Even though we were terrible with the whole live-blogging deal, here are some pretty pictures... Sorry, no pictures of Gary Okihiro (affectionately called G-yo) or from our workshops, but we were too lazy during workshops and you can probably see Professor Okihiro shopping at the frozen meat section of Fairway.
(Click on the captions for website links)

Christina, Ryan, Patrick, and I arrive. We wait for the rest of the posse to leave Columbia. Some brief dialogue ensues as we sit in Room 392 of the Downtown Ithaca Holiday Inn, sick after three hours of Spongebob Squarepants:

Me: What should I say about our first day of ECAASU?
Patrick: (miscellaneous mumbling)
Me: What?
Patrick: It was fucking ra.
Patrick: Except we haven't gone to Cornell yet.
Me: Um.

Me (to Ryan): What do you want me to say about ECAASU?
Patrick: It's the fucking shit!
Me: NOT YOU.
Patrick: It's absolutely ridiculous! It's off the hook! Fucking wasted!

Ryan: Say that my stomach hurts.

Patrick: Ugh, I really need to study.

The rest of the group arrives at midnight. We split into three rooms, meet various organizations, drink sour mix with liquor, spit rhymes (no match for D'Lo, iLL-Literacy, or Blue Scholars), and discuss the superiority of Tim Burton's Batman series over Joel Schumacher's.

This weekend the Blaaagers are going to be at Cornell, hopefully not freezing off our asses but weather forecasts indicate differently.

The ECAASU (East Coast Asian American Student Union) conference is a yearly ritual for AAA and affiliates, where we consistently go to attend workshops, be ridiculous, and learn more about how to host our own conference in April. This year's conference will feature the likes of Yul Kwon and Becky Lee, Survivor stars-turned-Asian American activists, as well as Blue Scholars, etc. Fun fun.

Registration is closed (and has been for a while), but if you tune in to The Blaaag, you'll probably see a three-day live blog of sorts, detailing our every intoxicated movement in Ithaca. And if you're up there, come find us and say hi to us! (Yes, actually. If you're creepy about it, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt.) See you around.

Now I just need to figure out how to watch Lost before leaving.

An email to The Blaaag went like this... fill it out!

Dear friends:

As part of my doctoral research in clinical psychology, I am currently soliciting participants for a study about acculturation and substance use among Asian Indians living in the United States. The study asks for demographic information, experiences as an Asian Indian person living in the United States, and past or present drug and/or alcohol use. Your participation in this survey is requested and appreciated. After completing the survey, you can enter a drawing to win a $75 gift certificate from Amazon.com.

Participation is completely voluntary and confidential. You will not be asked to provide your name or any other identifying information. No one will be able to link your answers to you personally. This study has been approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS # 11-20-07-01) and follows CPHS ethical standards and guidelines.

The survey takes minimal time to complete (about 15-25 minutes) and will provide much needed psychological research about Asian Indians. If you are 1) of Asian Indian descent, 2) living in the United States, and 3) 18 years or older, please take a few minutes to fill out the survey.

Please click here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2bXWBhmVDH72jmTSp_2fbvs_2fQ_3d_3d

Please pass along to friends and family members, who qualify for this survey. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 415.235.2439 or at skaipa@wrightinst.edu.

I thank you in advance for your help.
Sincerely,

Summi Kaipa, M.A.
Psy.D. Candidate (Clinical Psychology)
The Wright Institute

skaipa[at]wrightinst.edu

The National Asian American Student Conference (NAASCon) is eager to present their campaign, Hey Asian America, What’s Goin’ On?, in hopes of gaining more insight to Asian Americans’ experiences across the nation. Through your stories, we want to connect students throughout various regions and discover the state of Asian America today.

NAASCon's campaigns such as boycotting Abercrombie & Fitch for their racist apparel to protesting Details Magazine for their stereotypical portrayal of Asian men are some of many that NAASCon has coordinated in the past.

As a national organization, we want to effectively distribute resources and information that would allow us to better recognize movements occurring outside of our respective campuses and communities. Reaching out beyond one’s own bubble can be a fairly difficult task if you are not connected to certain groups, organizations, etc. and it can become quite easy to stay isolated within one’s own campus, community, region, etc.

We realize the power in learning about each others’ stories and how much we have to offer each other through these experiences. This is where you, the students, come in.

DEADLINE: March 1st

LENGTH: 500 – 700 words

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS to naascon.news at gmail.com

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NAASCon is an organization created by and for students of Asian American descent. NAASCon aims to serve as a forum for AA student activists from across the country to compile resources, coordinate campaigns, and build community around shared values of social and economic justice, human rights, and collective decision-making. For more information: http://www.naascon.org

Vent Magazine, an Asian American culture and politics magazine created by students at UC Davis, has just kicked off its website and Myspace pages. The design and aesthetics: hot, as usual.


Also hot - their new issue. Gosh, we need to do some articles about sex and our community!

Keep up the great work, guys!

Although our layout is still a little fritzy and I have six minutes until Intro to Asian American Studies begins, I just had to give a little update on poll monitoring with AALDEF this magnificent Super Tuesday.

AALDEF poll monitoring exists in the aim of protecting the voting rights of Asian Americans from the subtle but palpable discrimination that can sometimes result in the voting process.

Marilla and I were stationed at Flushing's Taiwan Center on Main Street, and though its name connotes a community mecca for Taiwanese Americans, the people we saw turn out were mostly Korean American. Surprising, for us - not counting the fact that Northern Blvd. is very Korean-populated. We probably observed and conducted twenty exit polls, and they all happened to show votes for Democratic nominees, save one, but erroneously - a paper error. (It's being reported.) The people we saw turn out were mostly elderly, with the exception of one 19-24 woman.

These are just facts. In our observation, the polling in the Taiwan Center was definitely smooth, with sufficient translators (Chinese and Korean) and a diverse set of poll workers. In this Asian ethnic enclave, the polling operated well from my observation... And while the morning was a bit slow, I hope to see more voters in my 6-9 shift tonight.

If you haven't yet, go out and vote! ... Okay, I'm definitely late for this class.

But still working out a few glitches.

Hang tight, dear readers, and enjoy the view.

So forgive our occasional absences & enjoy classes.

"They [Asian students] don't genetically have a knowledge of the subject matter." - Gary Okihiro in Intro to Asian American Studies

Here's a sampling of the Asian American Studies and Comparative Ethnic Studies courses offered this semester, for those of you looking to fill up that last hour of your week with something worthwhile.

ASAM W1010y Introduction To Asian American Studies 3 pts. Not offered in 2007-2008. Call number: 76780

Interdisciplinary, intercultural introduction to the field of Asian American Studies. Major themes include methodological and theoretical formulations central to the field (e.g. racial, gender, and sexual formations, modes and relations of production and class, nation and transnation, oral history, and communities research), history and comtemporary issues of identitites, family, immigration, labor, education and anti-Asianisms.

ASAM W3933y South Asians in the U.S. 4 pts. Call number: 80942

The interdisciplinary course survey course explores the history and experience of South Asians in the United States. The course is divided into thematic sections. Section I provides background information on the South Asian American community. Section II will broaden the picture by considering issues of the class, the model minority myth, family lives, and patterns of acculturation. Section I and II set the stage for further examine how South Asian Americans negotiate new forms of identity. Section III explores popular culture among second generation youth, religious maintenance and adaptation, gender and sexuality, and culture politics.

WMST BC3136x Asian American Women's Literature 4 pts.

Explores selected texts written by Asian American women from diverse backgrounds, focusing on issues such as identity, gender, generation, race, class, region, and language.

WMST BC3136x Asian American Women

Explores selected texts written by Asian American women from diverse backgrounds, focusing on issues such as identity, gender, generation, race, class, religion, and language.

CSER W1012y History of Racialization in the United States 3 pts. Call number: 14285

The History of Racialization in the United States examines the development of race and racism through the study of significant historical circumstances that define the institutional structure of American Empire and of the resulting interactions among its peoples. Race is not static. Consequently, it is not an ahistorical object, nor a predetermined identity, nor a uniform category of analysis. Traditionally, the history of American race relations is the contact between racially defined groups over time and space of the effort required to maintain social and economic differences among them. Racialization, then, refers to the process by which one population group or many are "placed" in distinct racial categories.

CSER W3940x Comparative Study of Constitutional Challenges Affecting African, Latino and Asian American Communities 4 pts. Call number: 83648

This course will examine how American legal system decided constitutional challenges affecting the empowerment of African, Latino, and Asian American communities from the 19th century to the present. Focus will be on the role that race, citizenship, capitalism/labor, property and ownership played in the court decision in the context of the historical, social and political conditions existing at the time. Topics include the denial of citizenship and naturalization to slaves and immigrants, goverment sanctioned segregation, the struggle for reparations for descendants of slavery and Japanese Americans during World War II.