In the spring of 2007, I was toiling away to bring a certain Seattle hip-hop group to campus when a fellow AAAPC-er suggested I visit a certain staff member who could help me out. The suggestion was accompanied by much raving over his ability to connect with students in a way that most of the university administration simply can't.

This staff member was Ajay Nair, Associate Dean of Student Affairs (CC/SEAS), nestled away in his office (at the time) in the Intercultural Resource Center. The positive affirmations were true: I found in Dean Nair a rare specimen at Columbia--someone who could see students' points of view, who would help build the bridges between students and the guardians of Columbia's bureaucratic nightmare, and who knew the perils of advocating for a progressive anything on campus. He also has a background in Asian American Studies--an undeniable plus. At that first meeting, we ended up talking for the better part of an hour about Asian Americans in hip-hop, mutual acquaintances (he knows a lot of people), and various goings-on at Columbia.

This past year, when a bunch of students launched the November hunger strike, we sat across from Dean Nair in tense negotiations, lamenting that we had to put him in that compromised position of representing the Other Side, but grateful nevertheless that he was still trying to help us out in whatever limited ways he could. While other admin brushed off our demands and scuttled away from demonstrations in underground tunnels, he took our concerns seriously and demonstrated genuine empathy for the seven hunger strikers. This past semester, he taught his first (and now, only) class in the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, titled "South Asians in the U.S." Nothing short of engrossing, the course seamlessly wove together academia, art, and activism, and I doubt DJ Rekha will set foot in Hamilton Hall again for quite some time.

This morning, I received an email from Chris Colombo:

Dear Student,

I am writing to inform you that Dr. Ajay Nair, Associate Dean of Student Affairs/Office of Multicultural Affairs will be returning to the University of Pennsylvania to assume the role of Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs later in July.

[...]

While Dr. Nair will be greatly missed, I know that he is excited to return to his home and serve in this valuable position for the University of Pennsylvania. In his new role, Dr. Nair will provide leadership for all aspects of student affairs and activities while also serving as a Faculty Fellow in the College Houses and Academic Services at the University of Pennsylvania.

Please join me in wishing Dr Nair and his family all the best as they pursue this exciting opportunity for his career.

Name, School
Yitian Li, GS 2011

Greatest personal feat of genius, AAA-wise?
See above.

Fondest memory?
Culture shock sophomore year. It was the first time we named the show Culture Shock, the first time we tried a lion dance/hoheup collaboration, the first time we tried a fashion show, and the first and only time Calvin, Tian and I ran the show. The week of rehearsals was a disaster. Groups didn't show up, movies didn't work, and we even blew out a projector bulb. By the day of the show everyone was nervous as hell. The show started and the opening video played without a glitch. Then the groups performed well. And all the lighting worked. And nobody screwed up. And before you knew the show was over. We absolutely nailed it.

Favorite weekend hangout?
EXCELSIOR!!!

Pick your poison, in five words or less.
Gin and tonic.

Name the Asian American activist you think would be best in bed.
All the sexy ladies of AAA PC!

Favorite Asian American political cause and why?
Awareness. Making people realize that there are Asian American issues
in immigration, voting rights, media representation and that we can do
something about it is like teaching people how to fish.

Favorite AAA yearly/semesterly tradition?
OCM interviews.

What would you sooner eat: seasoned cow penis or blended hot peppers?
Blended cow peppers. I'm not gonna even touch the other one.

What you'll miss most about AAA, post-graduation
The people, duh.

Where can we expect to see you in ten years?
Planting avocados in Argentina.

What are three things you would tell the AAA board of 2012-2013?
1. Enjoy what you're doing.
Don't forget that the main goal of AAA is to hold events that you enjoy with people whose company you enjoy. The moment that's not true anymore, you gotta change something.
2. It's ok to make mistakes.
This is one of the only times you'll get to use thousands of dollars and work with great creative people to pursue whatever events you want with almost no consequences for screwing up. Take advantage of it. The real world is not as forgiving.
3. There are no stories involving dolphins, bats, or people ridin' dirty. If anyone tells you differently, they're trying to sell you something.

Have a great year AAA!

Yay legal gay marriage! Yay Helen Zia, renowned APA / queer rights activist!

Read more about it here.

Read it and weep.

As David put it: “The novelty of this report makes me feel like I'm living in the 90s.”

I absolutely had to post this because David and I just had a discussion about Charlotte's adopted Chinese baby (also, I'm a diehard SATC fan). I never knew that Charlotte was so racist, but her racism manifests itself in scene-stealing moments of hilarity (see scene with the Poughkeepsie chocolate pudding). Anyway, here's the list:

1. Charlotte's cute adopted daughter from China, Lily, played by Alexandra and Parker Fong (twins). The gals teach her to say "sex." I guess it had to happen sooner or later.

2. Carrie and Mr. Big's realtor. An older lady wearing lots of makeup.

3. Woman having wild sex with Samantha's neighbor. Very, very naked.

4. Man with an extremely impressive resume interviewing for the job of Carrie's assistant... wearing bright pink heels. Goes from overqualified to emasculated in about nine seconds.

5. Dude with a ponytail, serving Samantha a drink. Seen at a distance. No lines.

Okay, I know I'm being nitpicky about a piece of pop culture fluff, but this is what I do. I can't help it. So what does it mean when a movie rakes in $56 million its opening weekend, is considered something of a cultural phenomenon, and a reflection of our society... and this is the best we can in terms of Asian American representation? I know, it's really the same old story.

UPDATE: Okay, I totally forgot about the Sikh man driving the cab. Also, there were a handful of scattered Asians roaming around the scene in Chinatown. Of course! Gentrification of the lower east side and all. And that's it. Those are all the Asians in "the City." Just like real life, right?

Like the rest of you, I'm gaping (with anything but surprise) at the first campus character in the April/May issue of The Blue and White. If you're confused about clicking the links, just visit Calvin Sun's Facebook - his profile picture tells all (if you're still confused, see picture above; the illustrations of a Blue and White artist are unmistakable).

For the record, it's partly thanks to us at The Blaaag (and at AAA in general) that Calvin's statement on getting shit after his self-promotions (see paragraph 3, lines 2-3) is true. I will never forget, for example, the day when a girl called members of AAA "Calvin's children" (that's demeaning, did you notice?), and I proceeded to yell at Calvin with as much anger as the winter cold of Low Plaza would allow me. Not because I thought he may have planted the thought into the girl's mind, but because he did nothing to dispute it.

Oh well, this ex-chair deserves his part of a last fling with Columbia press. After '12 arrives, who knows how much of the '08 class will get brushed into the corners?

I've been hearing about this movie for months now (PC's inclination towards working on illegal immigrant workers' rights doesn't hurt). Directed by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou, Take Out is "a day-in-the-life of Ming Ding, an illegal Chinese immigrant working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take-out shop in New York City." Though the story is fictional, the sad truth is that you can probably find tons of illegal immigrant workers in nearly every restaurant in NYC who share nearly an identical experience to Ming Ding's. Thankfully, the critics have caught on to this as well.

Take Out opens this week in Quad Cinema.

To learn about the sufferings of real service workers, visit JWBS!

New York City
DATE: Sunday, June 8th (TODAY)
TIME: 3:00-7:00pm
LOCATION: Solar 1 (East River Waterfront at East 23rd St, NYC). Rain or shine - we have a big tent!
YOUR HOST: Loving Day and World Up.
RSVP: lovingdayparty@gmail.com
DETAILS: Join us for the largest Loving Day celebration in the nation! We will have free BBQ (all afternoon), free beer (first hour) courtesy of Asahi, free ice cream (first hour) from Ben and Jerry's, free organic soft drinks (first hour) from Steaz, and a big raffle with prizes from Puma and Zipcar! We'll have special performances by DJ Spooky and DJ Rekha, as well as Dhundee! Special thanks to our sponsors: Asahi, Solar One, Ben and Jerry's, Zipcar, Steaz, DJ Spooky, WorldUp, and Puma. Community sponsors: The Association of MultiEthnic Americans (AMEA) and Swirl NYC. We have a huge tent covering the entire space, so we will be celebrating, rain or shine! It's the 5th anniversary of the Loving Day project! We had 1000 guests last year - we hope that even more of you will join us this year! Join our email list to make sure you get invited!
MORE INFO: info@lovingday.org

I think I speak on behalf of everyone at The Blaaag when I say,

YAY OBAMA!