UI-Chicago Students Fight for Asian American Studies

Slightly old post but relevant. . .

Pacific Citizen - March, 2006

UI-Chicago Students Fight for Asian American Studies

More than 16 years after students demand the establishment of an AA Studies program, UIC students are still waiting

By CAROLINE AOYAGI-STOM, Executive Editor, Pacific Citizen

Political science major Brandon Mita, 21, first took an Asian American Studies course at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) during his freshman year and immediately wanted to learn more about his AA roots. Unfortunately, his interest in AA Studies would have to be put on hold since UIC does not currently have an AA Studies program.

Mita’s unrealized interest in learning more about AA history and culture is something UIC students have experienced for the past 16 years. Since 1990 students here have lobbied for the establishment of an AA Studies program to no avail. But this year the Asian American Coalition Committee (AACC) — a UIC student group — is stepping up efforts and refusing to take no for an answer.

“Many administrators and faculty already know the Ethnic Studies arguments and verbally support it, but they have failed to do anything about it.” said Mita, 21, chairperson of AACC. He added, “Asian American Studies is not just for Asian American students. It’s for everyone.”

The AACC has produced a detailed proposal on the need to establish an AA Studies program at UIC and have demanded immediate responses from university leaders. They have also circulated petitions and are planning a campus-wide sit-in Mar. 29 to publicize their efforts.

The group has set forth a detailed timeline for the university. By the fall of 2008 they would like to see the creation of six faculty lines to develop and teach courses in an AA Studies program. By the fall of 2010 they want the establishment of an interdisciplinary major within an AA Studies program.

So far many students and professors have come out in support of an AA Studies program at UIC.

“I am very supportive of student efforts to establish AA Studies,” said UIC Assistant Professor Mark Chiang, one of only two professors who currently teaches AA Studies courses at the university. “Over the last two decades, student demands and activism have spurred the establishment of most of the new AA Studies programs across the country.”

“Asian American Studies is important because … growing up, our entire education of U.S. history was taught from a Eurocentric perspective, completely leaving out the important contributions that Asian Americans and other minorities have made to this country,” said UIC student Jenny Yeh, 22, AACC vice-chair. “Being left out in history allows all of us Asian Americans to feel as if we do not belong here.”

The UIC campus is located in the heart of downtown Chicago and boasts an AA student population of 24.3 percent, the largest minority group on campus. Yet, UIC’s Ethnic Studies Department does not include AA Studies even though African American Studies, Latin American Studies, and Native American Studies programs have long existed.

UIC’s sister university, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) established an AA Studies minor program in 1997 even though their AA student population is half of UIC’s with 12 percent. Even neighboring private universities Northwestern and DePaul can boast AA Studies minor programs.

UIC students believe AA Studies is too important a topic to dismiss and now is the time for their university to catch up with the other institutions.

“Even though it is downright embarrassing that Asian American students have been underserved for so long, it is hard to convince people that this fact is true,” said Heather de Guia, AACC senior advisor. “The administration keeps saying that they need to see that there is student demand, but really they need to be pushed to a limit where they will be inadvertently forced to give students a broad educational system that will benefit all.”

“It’s an issue of priorities — I am optimistic that the university has the initiative and intellectual vision to recognize that building Asian American Studies, and Ethnic Studies as a whole at UIC, is not doing anyone ‘a favor,’” said UIC Assistant Professor Helen Jun. “It’s in the best interests of an urban research university that has one of the most diverse student and local populations in the entire country.”

UIC officials say they recognize the importance of an AA Studies program but current budgetary constraints have prevented them from taking action. They note that two AA Studies faculty members were hired in 2002 and in 2004 an AA Resource and Cultural Center was established.

“Asian Studies and Asian American Studies are a priority of the university but it is a budgetary issue,” said UIC spokesperson Bill Burton, who noted that the other Ethnic Studies programs were developed before the cuts. “The entire campus has suffered more than $100 million in budget cuts.”

But for AACC and many in the UIC community, budgetary reasons are not good enough. Sister university UIUC has 12 core professors in its AA Studies program, and they do this with a budget of $1.29 billion. UIC has a budget of $1.36 billion yet only 1.5 faculty members are in AA Studies.

“Even with budget constraints, many hires are continuously being made, but none are for Asian American Studies faculty,” said Yeh. “Basically, though funds have decreased, the administration continues to fund those programs which they deem important, and it is quite obvious that Asian American Studies is not one of them.”

“The fact that two Asian American Studies faculty were hired at UIC despite these restrictions demonstrates a commitment to the field, but many faculty and administrators at the school seem to feel that Asian American Studies is not a high priority at the moment,” said Chiang. “Part of the reason for this lack of urgency seems to stem from the general perception that the Asian American students are a model minority, and so do not need the kinds of assistance and resources that other students might require.”

Baby boomers of the 60s and 70s may recall the AA movement that helped to establish AA Studies programs throughout the United States. Now such programs are par for the course, especially on the West Coast. UCLA formed its AA Studies program in 1969 and in 2004 the UCLA Department of AA Studies was established.

Yet an AA Studies program may even be more important for AA students here in the Midwest since unlike on the West Coast, they do not have the same opportunities to learn about AA culture.

“The Midwest and the West Coast are entirely different,” said Mita, who believes acculturation is easier to achieve on the West Coast because of the much larger AA population. “In the Midwest there is less opportunity to learn about ourselves. There is only one paragraph [about us] in our history books.”

“I think there continues to be much ignorance and lack of awareness in this region in general,” said Yeh. “Perhaps it is because the Asian American percentages are not as high relatively in the Midwest compared to the West Coast, but we seem to be constantly fighting ignorance and apathy that exists among faculty, staff, AND students.”

Students at UIC hope the Mar. 29 protest will provide an opportunity to gain public support for their efforts to finally establish an AA Studies program at the university. They know they have a fight on their hands.

“I don’t think the administration has felt enough pressure from the students or surrounding community,” said Yeh of UIC’s inaction. “They aren’t scared of the Asian American students here, so they probably don’t believe that there would be any consequences if they don’t adhere to student demands.”“This has been an internal struggle within UIC. We need to create public visibility,” said Mita, who expects over 200 people to attend the March rally. “This is just the beginning.”

On March 5, the AACC and other area orgs. hosted an "old school" Teach-In to discuss the history and strategies of successfully implemented ethnic studies programs in the Midwest.

University of Maryland Students and Asian American Studies

Diamondback Online – The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/04/22/Opinion/Guest.Column.Excluded.From.The.Plan-3339386.shtml

Guest Column: Excluded from the plan

By: Lee Fang and Scottie Siu
Posted: 4/22/08

As Asian-American students at this university, we are deeply concerned about the proposed version of the Strategic Plan. The current draft does not clearly outline the current state of diversity, nor does it recommend any specific plans on how to improve or expand minority recruitment and retention to create a more representative student body. Though the Strategic Plan vaguely mentions diversity as a "value" and "strength" of the university, we believe diversity must be further emphasized as an integral component to build a truly inclusive curriculum and educational environment.

The 2000 Strategic Plan directly addressed the status of minority students and faculty, while proactively recommending many specific steps to ensure people of color are embraced by the university community. Many benchmarks outlined eight years ago have been met, but much remains to be done. If the Strategic Plan being debated now fails to even set a criterion for improvement, then how can we expect positive change?

The purpose of the Strategic Plan is to provide a framework for helping our university become more competitive with our peer institutions, and we share that goal. But our school cannot rise in academic excellence unless the curriculum includes strong programs and departments dedicated to the study of race, gender, sexual orientation and other issues of diversity and identity. Diversity is not limited to the demographic composition of the student body; it extends beyond mere physical representation. To cultivate a diverse student body on the campus, it is essential to encourage a dialogue through lectures and coursework, encompassing a wide array of ideologies and perspectives. These classes challenge students to grapple with the complexities of race and other social justice issues and contribute to a more lively and intellectual discussion on our campus.

The current draft largely ignores these research topics and completely disregards Asian-American studies, thus leading us to believe the future of such programs remains dubious. Michigan, Berkeley and many other top public universities have established well respected Asian-American studies programs and view them as critical elements that help to develop diversity of opinion. If we are to emulate the success of these institutions, we cannot exclude Asian-American studies from our future development. The existing Asian-American studies program is highly popular, and classes are chronically oversubscribed. In addition to a broader commitment to building our emergent ethnic studies programs, we would like to see a proposal in the Strategic Plan to expand Asian-American studies into an academic major.

Asian Americans comprise nearly 14 percent of the undergraduate student body, and Asian-American alumni have donated more than $20 million in the past five years. Despite these contributions and our sustained presence, the current draft dedicates nothing to the distinct cultural needs of Asian-American students. At a minimum, the university should provide a reserved space for cultural activities and conduct more assessment surveys to improve counseling services.

Now, more than ever, the Strategic Plan matters. If our university's budget is cut, fledging ethnic studies programs are highly vulnerable to being eliminated or de-funded if they are not priorities within the Strategic Plan. Furthermore, ethnic studies programs such as Asian-American studies do not bring in massive grants from corporations and the government. So, from a pragmatic point of view, the science and engineering departments hold a privileged position when the university must make tough budget decisions.

We urge every student, faculty member and alumnus to contact Provost Nariman Farvardin to ask him to change the Strategic Plan and ensure diversity is included in the language as more than simply rhetoric. The current draft will be finalized this week, so the future of the university will depend on the input you make in the next few days.

Lee Fang is a senior government and politics major. Scottie Siu is a senior business major and is president of Pi Delta Psi. They can be reached at lhfang@gmail.com and scottie.k.siu@gmail.com.

still no asian american studies at harvard

http://www.angryasianman.com/2007/12/still-no-asian-american-studies-at.html

still no asian american studies at harvard

This is an interesting article in The Harvard Crimson about the push by students for full-fledged Asian American studies program at Harvard: Asian American Studies Still Waiting for an Entrance. The University currently has no permanent professor in Asian American studies, and the Asian American Association is starting (yet another) campaign to bring the field to Harvard. While Asian American studies has flourished at west coast schools since the early 1970s, and has found a home over the last two decades at other Ivy League institutions, Harvard lists only four Asian American Studies courses, all taught by the same visiting professor. Seems pretty odd that a school with such a strong reputation for academic excellence should lack an Asian American studies program, especially considering all the Asian American students that have gone through Harvard. Maybe it's time for a hunger strike—that's what they did at my school.

Asian American Studies Still Waiting for an Entrance

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=521242

News

Asian American Studies Still Waiting for an Entrance

Published On 12/10/2007 2:28:35 AM
By VIDYA B. VISWANATHAN and MAEVE T. WANG
Contributing Writers

In 1987, Mark H. Kuo ’90 helped collect hundreds of student signatures to petition the University to hire an Asian American studies professor.

Twenty years later, it’s déjà vu.

The University still has no permanent professor in Asian American studies, and the Asian American Association (AAA) is starting yet another campaign to bring the field to Harvard.

Despite years of flourishing at other universities, Asian American studies is still struggling to gain traction in Cambridge. The former chair of Harvard’s history department says that a general slowdown in social science and humanities growth in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is partly to blame, and that advocates of Asian American studies have yet to make a compelling argument for why it should be emphasized. But others say that Harvard simply isn’t giving the study of Asian American history and culture the recognition it deserves.

ON THE OTHER COAST

At west coast universities, where the historic influence of Asian American communities is stronger, Asian American studies has been an established field since the early 1970s.

But over the last two decades, the field has moved east to find a home at Ivy League institutions. At Cornell, whose Asian American studies program was founded in 1978, students can take a course called “The Asian American Urban Experience.” The University of Pennsylvania offers “Asian-Americans in the Media.” Both schools have minors in Asian American studies and offer more than a dozen courses in the field every year.

Meanwhile, Harvard’s course guide lists only four Asian American Studies courses offered at FAS this year—all taught by the same visiting professor, Eric Tang.

“Harvard prides itself on its diversity, but there’s a huge gap in the discussion on Asian American studies,” says Yuting P. Chiang ’10, co-chair of the Asian American Association (AAA) education-politics committee.

Student advocacy for Asian American studies has waxed and waned within the AAA as new leaders joined the campaign and then grew frustrated by their lack of success, said Phoebe Zen ’08, the other co-chair of the committee.

Student activists say the continuing failure of their campaigns is a result of Harvard’s academically conservative culture.

“In the eyes of Harvard, the oldest institution in the country, Asian American studies hasn’t proven itself the way other fields have,” said Sophia Lai ’04, a former AAA president who wrote her senior thesis on the institutionalization of Asian American studies. “It didn’t stem from the faculty or academics—it came from student protest—so it wasn’t seen as being as legitimate.”

Eric Tang, the visiting professor in Asian American studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, said the field must have clear administrative support in order to thrive.

“I would say that the program is overdue,” Tang said. “You look at some of the other Ivies and they’re on their 10-year anniversary.”

NO ROOM AT THE INN

What’s standing in the way of Asian American studies now, according to former History Department chair Andrew D. Gordon ’74, is more a simple lack of space than lack of support.

“The reality is that at the moment, the growth is slow in social studies and humanities,” Gordon said. “The administration isn’t in the mood at the moment, or in the recent past, to dramatically expand the faculty in this area.”

And despite sporadic student activism, professors said, undergraduate advocates have failed to provide the steady pressure needed for change.

“I don’t think that the student push has been that sustained or has offered a clear vision of why this is important,” said Gordon, who specializes in modern Japan.

Without an existing program in Asian American studies, student advocates are trapped in a “vicious cycle,” said professor Wilt L. Idema, head tutor of the East Asian languages and literatures department.

“If the courses are not there, students cannot take them,” Idema said. “Students cannot show how much interest there is. If there is no proof of student interest, there is no reason for the administration to provide the classes.”

A FAILED ATTEMPT

Still, after decades of waiting, the tide may be turning for Asian American studies at Harvard.

The history department came close to hiring a permanent Asian American studies expert last year for a joint full professorship in history and ethnic studies, according to history professor Walter Johnson.

“We all agreed that finding someone who could teach in the area of Asian American studies should be a priority,” Johnson said.

But the prospective candidate, Mae M. Ngai, accepted a position at Columbia University instead, he said. Ngai did not respond to requests for comment.

“Ethnic studies has a bigger presence on the campus at Columbia—that may have influenced her decision,” Johnson added.

Unless the University commits significant resources to developing Asian American studies, he said, it may be difficult for Harvard to compete with other universities’ more established programs.

“I think that for Asian American studies or any other sort of initiative to thrive—to be able to attract the most talented faculty and students—there has to be a commitment to building a critical mass in the field,” Johnson wrote in an e-mail.

Hiring one professor, he added, is not enough.

SMALL STEPS

In their quest to bring Asian American studies to Harvard, AAA’s current advocates are setting smaller goals. Their predecessors in the organization fought for a full concentration, but ended up with nothing, said Zen, the AAA’s education politics co-chair.

They are now pushing for more modest results, although their ultimate goal is still the creation of Asian American studies as an independent program for undergraduates.

The AAA is working with the East Asian studies program to create an Asian American studies track within the department’s secondary field.

East Asian studies is supporting this effort, according to Idema, the concentration’s director of studies.

“What we can do is offer classes that deal with the Asian American experience from an East Asian perspective,” he said.

While operating within East Asian studies is not ideal, Zen said, it’s a beginning.

“Basically,” she said, “we’re starting from scratch all over again.”

Hunger Strikers Demand Changes at Columbia

http://www2.nysun.com/article/66076

Hunger Strikers Demand Changes at Columbia

By ANNIE KARNI Staff Reporter of the Sun November 8, 2007

Five students at Columbia University are staging a hunger strike to protest what they say is a Eurocentric core curriculum and a growing climate of racism on campus. They are also protesting the university's Harlem expansion plan, calling it disruptive.

Two sophomores at Barnard College and three Columbia students last ate Tuesday evening and said they would not break their fast until the school committed to a core curriculum that includes a seminar addressing issues of "racialization and colonialism," among their other demands.

"I'm already hungry," a senior at Columbia, Bryan Mercer, 22, said yesterday, less than 24 hours into the strike. Mr. Mercer, who is majoring in anthropology and comparative ethnic studies, said he has been scaling back his diet for weeks in preparation for the strike. His said his last meal was a sparse helping of fruit and bread. Mr. Mercer said his fast is also a protest of a delayed response from the administration to a string of racist incidents targeting black and Jewish professors on campus. The strikers said they would stop attending classes when they felt too weak to concentrate. Most healthy adults can survive about 60 days without food as long as they have plenty of water, but fasting becomes dangerous after five days, according to nutritionists. A coalition of students supporting the strike is planning vigils every evening, as well as a rally on the steps of Low Library today at noon.

In recent years, Columbia has amended its core curriculum to include a Major Cultures component, which requires students to take courses about Asian, African, and Latin American civilizations. The required reading list now includes texts such as "The Souls of Black Folk," by W.E.B. Du Bois, and "The Wretched of the Earth," by Frantz Fanon, about Algeria's struggle for independence from colonial rule, and the Haitian Revolutionary Constitution.

Of the students on the hunger strike, one is black, one is Latino, one is Asian, and two are white. The other strikers are: a Barnard sophomore from California, Samantha Barron, 19; a Barnard sophomore from Colorado, Aretha Choi, 19; a Columbia senior from Illinois, Emilie Rosenblatt, 22, and a Columbia junior from California, Victoria Ruiz, 20.

Ms. Ruiz said she had not informed her parents that she was participating in the strike, and was hoping to keep them in the dark.

The students attended a weigh-in yesterday morning, and are hydrating with an electrolyte mixture. "When you go into starvation mode, your ability to burn calories effectively and to keep your weight at a maintenance level diminishes," a registered dietician, Marissa Lippert, said.

The last known hunger strike at Columbia was in 1996, when students demanded an ethnic studies program at the school. After 15 days, the administration agreed to increase the number of professors in its Asian American and Hispanic studies programs, and later established an ethnic studies center.

"Columbia encourages students to express their points of view and supports their right of public protest," a spokeswoman for Columbia, LaVerna Fountain, said in a statement. Administrators are planning to meet with striking students this week, and the health center will be monitoring students' vital signs.

The University of Chicago Progressive Asian American Students' Coalition News Blog Site

The Progressive Asian American Students' Coalition (formerly the Pan Asian Solidarity Coalition), or PAASC, is an Asian American political advocacy organization that seeks to advocate the improved presence of Asian Pacific Americans at the University of Chicago through a variety of on-campus events and activities.
This blog is for news updates on related issues of interest to the Asian Pacific American community at the University of Chicago.