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.

Most Blaaagers don't like to take credit so voluntarily, but I think some of us might see when it's due. In my not-so-humble opinion, I think AAA's done enough positive, progressive events and initiatives to merit one of these babies, but it's up for you to decide!

So go over to the site, take a gander, and hopefully you'll think of some reason to nominate us for an award. Yay!

Craziness captured with my trusty audio recorder.

Phil: "Damn, the mango's still intact."
Henry: "I moon many people."
Jia: "... no comment."
Aretha: "Why can't I have a good diaphragm?"
David: "Calvin, you are way too kinky for us."

[update Monday 8:41 am]

In North Hills, Long Island, AAA is just a bunch of hooligans munching on Nutter Butters and Milano cookies, passing out from exhaustion on the carpeted basement floor, scrawling on each other's faces with highlighters, blasting bad songs in the morning, and groaning over bagels and breadbowls of soup in Panera (until the next LIRR train arrives).

It was, to say the least, a gross misrepresentation of AAA as it exists on campus: a group of witty, clever, and responsible individuals.

(Who has pictures?)

As our chair has dutifully informed us, AAA has made it into the Columbia Spectator three days in a row! (Wednesday to Friday, September 26th to 29th)

Here's the sampling:
"A Statement from the Asian American Alliance" - our statement about the 114th St. NYPD confrontation.
"Campus Groups Re-evaluate 'Umbrella Group' Designation"
"Student Weigh Response to Graffiti"

And we're not the only ones stepping it up. The Spectator itself has been making some pretty impressive waves lately in reporting the latest slew of hate incidents in the Columbia and Morningside Heights community. Something tells me they're not done yet.

In an editorial yesterday, they even made the painstakingly valuable connection between the graffiti incident and the racial slurs thrown at an Asian American student two weeks ago yesterday by the NYPD. This piece, titled "Harmful Speech", gains kudos just through its apparent racial awareness. And for this, we thank the Spec for its continual dedication to marginalized issues on campus.

So here's to spreading awareness (perhaps with a tinge of narcissism, as this post evidently shows).

Update: Tuesday, 12:07 am

Those who passed by West Ramp Lounge today probably saw AAA & PC members gathered around a table, intently discussing our next line of action.

After some details were ironed out, The Blaaag Editors saw the need to correct a few things written earlier in this post:

1. As we discovered (and an anonymous reader so helpfully pointed out), the aaa_pc listserv spans a much larger group of readers than was originally known to us. Thus, the comment that "there are things that slip out of cracks" is not correct; those things were sent out to a huge group of people and so there were no "cracks" to slip out of.
   (For some reason, David burst into hysterics after reading that line.)
2. In regards to “immediate action” – David issued a public apology to those who received the e-mail disclosing the name of the student involved in this incident (which undoubtedly added to the spread of rumors). We are also drafting a public statement to be posted in the next issue of The Spectator.
3. To anyone who knows who the involved student is –he wishes to keep his privacy (as told by a liaison – NOT by the student himself). Admittedly, it’s the least that we can give him right now.
4. Needless to say, things have become a little less convoluted. However, AAA and The Blaaag are still not ready to disclose any more information until greater lines of action have been taken. (We are looking to get the administration in on this.)

As usual – when we learn more (and are allowed to tell), we’ll let you know.

how about investigating by asking the guy involved instead of hearsay? and it might be prudent to not send emails about the incident without contacting the guy first (especially with his personal information), either. have some common sense, please.

September 17, 2007 12:12 AM

David said...

The point of this post wasn't to spread around versions of a rumored story, but to point out the racism in the comments on a blog post.

In regards to prudence, this is an issue of haste on our part that we are working out this very moment...

September 17, 2007 3:03 AM

Marilla said...

Dear Anonymous:

Whoever it was that disclosed this personal information to you about the student involved, we sincerely apologize. As private as we try to keep our listserv e-mails, there are things that slip out of cracks (or are just outright told to the masses).

Please be aware that AAA has been doing as much as it can to get to the bottom of this issue. It does not in any shape or form mean that we are holding back from taking action. If you think we are slacking - be advised that there are some members of the board who have been communicating back and forth nonstop and contacing outside sources to find eye witnesses.

Dear Readers:

There has been some expressed dissatisfaction from members of the campus community towards our lack of immediate action. It seems like we are "holding back". Here is a quote from another member trying to make clear the reasons of our so-called immobility (not counting the frantic e-mails and phone calls that have gone back and forth, inside/outside of AAA):

In terms of AAA not reacting appropriately, given that the Spec article was just published this morning and AAA had not contacted any direct eye witnesses, regardless of what was eventually published in the Spec this morning, any action last night would have been extremely foolish. (Note the comment on The Blaaag about releasing his name in email without his consent, which is unfounded as his name was only mentioned in the email to aaa@columbia.edu which is a PRIVATE email alias, but nevertheless shows the sensitivity of this information and how any more pre-emptive action by AAA could have been poorly received).

When things are a little less convoluted, AAA and The Blaaag staff will update you. We promise. The matter of the Spec article's quoting reliability is being investigated; we have considered contacting the involved student for his side of the story; and there might be a public statement involved.

Interviews for OCMs (Organizational Committee Members) are today. What does this mean? Over twelve hours of meeting people and hearing interesting observations/insight about our club. The following is a live feed of the what is occurring inside the interview room - starting at 10:00 am.

Note: Guys and gals, please know the following before you come in:

• Purpose of AAA
• Difference between AAA and other cultural groups.

Name: Yang Liu
Nickname: Hobbes
Intended Major (if applicable): Asian American Studies
School/Year: GS ‘11

What are your interests/hobbies outside of school and work?
I like to play a lot of video games, chess, and read science fiction. I also want to go a Star Trek convention while in New York City.

What clubs/activities were you involved in during high school (list organizations & positions if applicable):
Founder, Asian Students Club (ASC)
Chair, Political Union of Color (PUC)
Director, Model United Nations (MUN)

Which other clubs do you plan to be involved with at Columbia:
Asian American Society of Engineers
Chinese Students Club
Club Bangla
Club Zamana
Dimensions
Hong Kong Students and Scholars Society
Japan Society
Korean Students Association
Liga Filipina
Organization of Pakistani Students
Singapore Students Club
Sounds of China
TAAL
Tablet
Taiwanese American Students Association
Thai Students Association
Vietnamese Students Association

Black Students Organization
Chicano Caucus
United Students of Color Council

How would you identify yourself?
I am afraid that as a freshman, I don’t have much a concept for identity. From my experiences in high school, it has always been a tough issue to discuss and we often don’t reach a conclusion that is satisfactory no matter how many times we come back to this topic. One source of constant confusion is the underlying meaning between identity and its interplay with other ambiguous ideas so I think for me to answer this question I really have to take a few
approaches and see which one works.

One way I can identify myself is based on citizenship. Since I am not currently a citizen of the United States, I cannot legally call myself an American, but Chinese, as my passport would indicate. I would imagine that once I am naturalized, my legal distinction would then revert to American, as I would have to forfeit my Chinese passport. Yet, when this transition takes place, I am still the same person with the same identity. So why am I suddenly American instead of Chinese? It seems that identity runs deeper than citizenship.

Another way I can identify myself is by the color of my skin. I am neither black nor white, but been told that I am yellow. Yet when I look at look at my arm, it does not remind me of a canary or the sun. I tend to think it resembles a mixture of black and white. At some point this color was associated with a continent and given the Asian. When I converse with new Columbia students who share the same color of skin, I noticed we all call ourselves Asian, even though
some have never been to the eastern hemisphere. It seems like identity runs deeper than skin color.

Another approach is to take experiences into account. My parents were born in China but I came to the United States when I was quite young and received most of my education in the US. But I also lived in Canada before. So does that make me a Chinese Canadian American? If I buy an American flag in Chinatown while on vacation in Toronto, how do I think about that experience? American? Chinese? Canadian? What if I was born to Jewish parents, been raised in Hong Kong and now work in Spain while eating nothing but Indian food? It seems like identity runs deeper than experiences.

The more approaches I try to define identity, the farther it gets away from me. It is a term that has different meanings at different times of different reasons for different people. So while I’d love to answer your question, I really need to know what you mean by identity.

List three adjectives that best describe you:
1) Short
2) Light
3) Ugly

If you had no work, exams, or schoolwork, what would you do on a Saturday night in NYC (be honest; we won’t tell the popos)?
Since I am a freshman and still getting accustomed to what there is to do on a Saturday night in NYC, you’ll have to excuse me for ignorant and ask again in a couple of weeks after I get a better
idea of what I like in college.

You just won the lottery; what are you going to do now?
That would depend on how much the jackpot was. Assuming this is a pretty badass jackpot that I just hit, I’d probably pay the taxes first, invest some in creating an enterprise while stashing the rest away in index funds until I get a chance to speak to a respectable portfolio manager. Oh yeah and buy a yacht, that sounds pretty pimp.

If you could date anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
Since I am just a freshman and meeting a lot of new people with different experiences and values from what I was used to, I don’t think I can make a claim at who I would like to date because it will probably change in the next couple of weeks. Ask me again later.

What do you think of free food (this may or may not be a trick question)?
Free food can be either beneficial or deleterious depending on how it is used. If there is an event with the right purpose, free food is a great way to attractive people who would normally be on the borderline. Free food gives them an extra incentive to come but ideally, they would come for the worthwhile content of the event rather than the free food.

What part of the Asian American Alliance interests you (social, political, community service)? Why?
I think social, political, and community service are very complex ideas that need some clarification. As students, everything we do with other people is inherently social, political, and communal at the same time. Politics for example, enwraps everything we do, whether it’d be club politics, campus politics, or community politics. Yet it’s hard to imagine these scenarios without social connotations, or an impact on the community at large. I would need to know how Asian American Alliance defines these words before I can comment further.

Any computer/web design/graphic design/advertising/artistic skills:
I’m ok with computers.

When will you be free from 10AM to 10PM on Friday, September 14th for a 10 minute interview with us?
Probably not but I don’t think you guys want to interview me anyway.

If you've been dying to join the executive board of AAA, interviews for OCM (Organizational Committee Member) positions are tomorrow, Friday the 14th, in Lerner East Ramp Lounge. If you haven't gotten a questionnaire to fill out, email aaaocm@gmail.com. Afraid it's too late? Maybe you can stalk one of us down.

We might just do live updates through all of tomorrow, so keep checking us out. (OCM interviews are really, for us, a highlight of the year.)

Just don't do this...

If you're new to this blog (and you must be - we officially launched this week), here are some things you should come back to read up on.

• What did members of AAA do this summer? We're sure you were just dying to know! (No, actually, we have some pretty cool stories for y'all.)
  
• Our continual involvement with the Justice Will Be Served! campaign. We're still in the fight.
• Inside The Boardroom: Some changes in the structure and goals of AAA have been brainstormed. Stay tuned to find out about our "turn".