asia
- Attention to detail and strong leadership abilities
- Strong interpersonal written and oral communication skills

To apply, send a cover letter and resume to editor@eastasiareview.org
by 11:59 PM, Monday, April 20,
2009. For more information about the Columbia East Asia Review, please
visit our website at www.eastasiareview.org.

Vote for the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center

2009-04-16T02:05:00.003-04:00

Cindy Luk and the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center asks for our support!

Her email:

Hey guys!

I volunteer at the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in Chinatown as part of the literacy team. We're a student-led group that promotes early childhood development in New York City's Chinatown through literacy events, book distributions, and book clubs. Our work is especially important because the parents generally are not financially well off and speak very little English so we try to alleviate the disadvantages these children face.

GOOD NEWS! We just found out that our team was selected as one of the 10 finalists from over 100 project submissions in a contest called “Power in Numbers” sponsored by Mountain Dew. The contest awards $10,000 grants to student-led projects that give back to the community.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! The team with the most votes will be awarded $10,000 for their cause. You can vote by going to www.energizeyourcommunity.com or checking out our facebook event at http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/event.php?eid=86448250733&ref=mf.. You may vote once a day until Wednesday, April 29th at 2:59 EST. It takes less than a minute and can really make a difference.

We are seeking 10,000 votes. That’s one dollar for every vote if you do the math. Statistics have demonstrated that children from low-income, vulnerable population families can hear as many as 20 million fewer words than their more affluent peers before the age of 4. Please help us as we work to bridge this gap.

Thanks for your support and REMEMBER TO VOTE!

Thanks,
Cindy

Asian Americans in the White House

2009-04-14T12:22:00.003-04:00

In lieu of Kal Penn's new job, I wanted to point out that there is an awesomely substantial number of Asian American officials in the White House this term, whose faces we'll undoubtedly see (or not? The media is fickle) for the next four years:

Eugene Kang - Special Assistant to the President
Pete Rouse - Senior Advisor
Chris Lu - Senior Advisor
Eric Shinseki - Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Steven Chu - Secretary of Energy
Kal Penn - Associate Director of White House Office of Public Liaison

Read more about them at Asian Americans for Obama.

USCC Elections TODAY!

2009-04-14T12:20:00.001-04:00

USCC Elections!
Tuesday, April 13th @ 9:15pm
Intercultural Resource Center (IRC) 552 W. 114th

All are welcome to come, vote, and/or run!

The United Students of Color Council (USCC) aims to act as a switchboard for students of color and student of color groups on campus. We advocate and program to: build community, foster collaboration, raise consciousness, create safe spaces and mobilize and empower students of color and student of color groups on campus.

Please come prepared to speak for no longer than 2 minutes about why you want to be on the USCC board, why you are best suited for the position, your vision for the coming year, etc. Feel free to reach out to uscc@columbia.edu with any questions/comments/concerns.

Elections are drop-down, in the following order:

Executive Co-Chairs (2)
-organize/facilitate meetings
-keep track of deadlines, send out reminders, step up/delegate responsibilities
-act as the default public voice for USCC
-meet with OMA advisors on a regular basis

Political Co-Chairs (2)
-organize Making the Connection: Building a Unified Community of Color (MCBUCC), a series of events that encourages coalition building
-keep USCC up-to-date on current issues within the community of color
-respond to political events that occur on and off campus

Event Co-Chairs (2)
-hold approximately 2 events per semester (filling in the gaps by doing events other student groups are not doing)
-support political co-chairs

Campus Liasons (2)
-organize at least one general body meeting per semester
-reach out to students of color not necessarily involved in student of color organizations
-maintain communication with student of color organizations

Communications Chair (1)
-send out executive board meeting notes
-send out weekly newsletter to general body

Funding Co-Chairs (2)
-handle logistics of co-sponsorship requests
-handle all e-form requests, reimbursements, etc.
-provide executive board with monthly budget updates
-plan a co-sponsorship information session at the beginning of the year (in conjunction with the
campus liaisons)

Public Relations Co-Chairs (2)
-increase awareness of USCC
-in charge of tabling at Activities Fairs
-in charge of flyers/advertising campaigns

Webmaster (1)
-maintain USCC website (including the calendar and blog)

Update: here are the results

8th Annual Asian Diversity Career Expo

2009-04-14T12:17:00.001-04:00

Join the largest and fastest growing Asian and Asian American Career expo in the nation!

Friday, May 1, 2009
10:00am - 4:00pm

Location:
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Email:
karen.yip@asianmba.org

Highlights:
• Unprecedented support from the Asian American community, as well as federal, state and local government agencies.
• Heavy coverage in ethnic and mainstream media.
• Working professionals in finance, transportation, defense, retail, government, telecommunications, law, healthcare, pharmaceutical, IT, consumer products and other industries will be present. Highly qualified individuals representing a variety of majors including business, political science, engineering, computer science, communications, psychology and natural science.

Please register here prior to event. Hope to see you there!

The Onion's take on Betty Brown's name comment

2009-04-13T10:24:00.003-04:00

Hahaha.

Tonight, an important APAAM event!

2009-04-13T09:28:00.006-04:00

Come learn about sexual and domestic violence in the Asian community at the following APAAM event occurring tonight from 7-9pm in the Satow Room in Lerner. Please see the blurb and Facebook event for more details.

How do the roles of violence in Asian communities differ? What can we do to help? Come join us for a free dinner and hear representatives from the New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC), Sakhi, and the Barnard Furman Counseling Center talk about their experiences of working on sexual and domestic violence related issues. The panel is followed by a Q&A session with the panelists.

We will also be showing a video about LivingPortrait, an interactive audio-visual installation, please see http://www.2rem.net/projects/lp/ or our facebook event at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=61509462137&ref=ts for more information.

Panelists profiles:

Fronthy Nguyen, NYAWC
As the Outreach Coordinator at the New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC), Fronthy is responsible for managing and conducting outreach activities for NYAWC. The outreach activities include conducting workshops at social service agencies to inform them about domestic violence in the Asian communities, presentations during roll-call at police precincts to educate police officers about the prevalence of domestic violence in Asian communities and attending community forums and events to better inform the public about domestic violence issues. Fronthy received her Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Management at The New School. Prior to graduate school, she worked in the area of youth development and is a former AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer.

Mohammad Levesque-Alam, Sakhi
His role is to spearhead Sakhi’s efforts to educate, raise awareness, and create dialogue to help end domestic violence. Mohammad is responsible for media advocacy, production of Sakhi’s media, community engagement and strategic relationship-building. Mohammad has a background as a reporter in the Queens weekly press and, prior to that, worked at a suburban Massachusetts daily newspaper. While pursuing his undergraduate degree at Northeastern University in Boston, he co-founded and co-edited an online political journal for progressive youth. Mohammad holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and minors in Political Science and History. He has conversational fluency in Urdu.

Yoko Takebayashi, Barnard Furman Counseling Center
Yoko Takebayashi is a staff psychologist at the Furman Counseling Center in Barnard College. She is also the Barnard/Columbia Liaison for the Rape Crisis Anti-Violence Support Center and provides training and supervision to RC/AVSC Peer Counselor/Advocates. Yoko earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Adelphi University. Her professional interest and specialties include Asian American mental health, acculturation and racial identity development, and trauma.

Hope to see you there!

Science, technology... espionage? Asians behaving badly?

2009-04-13T06:48:00.021-04:00

Something that drew my attention this sleepless morning was a news article via Asian American blogging grandfather Angry Asian Man that discussed a scientist sentenced to 51 months in prison for giving technology to the Chinese government. Here's that article.

Here's the lowdown...

Scientist named Quan-Sheng Shu decides to bribe the Chinese government with technology for "cryogenic fueling system for space-launch vehicles" to be used in a facility "designed to send space stations and satellites into orbit, as well as provide support for manned space flight and future lunar missions". Sounds pretty tame to me.
Our federal prosecutors decide to charge him with one count of bribery (okay, that's fine), and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act.

What first raised my eyebrows was whether technology for "manned space flight" could really be what the Arms Export Control Act refers to when describing things that "would contribute to an arms race, aid in the development of weapons of mass destruction, support international terrorism, increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict, or prejudice the development of bilateral or multilateral arms control or nonproliferation agreements or other arrangements" as it does in the actual text of the act. But I'm just a college student (who happens to be both geeky and anti-militant); I'm only vaguely confused as to why space flight is considered military technology.

What really irks me is what this case does and does not say about the criminalized racializations of Asians in America. The local news article focuses on particular details in this case: speaking through an interpreter, clandestine communication with the Chinese government. If you read the comments at the bottom, the image of an Asian enemy within American borders really begins to show. For people like me who read these news pieces through an Asian American lens, we've seen this before. He's the yellow peril, obviously.

Of course, that's not the full picture of this man. He tried to bribe the Chinese government of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which makes me think his concern for self-interest really outweighed any real desire to do "harm to the United States" or any other state. By failing, he seemingly did more damage to himself than he could have done to any state by succeeding. This is a case of extraordinary greed and stupidity, but I think those who try to paint him as a spy are probably wildly off the mark.

Still, Angry Asian Man seems to waste no time in his awfully witty "Asians Behaving Badly" segment to call out Shu for again bringing the Yellow Peril image upon fellow Asian Americans. He argues that this is not something that Asian Americans need after the "Wen Ho Lee debacle". What I want to ask AAM is: what exactly was the Wen Ho Lee debacle? If said debacle means what happened to this man, let's get some facts straight: Wen Ho Lee's indictment was actually supported by nothing (nothing!) except for an exclusionist fear of Asian espionage.

Dear Angry Asian Man, if you'd like to shift blame for the yellow peril stereotype onto its victims (a careless criminal like Shu and an innocent person like Ho) instead of the (often racist) sociopolitical atmosphere which engenders the perception, I'd also expect you to blame a desperate and mentally strained Vietnamese immigrant for perpetuating what another gunman named Cho left behind after Virginia Tech. This mistaken logic may have been why you called Jiverly Wong a coward.

This is pretty unacceptable. You have a lot of pull as an influential and well-respected Asian American blogger, and perhaps it's unfair to demand correctness all the time. Nevertheless, some mutual checking is in order here. These issues demand more insightful and critical commentary than "Asians Behaving Badly".

In related news, the tone of this post could be another example of what my friend has personally cited as "the Asian American community eating itself." My apologies; I take responsibility for this... and would be happy to read responses in the comments section.

Sounds of China: K-Squared - "Karaoke Klash"

2009-04-10T22:09:00.002-04:00

If you recall last year's Sounds of China fiasco, then you already know that Eddie Kang and I made fools of ourselves singing Britney Spears' "Toxic" in front of a famous record producer (something ridiculous like that). Clearly, Sounds of China does not have the same idea as we do when it comes to singing karaoke in public. In fact, K-Squared "Karaoke Klash", which starts at Lerner Party Space tomorrow at 7 PM, will probably be more of an Asian American Idol where one gets more points by singing songs that we don't entirely understand or like, but are popular overseas. Anyway. Annie Tan and our beloved new writer Kevin Zhai are slated to perform on behalf of AAA, and word is that they're not singing "Tong Hua"! Thank goodness. Go and get your support on.

Become a Mentor/Peer Advisor for historically underrepresented first year students through CMI

2009-04-10T22:06:00.002-04:00

CMI is a program that fosters mentoring relationships between historically underrepresented first year students (Latino, Native American, Asian/Asian American, Black/African American, LGBTQ, and international), upperclassmen, and alumni.

Apply to become a Peer Advisor and help first year students with the transition to college life! Also, receive an Alumni Mentor to guide you in your post-graduate aspirations.

Peer Advisor Responsibilities

* Serve as academic and social guide to first year students
* Connect first year students and alumni when appropriate
* Seek out alumni mentor when in need of professional guidance
* Attend CMI community functions
* Attend identity based Family Tree functions
* Be friendly and connect with fellow CMI members
* Commit for one full academic year

If you are interested, please contact Marta Esquilin (mee2009@columbia.edu) for an application! Our application deadline: April 24th, 2009

Betty Brown, you suck

2009-04-10T21:42:00.004-04:00

In Betty Brown's world, the American flag stands for good ol' fashioned apple pie and ethnocentrism

This in from OCA and Think Progress:

On Tuesday, State Rep. Betty Brown (R) caused a firestorm during House testimony on voter identification legislation when she said that Asian-Americans should change their names because they’re too hard to pronounce:
“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.

Brown later told [Organization of Chinese Americans representative Ramey] Ko: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Yesterday, Brown continued to resist calls to apologize. Her spokesman said that Democrats “want this to just be about race.”

Okay, Betty Brown, let me tell you something: this is not about race; this is about cultural and nationalistic misrepresentation. First, what is this "here" to which she is referring? Southern White America? If so, then I'm sorry, but isn't it a little problematic that Betty Brown seems to believe that a certain territory and population claims ownership over what kind of name is easy or difficult to pronounce? This sounds like hyper-patriotism to me, and not the good kind. Second, what is with this division of "you" and "us"? Who are "you" and who is "us"? Is she referring to "You" as the Asian Americans citizen, and "Us" as the imaginary, unicultural, un-colored citizen? Wake up, Betty. What you're speaking to is a process of selective historicity, in which you blindly believe that this imaginary division that you're creating, between an American culture and an incomplete, partly but not fully American subculture, actually exists. But it doesn't. You need to rethink your categories, of what constitutes an Americanism, inclusivity, and cultural understanding.

Paid Federal Government Internships for Asian Pacific American Students

2009-04-09T19:40:00.005-04:00

Position Title: Paid Federal Government Internship Opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) in Washington DC (eight internships available).
APAs include South and Southeast Asians, East Asians, as well as Pacific Islanders.

Duties/Job Description: The Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) will place eight (8) summer interns in the U.S. Federal Government. These internship positions are open to ALL MAJORS, and are suited for individuals looking to gain real-world federal government experience. Specifically, CAPAL offers a diverse set of opportunities for acquiring public policy and management skills at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Depending on your interests and placement, your duties could vary from policy or scientific research, project coordination and management, business, law, communication, and more. Applicants are asked to specify their preferences on the application, and those selected will be placed based on their interests and skills. Agricultural knowledge is not required.

CAPAL will also mentor all selected interns and provide guidance in transitioning to Washington, D.C. including how to locate housing, how to navigate the city, and how to make the best of their summer in the nation’s capital.

The internship application deadline is April 17, 2009 or open until all internship positions have been filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply early.

For more information or questions, please contact CAPAL at: scholarships@capal.org.

CAPAL also provides two (2) scholarships, separate from the internship compensation, in the amount of $2,000. The deadline for the scholarship application is May 1, 2009.

For more information about the CAPAL scholarships or for a copy of the application, please visit our website.

Requirements: Demonstrated commitment to public service, including service to the APA community.

Location: Washington, D.C.
Compensation: $2,000 stipend

Application Instructions: Applications can be downloaded from our website [OR HERE!].

All required documents must be submitted to be considered for an internship placement or CAPAL scholarship.

Application Deadline: April 17, 2009.
Contact: scholarships@capal.org
Website: http://www.capal.org

Gene Kim
Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL)
www.capal.org | P.O. Box
65073, Washington, DC 20035

Update: Haha, uhhh....this is actually the same thing that David posted like, a day ago. That's awkward....

Update on Lori Phanachone

2009-04-07T23:20:00.008-04:00

aThis just in! Storm Lake's Pilot Tribune recently published an article saying that Lori Phanachone was reinstated into the National Honor Society after having her membership revoked last Friday. Lori, a Laotian American high school senior at Storm Lake High School, was punished for refusing to take a state-wide English competency test simply because she marked on her registration forms that she spoke Laotian at home. For more info, see previous Blaaag posts by both Marilla and myself.

A civil rights agency representing a Laotian American Storm Lake High School honor student reports that the National Honor Society membership of Lori Phanachone was revoked at SLHS on Friday, then restored on Monday.
The district had given assurances that she would not be punished by removal from the program, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund officials said early Monday, calling for immediate reinstatement of the student to the National Honor Society as well as removal of any disciplinary action from Phanachone's files and assurance in writing that she will not be further punished or excluded.

And for those who don't know, AALDEF has taken on Lori's case. Here is the press release:

AALDEF DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR IOWA STUDENT DISCIPLINED FOR PROTESTING ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TESTING

Honor student deemed an English Language Learner for declaring Lao as her home language

New York, NY — The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), which is representing Iowa honors student Lori Phanachone, has called for the removal of all references to disciplinary action from her school record after she refused to take an English Language Learner (ELL) test. Phanachone was mislabeled an English Language Learner (ELL) after naming Lao as her home language.

Khin Mai Aung, the AALDEF staff attorney representing the student, said: “Lori Phanachone is an honor student who has excelled in mainstream classes throughout her life, and happens to speak Lao as her home language. Storm Lake has improperly conflated my client’s knowledge of Lao with lack of fluency in English.”

The Storm Lake School District, which did not assess Ms. Phanachone’s English level when she enrolled two years ago, has since subjected her to a yearly test for ELLs. The 3.98 GPA senior did not receive English as a Second Language or other ELL services before moving to Storm Lake as a sophomore. Since matriculating in Storm Lake, Ms. Phanachone has excelled in advanced courses–all of which were taught in English. This year, she boycotted the yearly ELL test in protest. As a result, Ms. Phanachone was suspended for 3 days and threatened with the loss of National Honor Society membership, exclusion from school activities including the track team, prom and other extracurricular activities, as well as further disciplinary action.

Lori Phanachone said: “Storm Lake labeled me an English Language Learner when I enrolled without even bothering to test me. All I want is to continue my education without the school labeling me unfairly.”

Among other things, AALDEF demands that the Storm Lake School District:
Remove all references to Lori Phanachone’s suspension and other disciplinary action from her school records;
Assure in writing that it will not impose further disciplinary action on her;
Clarify Storm Lake’s procedures for classifying students as ELL upon enrollment;
Explain how and why Lori Phanachone was classified as an ELL under Storm Lake’s classification procedures; and
Reclassify Lori Phanachone, and other affected students if appropriate under Iowa and federal law, as English proficient.

Thank goodness this case is making some headway! Like Marilla said, this individual case may seem insignificant and just a technicality, but it's representative of many ways in which the law forces people into strict categories and undervalues America's diversity. AALDEF has asked people not to contact the school administrators, but feel free to write Lori letters of support! If have a letter, email it to theblaaag@gmail.com and we will make sure it gets to Lori!

Still need something to do this summer?

2009-04-07T20:47:00.002-04:00

CAPAL (Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership) Internships!

INTERNSHIPS PROGRAM:

CAPAL will also partner with four federal government agencies to award eight paid internships to APA college and graduate students. Each intern will be assigned mentors and will receive a $2,000 stipend. Two interns will be placed at each of the following agencies:
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Forest Service (FS)
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
Rural Development (RD)
Applications are due April 3, 2009. Click below to download the application form and instructions.

Click [here] for the 2009 CAPAL Internship Application in PDF form

Click [here] for the 2009 CAPAL Internship Application in Word form

Check out the site here.

NYLAG Internship Opportunity for Mandarin Speakers

2009-04-07T17:02:00.001-04:00

To Whom It May Concern:

I am the volunteer coordinator for the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), a nonprofit organization that provides legal help to New York?s most vulnerable and underserved individuals. We are urgently seeking a fluent Mandarin speaker for immediate placement in our Immigration Protection Unit. NYLAG?s Immigrant Protection Unit handles a comprehensive range of immigration cases including adjustment of status, non-immigrant visas, citizenship, asylum, VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) petitions, and other forms of immigration relief. The Immigrant Protection Unit also provides help to individuals with public assistance matters such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI and other government benefits which are often intricately associated with an individual?s immigration needs.

The intern would assist with some very pressing cases, providing much-needed interpretation and translation for non-English-speaking individuals. The intern will work personally with clients, and become familiar with immigration practice. If the candidate has written fluency, he or she would also be responsible for translating documents related to pending immigration matters, but our first priority is finding an intern with conversational fluency. This position is part time, with a minimum commitment of about eight hours weekly.

I am wondering if you can help us locate a qualified student who might be interested in this position. Thank you for your time and assistance, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Anat Schraub

NYLAG Volunteer Coordinator

aschraub@nylag.org

www.nylag.org

Oh my god, Kal Penn

2009-04-07T15:41:00.004-04:00

Top story in the New York Daily News:

New Jersey-born actor Kal Penn, who played a stoner Guantanamo Bay escapee in the movies and a doctor on TV's "House," has scored a job in the White House. Way to go, dude!

Penn, 31, will become associate director in the White House Office of Public Liaison, administration officials confirmed Tuesday. The Indian-American film star will be an emissary to the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, along with arts and entertainment groups.

Penn campaigned extensively throughout the country for President Obama last year and was a hit on college campuses.

WHAT! Does this mean that we'll expect Kal Penn vlogs from the White House? Or some Presidential grass burning rituals? Also, there's a spoiler for House, and it's related to this news, but I won't tell it, because I don't watch House.

Jiverly Wong and the Meaning of Being Angry

2009-04-04T19:21:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, a Vietnamese immigrant named Jiverly Wong entered the American Civic Association, an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton, New York, and murdered thirteen individuals in a citizenship class. For those who are not familiar with the situation, you can read about it here.

As I read the updated news reports, attempting to process the event and understand the motivations, I increasingly become more upset. An immigrant, a daughter of immigrants who struggled to learn English and gain American citizenship, and someone who seeks to work with immigrant communities now as a student and in the future professionally, I am simultaneously connected to and detached from what happened. I say detached because I have the privilege as someone not directly involved to read, express dismay/shock/sympathy, and move on. But personally, I cannot, and feel the responsibility to recognize the implications of this event. What happened involves many factors, among them the issue of mental health in Asian and Asian American communities and immigrant communities at large and ideas that Asian immigrants are “successful” and “models” when they, too, share common struggles with other immigrants. This is why I am frustrated when I see influential Asian American commentators like Phil Yu write things like this on his blog:

So he decided to kill as many people as possible, before shooting himself? That's the act of a coward. Look, I am sympathetic to those who are going through tough times. Maybe you're not happy with the way your life has turned out. It seems like you're alone, and things don't look like they're going to get better.

But there are a lot of people getting through tough times, and they're not strapping on bulletproof vests and shooting up crowds. There's something seriously wrong with this condition -- and no, it's not just an Asian thing, or an immigrant thing. Don't try to turn it into that. People need to deal, and we need to help each other deal.

Indeed, Phil Yu is right when he says it is not just “an Asian thing” and “an immigrant thing.” There is more to it; all situations involve multiplicities. But to move forward, take care of our communities, and seek justice for those murdered, we must take proactive steps beyond blame and anger. The crime was cowardly, yes. Murder is senseless. But to deconstruct his, to see broader implications, requires sensitivity and thoughtfulness. What provoked this man to vent his frustration in such a way? And, further, upon members of his own community? And how may we better understand this situation so that it does not happen again? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but thinking about the event as more than an “act of a coward” will eventually be more fruitful.

APIAVote seeks Executive Director

2009-04-04T14:47:00.003-04:00

For all our graduates...

Hello friends & colleagues -

The Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) is pleased to announce the re-opening of its Executive Director search process. You may be familiar with our work and our partnerships with local and national AAPI community based organizations. APIAVote is a progressive 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes civic participation of the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

The position of Executive Director requires strong field strategy and management experience. APIAVote's primary goal is to build the field and organizational capacity of our local and national partner organizations, through coalition building and training. Its program focus addresses voter registration, get-out-the-vote (GOTV) initiatives, media/communications strategy and voter file operations.

The Executive Director reports directly to the Board of Directors and oversees a small staff that does administrative, field, communications, and program management tasks. S/he is responsible for day-to-day operations including its effective staff administration, fundraising, communications, field organizing, training and partner relationships.

This is a wonderful organization that addresses a distinct community need. It is also a great opportunity for a qualified and innovative candidate. Please forward this to your networks, and any interested parties. If you have any questions regarding APIAVote, please take a look at our website (www.apiavote.org/jobs), or contact the ED Search Committee at APIAVotejobs@gmail.com.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Jeanette Moy

Executive Director Search Committee

APIAVote Board of Directors

Vida Benavides

Interim Executive Director

APIAVote

______________________________________________________________________
POSITION: Executive Director

INSTITUTION: Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

DEADLINE: April 15, 2009

ABOUT APIAVote: Founded in 1996, APIAVote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Islander Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels. APIAVote envisions a society in which all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans fully participate in and have access to the democratic process.

The Executive Director of APIAVote will report to the board of directors and manage a team of professionals and staff appropriate to the scope and scale of the organization's work.

SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS: The Executive Director of APIAVote will have the primary responsibility of leading the organization through:

Fundraising and Financial Management

· Develop, manage and monitor organization's fundraising plan, including building and maintaining relationships with funders. Develop, manage and monitor organization's financial management system.

Programs

· Develop and oversee all programs of APIAVote, including field and leadership programs.

· Assist local partners to implement their civic participation campaigns.

· Develop and oversee APIAVote's communications program, to promote awareness of API civic engagement issues and highlight the work of local partners.

Coalition building and collaboration

· Promote strategic alliances and collaborations with organizational and institutional partners.

· Establish APIAVote as a leader in convening diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to project a unified voice.

Personnel Management

· Hire, manage and evaluate staff and contractors, and provide supervision to senior and administrative staff, ensuring that staff have adequate resources, training and support.

Board Development

· Maintain strong and effective relations with the Board of Directors by providing thoughtful and timely information.

· Provide support to Board committees and assist with Board cultivation and development.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS: This position requires a motivated individual with experience in financial management and oversight, strategic planning, civic engagement, community/electoral organizing and fundraising at the national level. Excellent communication and presentation skills are required. Ability to manage staff and resources efficiently is critical.

COMPENSATION: Competitive salary commensurate with skills and experience. Full health and dental insurance provided.

SEND RESUMES TO: APIAVote Executive Director Search Committee - apiavotejobs@gmail.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please visit www.apiavote.org/jobs or send an inquiry to apiavotejobs@gmail.com

Paid summer internship with OCA-NY

2009-04-04T14:46:00.000-04:00

PAID SUMMER INTERNSHIP WITH OCA-NY

May 18 - August 15, 2009

OCA-NY seeks a college or graduate student for a full-time summer internship position to work on OCA-NY projects and initiatives, namely the Hate Crimes Prevention Art Project and the Voter Registration and Education Project.

Qualifications:

Commitment to social justice issues
Experience in facilitating youth projects
Ability to work independently
Flexible schedule; some weekends and nights are required
Must work well with diverse student groups (ethnic, economic, social)
Must be a self-starter
Must have excellent organizational skills
Knowledge of issues affecting New York City under-represented communities
Must be available week of May 4 for interviews, either by phone or in person

Stipend:

$2,000.00 for the period from May 18 to August 15, 2009

To Apply:

Send a cover letter, current resume and an essay, no more than 500 words as to why you should be selected for this position. Include names and contact information of two references: one from someone who is knowledgeable of your character and leadership skills and one from a professor that has taught you within the last year.

Email cover letter, resume and essay to Michele Lam at <michele.lam@oca-ny.org>. Please indicate in the subject line: “OCA-NY Summer Internship - [Your Name].” Applications are due Friday, April 24, 2009, 11:59 p.m. EST.

Due to the large number of expected applicants, we will not be able to respond to each application.

OCA-New York is the New York chapter of OCA (formerly known as the Organization of Chinese Americans), a national non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well being of Asian Pacific Americans. Its goals are to advocate for social justice, equal opportunity and fair treatment, to promote civic participation, education and leadership, to advance coalition building and to foster cultural heritage.

Three years later, a man's death is found to have planted evidence - who is worth fighting for in our democracy?

2009-04-04T13:21:00.004-04:00

In 2006, a young Hmong man named Fong Lee was shot and killed by a rookie Mineeapolis police officer, Jason Andersen. During the trial, Andersen cited self defense as motive for the killing, claiming that Lee had a gun (which was found next to his dead body). He was cleared of all charges and not found guilty of violating police procedures.Three years later, due to a lawsuit filed by Lee's family, newly discovered information suggests that the gun was planted, and that Andersen's claim of "self defense" was a sham:

... new evidence filed Monday in a lawsuit brought by Lee's family against Andersen and the city of Minneapolis suggests that the gun had been in police possession, not Lee's, for nearly two years before the shooting. A Police Department report provided to Judge Paul Magnuson showed the gun found near Lee's body was the same gun recovered from a burglary in north Minneapolis in 2004, inventoried and kept in the department's property room since the burglary.
In alleging the gun was planted, the filing says that when the Police Department discovered the origin of the gun, it issued a new supplemental report "trying to intimate" the gun recovered in 2004 and registered to the person who was burglarized might now not be the same gun. In 2004, police ran the gun's serial number and verified it belonged to the burglary victim, but never returned it to him, according to the document filed Monday.

This reminds me of a scene in the documentary Vincent Who?, where Helen Zia discusses the lack of thorough investigation into Vincent Chin's death. In the case of Chin, rather than looking into causes of death inspired by hatred against the Japanese auto industry, investigators focused instead on Vincent Chin's citizenship, making a clear distinction between what kind of life is worth fighting for and what isn't. It's as if to say, if you're not American enough, then you're not worth defending under American law and justice.

That Lee's own family had to fight for a new investigation is a clear denotation of just how little the American legal system is willing to do for certain individuals due to a stratification of people that is measured by national or political "worth". This case and its aftermath is just one example of the way that immigration sets up problems, injustices, and power dynamics that complicate the notion of "democracy". If the spirit of "democracy" makes immigration an unavoidable thing, and if our political system is democratic, then there needs to be a reconciling with those who are marginalized and beaten to the sidelines. They can't just be rendered invisible. Once these injustices come to light, those who operate our so-called democracy need to own up to political lies that have been fed to the general public.

Read more at Star Tribune

The Black Theater Ensemble needs production help!

2009-04-04T13:19:00.001-04:00

LIGHTING DESIGNER, PRODUCTION ASSISTANT, FRONT OF THE HOUSE MANAGER and Run CREW Needed for BTE’s Spring Production!

BTE (Black Theater Ensemble) is looking for enthusiastic individuals to join the production team of our upcoming Spring '09 production, a double feature of the plays For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange and Flag Day by Lee Blessing. Performances are scheduled for April 23, 24, and 25 in the Lerner Black Box Theater.

We are currently seeking a LIGHTING DESIGNER, PRODUCTION ASSISTANT, FRONT OF THE HOUSE MANAGER and Run CREW.

-Lighting Designer responsibilities include generating desired lighting effects for the production. You will work closely with directors to create the overall 'look' for the show in response to the texts while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost.

-Production Assistant responsibilities include attending rehearsals as directed by the producer/director, assisting with selling and placement of advertisements for playbill, assist with producer and printer for quotes on printing playbills and other marketing materials, attending all production meetings, help run registration table for auditions and callbacks, help run errands as needed for the production team, marketing, selling tickets, etc. This is a GREAT way to get involved in our production

without having prior theater experience!

-Front of House Manager responsibilities include tearing tickets during performances in addition to making sure the theater is in order and that the audience is in their seats on time.

-Run Crew responsibilities include helping set up, run, and break down, props and scenery before, during, and after the performances. We are also looking for board-ops to run lights and/or sound. Time commitment is limited to tech week (April 20-26) and one or two short meetings the week before. These positions are a great way to get involved with a student theatre group on campus. If you are interested or would like to know more about the positions, please email clc2128@columbia.edu.

Best,

The BTE Production Team

AALDEF Summer Legal Internship Opportunity!

2009-04-03T01:03:00.001-04:00

2009 SUMMER LEGAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Internships for the summer of 2009 are available in the following program areas only:

Community Health Care Initiative, legal research, as well as community education and outreach in the areas of immigration, government benefits, language rights, and health care access; and

Voting Rights, legal research and fact development under the Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause challenging anti-Asian voter discrimination, advocacy on bilingual ballots, and state and local election reform; produce reports and organize public forums.

Description of Summer Internship Program:

The summer program is ten weeks, from approximately June 1^st through August 7^th. Interns work full-time and are supervised by attorneys in specific program areas. Interns will work on litigation, particularly legal research and writing, legal and policy advocacy, community outreach and education, and client intakes. Each program area differs in emphasis. Summer interns attend weekly brown bag lectures on a range of public interest legal topics along with interns from other legal defense funds and civil rights groups. AALDEF also provides trainings in housing law, naturalization procedures, and immigration law. The position is unpaid. However, in previous years many AALDEF interns have been successful at securing independent funding. Academic credit can be arranged.

To Apply:

· Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to be received by AALDEF on or before Monday, April 13, 2009 at the address below. Please indicate why you are interested in focusing on the Community Health Care Initiative and/or the Voting Rights project in your cover letter. For email applications, please write “Summer Internship Application” or “SIP Application” in the Subject. Only law students qualify for AALDEF’s legal internships. Fax or email applications are acceptable, but email applications are strongly preferred.

· Any bilingual ability should be stated in the application. Bilingual ability is helpful but not required. Gujarati, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, and Urdu-speaking applicants are especially urged to apply.

Summer Internship Search (Legal)

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor
New York , New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303

For more information, contact: Jennifer Weng at 212-966-5932 x212 or jweng@aaldef.org

"Can you believe, like, Hillary Duff, slagged, Faye Dunaway?"

2009-03-31T23:02:00.002-04:00

Oh, Diana and Jen, will you ever stop being hilarious?

Review: "A Song For Ourselves"

2009-03-31T06:33:00.008-04:00

A Song For Ourselves | 2009 | dir. Tadashi Nakamura

Sometimes, social justice is found in unexpected places. In 1968, two middle-aged Japanese American women--former internees, prisoners of conscience and friends with this amazing activist -- began an antiwar community organization called Asian Americans for Action (familiar initials) while eating lunch on a park bench in Manhattan. The son of one of those nisei, Chris Kando Iijima (CC '69!), would document the Asian American Movement on the twang of guitar strings and a humble yet forceful voice. Weaving in and out of cities with his bandmates Joanne Nobuko Miyamoto and William "Charlie" Chin, Iijima would be the Movement's traveling newscaster, spreading the word to organizers just as quickly as he digested their own experiences into his lyrics.

A Song For Ourselves, the recently-released documentary by filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura (Pilgrimage, Yellow Brotherhood), is the story of Iijima's life. A combination of older footage, present-day interviews, and some slick animation tricks, the movie starts somewhere between childbirth and Malcolm X and ends in the wake of his heartwrenching death in 2005. With protests and sixth-grade classrooms as the backdrops, Song is as much about the movement and the music as it is about the man himself and the people whose lives he touched.

A journey down an empowering and emotional road is set to the greatest soundtrack possible: A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America, the 1973 LP released by Iijima, Miyamoto, and Chin and a personal favorite. Recorded in a time when being "Asian American" was a new thing, and more about what you did in the community than who you said you were, the album travels down as many roads as Iijima and co. did. The twelve songs pay tribute to fallen Black Panthers, retell Native American folklore, and in one case end up in Spanish. At the same time, it celebrates these struggles as profound moments of self-realization and sonic beauty:

And we walked, feeling the ground
We'd someday own, not alone
And I knew there was something different
And I feel us growing stronger
Building something new...
I knew there was something different about me today

A Grain of Sand | Something About Me Today

A Grain of Sand | Somos Asiaticos (We Are Asians)

A Song For Ourselves operates in the same way--Iijima's role in voicing the Movement is just one chapter of this story. Equally important is his later life: his decision not to professionalize his music and become a teacher on the Upper East Side, his wife and children, his law professor years in Hawaii, and the rare illness that claims his life. The inevitable is somber, but Nakamura injects the penultimate moments with a subtle sweetness that defines the entire film. If you don't tear up by the time the credits roll, you're probably a robot.

Equally important to the documentary is its supporting cast: bandmates Miyamoto and Chin, parents Kazu and Tak (family friends, believe it or not), wife Jane, sons Christopher and Alan, and longtime friend and California Assemblymember Warren Furutani. (and guest starring John & Yoko!) A must-see--major props to Nakamura for taking the Asian American Movement and giving the force that Iijima himself sang: "where the strongest bomb is human, who is bursting to be free."

Two more songs, because this album is so $*@! good:

A Grain of Sand | We Are the Children

A Grain of Sand | Jonathan Jackson

(And hey, this means Yuri Kochiyama is a friend of a friend of Grandma!)

Vincent Who! film screening and producer Q&A this Thursday!

2009-03-31T00:52:00.007-04:00

I blogged about this movie a while back. Then I finally watched it at NAASCon '08, and now, thanks to the powers of APAAM, it's coming to hang out at Columbia/Barnard. If you don't know already, there's a major reason why the date of Vincent Chin's death is the date on our staff list entry. And if you don't know, then maybe this is the perfect film for you.

Check out the Facebook event here.

Ethix Ventures, Inc. is fighting sweatshop labor

2009-03-31T00:38:00.006-04:00

In January, David wrote an entry about sweatshops that interrogated whether, as Nicholas Kristof claims, they can and should be considered "a necessary evil". Not long after posting, Daniel Cardozo contacted us about the work that his company, Ethix Ventures, Inc., has been doing to help restrain the anti-sweatshop movement:

As far as we know, Ethix Ventures is unique. We're a distributor of eco-friendly, Union Made, Made in USA, and Fair Trade custom-printed merchandise.

As you might guess, thousands of organizations order custom-printed products every day. And while information about how individuals can order eco-friendly, domestic, union made and fairly traded products is fairly accessible, it is much harder for organizations to find out how to clean up their supply chains.

Everyone is affiliated with an organization - a business, religious group, camp, school, etc. - to some extent. A wave of socially conscious consumerism is already upon us, but why should it stop at consumer products? Many people already want to know that the organizations they support are, in turn, supporting socially responsible factories here and around the world.

Normally, we're wary of endorsing anything that has "Inc." tacked after its name, but the people over at Ethix Ventures seem to be thoroughly concerned with what's going on with sweatshop labors, and actively working to do something about it. Perhaps they should hook up with Justice Will Be Served! Thanks for reminding us that not all organizations and merchandise have to spout immorality and malevolence, Daniel.

Check out Daniel Cardozo's blog entry here.

Yale a capella group does 'Single Ladies'

2009-03-30T22:55:00.007-04:00

A video by Mixed Company of Yale, an a cappella group, released a spin on Beyonce's 'Single Ladies', entitled 'Single Asians.'

One of the verses goes something like this:

'At the restaurant
I'll taste your sauce
And you can slurp my sushi.
I like it raw,
So bring it on,
And me love you long time.'

Etymology:

The phrase "me love you long time" and the accompanying "me so horny" originates from the Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket. In the movie, UK actress Papillon Soo Soo (credited as "Da Nang Hooker") speaks the lines:

Hey baby, you got girlfriend Vietnam? Me so horny. Me love you long time.

So there you have it. According to IvyGate who contacted the group, Mixed Company at Yale feels no qualms about posting this video. Full of endless (often derrogatory) sterotypes.

USCC event! Executive Decision(s): Leadership at Columbia University

2009-03-30T20:45:00.001-04:00

Sent in from our friend and ally Saffiyah Madraswala:

Executive Decision(s): Leadership at Columbia University
Tuesday, April 7th @ 6pm
Lewis Parlor in Brooks hall/dorm at Barnard

A look at leadership and its intersection with different social identities in campus organizations:
What does leadership look like within communities of color?
What does it mean to be a woman of color leader?
What are masculine leadership qualities? Are they too highly valued?
Who's voices are heard in the boardroom?

Please join the United Students of Color Council (USCC) for this dialogue on leadership. Dinner will be provided.

AAA Elections: the results are in!

2009-03-29T23:18:00.006-04:00

Chair
Kevin Zhai, SEAS '12

CC/SEAS Vice Chair
Lizzie Shen, CC '11

Barnard Vice Chair
Ai-Lin Shao, BC '11

Secretary
Belle Yan, CC '12

Treasurer
Steven Wong, SEAS '12

Community Chair
Sahil Shah, SEAS '12

Political Chair
Laura Ly, CC '12

Event Advisor
Annie Tan, CC '11

Publicity Chair
Alysha Chan, SEAS '10

Congratulations, you drastically tinier board, you! Have fun picking OCMs! EDIT: Updated with Treasurer and Publicity Chair. Thanks, Kevin!

APAAM: Sexual and Domestic Violence Panel

2009-03-29T22:56:00.001-04:00

APAAM & Barnard Columbia Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center presents:
Sexual and Domestic Violence Panel in the Asian Community
Monday, April 13, 2009
7-9pm at Satow Room, Lerner

How do the roles of violence in Asian communities differ?
What can we do to help?

Come join us for a free dinner and hear representative from the New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC) and Sakhi talk about their experiences of working on sexual and domestic violence related issues. The panel is followed by a Q&A session with the panelists.

Panelists profiles:

Fronthy Nguyen, NYAWC

As the Outreach Coordinator at the New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC), Fronthy is responsible for managing and conducting outreach activities for NYAWC. The outreach activities include conducting workshops at social service agencies to inform them about domestic violence in the Asian communities, presentations during roll-call at police precincts to educate police officers about the prevalence of domestic violence in Asian communities and attending community forums and events to better inform the public about domestic violence issues. Fronthy received her Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Management at The New School. Prior to graduate school, she worked in the area of youth development and is a former AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer.

Mohammad Levesque-Alam, Sakhi
His role is to spearhead Sakhi’s efforts to educate, raise awareness, and create dialogue to help end domestic violence. Mohammad is responsible for media advocacy, production of Sakhi’s media, community engagement and strategic relationship-building. Mohammad has a background as a reporter in the Queens weekly press and, prior to that, worked at a suburban Massachusetts daily newspaper. While pursuing his undergraduate degree at Northeastern University in Boston, he co-founded and co-edited an online political journal for progressive youth. Mohammad holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and minors in Political Science and History. He has conversational fluency in Urdu.

Hope to see you there!

AAA Elections are today!

2009-03-29T10:47:00.002-04:00

But you're not invited, because they're closed. Sorry, general body. This year AAA is doing it a little differently, and, like any other major board election, there is probably some drama involved. ~~We'll keep you posted on the results.~~ Here are the results.

Update: I underestimated the e-board. Not only are elections closed, but they're even closed to senior advisers and PC members! Boo. Elections are at 5:30, somewhere in Lerner, if you care to watch through the tiny glass windows.

NYT: Drinkers' Red Face May Signal Cancer Risk

2009-03-29T02:40:00.006-04:00

Believe what you will, but I was not about to cry

It's very appropriate that I heard about this while talking to a girl at some random party, where everyone was "of East Asian ancestry", pounding beers, and nursing faces as bright as tomatoes:

People whose faces turn red when they drink alcohol may be facing more than embarrassment. The flushing may indicate an increased risk for a deadly throat cancer, researchers report.
The flushing response, which may be accompanied by nausea and a rapid heartbeat, is caused mainly by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2, a trait shared by more than a third of people of East Asian ancestry — Japanese, Chinese or Koreans. As little as half a bottle of beer can trigger the reaction.

What. The. Hell.

The NYCAASC website (including registration) is up and running

2009-03-29T02:10:00.006-04:00

What's with this new logo? Why does it look all Olympics-y like the London 2012 logo? Why does that remind me of this year's ECAASU being all Olympics-y (but for different reason, because ECAASU was idealistically like the Olympics, and NYCAASC is only similar in terms of aesthetics)? Gah! Free form association sucks! Anyway, register or sign up to be a volunteer. Now.

AAA: CrossRoads - High School Leadership Conference on April 25th!

2009-03-29T02:01:00.007-04:00

Aw, so cute! This is the first conference organized by AAA that helps high school kids acquire "history, information, leadership skills":

A crossroad represents a point at which a crucial decision must be made that will have far reaching consequences. As of the 2005 census, almost 15 million Americans identify as Asian or Pacific Islander. While the APIA community has come a long way in terms of overcoming discrimination, fighting stereotypes, having representation in sports, media, politics, business and various other areas of society, we still have a lot to learn from each other and ourselves. We still have a lot that we can accomplish.

The Asian American Alliance at Columbia University will host its first ‘Crossroads’ leadership conference on Saturday, April 25th, 2009. All high school students are encouraged to apply. Delegates will work closely with student leaders at Columbia University. We hope to provide delegates with information, history, leadership skills, and a network of peers from which they can benefit from to become the next of generation of leaders.

An application process is required. The link to the application is here. All interested students are strongly encouraged to apply.
Deadline: APRIL 3RD at 11:59PM

Please email us at aaacrossroads@gmail.com with questions, comments, concerns, etc.

Hope to see you there!

Where the hell was this when I was a sad little freshman, with a sad little grey Jansport, scouring the hallways of Bronx Science? Oh right, I was wasting away in the yearbook office, but that's a story for another day. (BTW, I still wear that Jansport everywhere, ah, sentimental objects.)

Check out this event more on Facebook.

Volunteer for a community health fair with Lucha!

2009-03-29T01:44:00.002-04:00

Hello,

On April 11th Lucha will be having an health fair in Roone Arledge from 12-4 for the residents of Harlem and Washington Heights. This fair will provide services such as screenings for HIV and diabetes, health education, and registration for government services such as Medicaid and food stamps. The message of the fair is that health is a universal human right. We are still seeking co-sponsorships, both monetary and in terms of volunteers. Particularly, at this point we still want at least 20-30 more volunteers. I know that many of you receiving this email are already aware of the upcoming fair, but I am writing hoping that at least this email could be forwarded to your list-serves so if your members wish to get involved they can.

If you are interested in getting involved either as a group or individually, please email lucha.columbia@gmail.com.

Here is the link to the facebook event as well: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=55314919882

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Best,
Paco Martin del Campo

Come Participate in AAA's Sex Ed Documentary This Weekend!

2009-03-24T02:20:00.006-04:00

Stellar Laotian-American Student Forced to Take English Competency Test by Racist School Officials

2009-03-23T16:18:00.006-04:00

Lori Phanachone is a star student at Iowa's Storm Lake High School. She is a member of the National Honor Society with a 3.9 GPA and is ranked 7th in her senior class of 119. Apparently, though, her achievements are not an indicator of her competency in the English language, as she was recently suspended for three days for her refusal to take the "English Language Development Assessment." According to a written statement from the school officials last Wednesday, Lori could be facing expulsion if she maintains her refusal. Her scholarships at Buena Vista University and Iowa State are also in jeopardy.

The policy in itself is not very offensive; rather, it is the administrators' responses and that has been very racist. In efforts to ensure universal literacy in education, it makes sense to have a policy that require certain people to take literacy tests. However, the current way of determining test eligibility is flawed; although a flawless system is near-impossible, students such as Lori have absolutely no need to prove their English language competency. Perhaps a simple signed exemption form from a humanities/social science teacher would have ameliorated this whole situation.

Instead, school officials responded with an adamant attitude, and one that is very racist. In particular, the school district's curriculum coordinator, Lori Porsche, maintains that Phanachone must take the best because indicated on her school registration that English was not the first language spoken at home, unswayed by Phanachone's outstanding academic performance and more-than-obvious competency in English.

Another example, according to Phanachone: "Mr. Ruleaux (assistant principal Beau Ruleaux) told me I was 'no Rosa Parks' -- that I should give up because I would not succeed in my protest." Rather than try to fix the system, those still in favor of the test seek to make an example out of Lori's repeated refusal to conform to their system. The problem is that the officials have taken the policy as the absolute, and have neither considered the original intentions of the policy nor possibilities for reform.

There is disagreement among administrators in other Iowa school districts, and the situation has stirred up quite a controversy. AALDEF has taken on the case, and has asked supporters to hold off on formal protests/letters to the school officials for now. However, AAA PC (Political Committee) will be meeting this Sunday from 4:30-5:30pm in Lerner Board Room 503 to write letters of support to Lori Phanachone. Everyone is welcome!

For more information:
Sioux City Journal
The Register (Des Moines)
KTIV (Siouxland's News Channel)
Angry Asian Man