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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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

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!!

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

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!