Call for Writers about the A3C!

Hi all,

Hope you're enjoying the break and whatever holidays you might be celebrating.

I'm issuing a call for articles about the A3C.

Over the next few issues of the biweekly Bully Pulpit, Executive Editor Alex Immerman and I would like at least one article per issue on the importance of our Center. This would increase publicity of the project and demonstrate to the public the importance of its existence.

Feel free to think beyond informative or news-based articles. Personal reflections about what the Center means to you, why you want it, and/or your vision of it are most welcome. An open letter to the Cornell administration or the entire campus is also encouraged.

Below are some of Alex's suggestions:

Ideally the article needs to speak to a broad audience, which doesn't necessarily know what A3C is, why it is important, or what can be done to help its progress.

What is the A3C and how did it come into being (who, when, why)? Why is A3C important? Specifically, what are the needs of Asian and Asian American students that are not being met at Cornell, and what would A3C do to help remedy the situation?

How do these issues relate (if at all) to issues surrounding the establishment of other cultural centers on campus (such as the program houses)?

Since Asian and Asian American represents a very broad category, encapsulating students of a number of nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures, how have students from such different backgrounds worked cooperatively to formulate and achieve a common goal? Have there been any setbacks or struggles as a result?

What has been holding back progress on the A3C, what are some challenges that have been overcome and some that continue to stall development of the center?

How has the A3C campaign been supported/opposed by students and administration? How does it relate to the broader issues of race and racism at Cornell?

How does the A3C benefit the non-Asian/Asian American community? i.e. does it make the campus climate (as a whole) better by focusing on one group's needs? Does it involve cultural learning opportunities for non-Asian/Asian American students? How does the A3C mesh with general formulations of multiculturalism (rejection of assimilation approaches, perhaps?)?

What can students, alums, faculty and staff to do to help?

Anyone who is interested, please email me!

It doesn't matter what your relation to Cornell is, who you personally identify as, or what your involvement with the Asian/Asian American Center project has been.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear responses from you soon.

Caroline

Stay Tuned...

Hi all,

There was an A3C Committee meeting on Wednesday, 11/19, after Kent Hubbell returned from his trip to China.

There were only small updates:

• Kent announced the approximate costs of the Center--if it were to stay in Willard Straight Hall, which is still uncertain at this point. There were two estimates, both of which were under $2 million. The numbers include air conditioning installment, the elevator/LULA construction, furniture, and asbestos treatment.
  
• President Skorton wants to meet with the Committee right after Thanksgiving break, in between his two international trips. There is no indication of what kind of discussion might be happening, or whether the entire A3C project would go ahead at all.
  
• If architect plans are approved by December 1st, the project may be completed by August 21, 2009. The plans will not be approved by then because the administration is not providing the Committee with anything solid, whether through finalizing the A3C's location or assigning a fundraiser to the A3C project.
  

We are disappointed with the administration's inaction. Please keep sending your comments to David Skorton, Susan Murphy, and Kent Hubbell. Even one paragraph expressing your desire for the Center makes all the difference.

The Center cannot happen without your support.

Forums

If you've read your email recently, you've seen Pres. Skorton's general/slightly vague plans about how to deal with the current (and in most cases deepening) recession.

The A3C is a project that has waited for decades to recieve a pittance of cash. One of the biggest reasons is to institutionalize the ridiculous efforts of generations of students who try to make the campus a place where Asian and Asian Americans want to be.

The "hiring pause" and halting of construction projects will most definitely negatively affect the A3C's progress unless you attend the forums noted below

Wednesday, November 5 at noon in Bailey Hall

Thursday, November 6 at 4 P.M. in the Statler Auditorium

and leave a comment at: http://assembly.cornell.edu/Suggestions/2008FallFinancialSavings#toc38

Drop Skorton and the administration a line. Let them know that a million or two in the face of Cornell's current (and possibly also paused) 4 billion dollar campaign is an incredibly small cost to serve nearly 20% of the student population with something they've been requesting for a decade or more.

As Kent Hubbell would put it, it should be a "no-brainer" to establish this Center immediately!

This center is not my center, or your center or even the A3C committee's center. It's ours and it takes us to make it a reality.

Go Comment on the Cornell Website

Hi all,

If you have checked your Cornell webmail lately, you should have received an email from Pres. Skorton (click here to view) stating that construction projects, especially those not under a contract, will be stalled due to the "current economic crisis." It shouldn't apply to the A3C effort, since many Asian/Asian American alumni are vocally and financially supportive of the Center--if only Cornell's administrators were willing to set aside a fundraiser/promotions person for this specific project, which they haven't. Think also of how much this tiny, 1,400 sq. ft. of space should cost--less than $2 million. As Kent Hubbell would put it, it should be a "no-brainer" to establish this Center immediately!

Yet, the administration keeps on delaying this tiny, much-needed project, and the Asian/Asian American Center Committee is frustrated. I briefly voiced our frustrations here: http://assembly.cornell.edu/Suggestions/2008FallFinancialSavings#toc38

. Please also put in your two cents on the "suggestions box" I just linked you to. It is important to let the administration know what other students and alumni are concerned about.

If you have any questions about this email or what I wrote on the Cornell website, do not hesitate to ask me.

Thanks,
Caroline

Editorial about the A3C

Hi all,

This editorial just came out today, written by a Sun staff writer. It's a short but eloquent read, so don't miss it!

Have a good weekend, everyone. We'll see if there are better updates during today's A3C Committee meeting.

Great Article on the A3C

Article published today on the Cornell Daily Sun.
Very accurate in terms of both the facts and the sentiments of students on the A3C Committee.

To discuss it, come to our info session TODAY at Goldwin Smith 156 @ 6pm!

Two More Info Sessions on the A3C

What is the A3C, other than standing for the Asian/Asian American Center? Why is it important? What are the difficulties?

What can you do to help?

To find the answers, we invite you to attend one of our info sessions.

Session #1:
Date: Tuesday, Oct 21 (tomorrow!)
Time: 6pm
Place: Goldwin Smith 156

Session #2:
Date: Wednesday, Oct 22
Time: 6pm
Place: Goldwin Smith 156

Let us know if you can make it at csn7@cornell.edu. If you can't make either of these sessions and still want to attend one, please let us know as well! We would very much appreciate it if you could all circulate this email to your friends and groups.

Once again, the goal of this Center is to provide university support for Asian and Asian American students and provide a space for community-building, cultural celebration, and the development of an Asian/Asian American consciousness. We are currently working with the administration on plans for the Center, but, as outlined in the form letter, we have run into some problems. We hope that with the support of a large number of students and their parents we can overcome these problems and see the creation of this Center.

Sincerely,

Bhavna Devani
Samantha Dong
Susan Duan
Caroline Hugh
Jonathan Pomboza
Clara Ng-Quinn

Students of the A3C Committee

form letter to administration

Hi everyone,

Please email this form letter to President Skorton, Vice President Murphy, and Dean of Students Hubbell. Their emails are: david.skorton@cornell.edu, shm1@cornell.edu, klh4@cornell.edu

Thank you!

Form letter:

Dear President Skorton, Vice President Murphy, and Dean Hubbell,

I was made aware of an Asian/Asian American Center initiative that was created in the semester of spring '08. At the time, I was very excited to hear of it because I truly believe that it is vital to have such a resource on campus, and I was very eager to see progress on the initiative during the upcoming months. Now that we are in the fall '08 semester, I have heard very disappointing news regarding the Center. From what I understand, renovations for the Center were supposed to have started by now, but it has been delayed due to bureaucratic processes within the University, such as accessibility issues within Willard Straight Hall, and uncertainty about the budget availability. While accessibility is a very important quality, it has been a problem that has been in Willard Straight for many decades. The Asian/Asian American Center project should be separate from this issue, not contingent on it.

As a concerned member of the Cornell community, I am deeply dismayed about these delays. I was under the impression that the Center would be ready to open by March '09, but with these bureaucratic problems, this deadline seems more and more impossible to be met. I worry that the Center will not come into existence by the time current students graduate.

I urge you, as the top administrators, to do everything in your power to expedite the creation of the Asian/Asian American Center. At the community forum in March '08, all of you promised your commitment to the creation of the Center. I and the rest of the Cornell community demand that you act on this commitment immediately.

Sincerely,

Action Items to Keep A3C Momentum Going!

A3C stands for "Asian/Asian American Center." It is a space for programming, mentorship, advising, cultural celebration, and education--not a living center. For a brief history of the movement for the A3C, visit the October 4th entry.

Please help out with any one of these projects or make your own suggestions! We (students on the A3C Committee and Cornell at large) can't establish the Center without your help!

• Form letters for students, parents, and alumni to send to administrators
• Info sessions to all people of color organizations to (1) get them informed and (2) get their support in the A3C effort
• News story in Daily Sun
• Op-ed in Daily Sun by (1) Committee member and/or (2) concerned student and/or (3) concerned alum
• Contact faculty and administrators who support our cause
• Contact alumni who support our cause
• Publicize during Trustee/Council Weekend
• Publicize during Family Weekend
• Forum about what has been accomplished for the A3C so far. Administrators invited to speak and be asked questions by community members.

a brief history about A3C

Hi all,

Some of you are new to the Asian/Asian American Center effort, and some of you might want reminding. Feel free to read an article Ri Turner and I wrote during the summer for the Asian American Studies Program.

http://www.aasp.cornell.edu/connections_2008.pdf - Go to pages 4 and 5.

I am also reposting it here.

The 2007-2008 academic year was a milestone year for the Cornell Asian and Asian American (AAA) community.

First, in February 2008, Cornell hosted the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) conference for the third time in ECAASU’s thirty-one year history. It was a record-breaking gathering, with over 1,500 AAA students from across the country in attendance. There were performances with open and free admission that Cornell students and local residents could attend. In addition to the cross-campus collaboration that the conference facilitated, ECAASU helped foster Cornell’s own AAA student community. Students who had not previously been involved in AAA campus organizing energetically participated in the organizing effort for ECAASU, and veteran leaders were happy to see that some of them continued their involvement throughout the semester in other AAA student efforts.

The second major AAA campus effort of the year was the launch of the A3C, which is the Asian and Asian American Center planning organization. Thanks to the efforts of the A3C, the Cornell administration has convened a committee to create the Center. The committee consists of undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and staff, and it is co-chaired by Dean of Students Kent Hubbell and Human Ecology undergraduate Caroline Hugh ‘10. The committee aims to create an AAA center on campus, a hub that would offer space for community-building, cultural celebration, and the development of an AAA consciousness—similar to what spaces such as the Africana Studies and Research Center, the Latino Studies Program, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Resource Center currently do for other marginalized populations on campus.

The Center has been a long time coming. The most recent developments began in 2004 with the publication of the Asian and Asian American Task Force Report. The report examined the recruitment, retention, and satisfaction of AAA students and concluded that the AAA community was being underserved at Cornell*. Specifically, the report placed high priorities on two recommendations: first, that an assistant dean position be created in the Office of Student Support to oversee institutional efforts to meet the unique needs of the AAA population; and second, that a community center space be established on campus for the AAA community. The Assistant Dean position was created last October, and Associate Dean of Students Tanni Hall is currently coordinating the search for candidates to fill that position. However, in response to the slow-footed progress on the community center space, a coalition of students created the A3C organization to encourage institutional compliance with the second Task Force Report priority recommendation.

Student efforts for the A3C began during the fall semester of 2007, when leaders asked the undergraduate Student Assembly to support Resolution 8. The resolution cited findings in the 2004 Task Force Report as the main justification for an AAA center and declared that it was time the university followed up on this initiative. After a thoughtful discussion, the Student Assembly passed Resolution 8 on November 8, 2007, officially lending student government support to the creation of the Center. During the spring semester, A3C focused on encouraging upper levels of administration to comply with the Student Assembly resolution. On March 31, 2008, a panel of administrators including President David Skorton, Vice President Susan Murphy, Deputy Provost David Harris, and Dean of Students Kent Hubbell expressed to a packed audience their commitment to make the proposed center a reality.

President Skorton and Vice President Murphy then called together a committee specifically for the development of the A3C. The committee met weekly for the remainder of the spring semester. Most of the meetings focused on revising A3C’s program definition, objectives, and programming ideas. The discussions built on the rough proposal that student committee members had drafted for the Center. The last two meetings focused especially on prospective spaces for the center. Currently, Dean Hubbell favors a space in one of the lower levels of Willard Straight Hall. The committee recognizes that such a space would be useful temporarily in establishing an interim center, but in the long term, the committee agrees that it is essential for the Center to have its own building.

Now that the 2007-2008 academic year is over, AAA campus community organizers look back with mixed feelings: we have seen a marked increase in the closeness, consciousness, and empowerment of the AAA community and its allies. However, we have also faced significant delays from the administration in acknowledging our unique needs and strengths as a community. As always, we end the year pushing forward—there is always more work to do.

* For the full version of the AAATF report, visit http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/downloads/campusIniatives/mentalhealth/AAATFreport2004.pdf .

A3C is a coalition of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We welcome feedback and involvement from all walks of Cornell life.

Caroline Hugh is a junior in the college of Human Ecology. She can be reached at ch455@cornell.edu.

Ri Turner is a senior in the college of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at rjt23@cornell.edu.

Get the Administration to Address Asian/Asian American Issues!

Please circulate widely among your listservs. Please write a letter to the email addresses below about your concerns.

PROBLEMS

• Asian/Asian American students—nearly 20%of Cornell’s population—feel more disconnected from the Cornell community than any other demographic.
• Students and researchers have made formal recommendations for over six years—but the administration has dragged its feet, providing little assistance.
• Most recently the administration has suggested an inaccessible storage space in Willard Straight Hall and rescinded a promise of financial support.
  

SOLUTIONS

• Hiring an Assistant Dean for Asian/Asian American Student Support.
• Providing students with a fully staffed program center large enough to serve the huge Asian/Asian American population.
• Making these a reality within the next year.
  

Improving Cornell is only possible through your vocal and financial support.

Please write letters to David Skorton, Susan Murphy, David Harris, and Kent Hubbell (president@cornell.edu, djs98@cornell.edu, shm1@cornell.edu, drh36@cornell.edu, klh4@cornell.edu) about the lack of university services. Encourage students, parents, and alumni to do the same!

Contact Caroline Hugh (ch455@cornell.edu) for further information.

meeting with other activists

Hi A3C members (old, new, and interested),

You may have heard of the racist and Islamophobic Cornell Review articles that were published at the start of the school year. This video would give you more information about it if you haven't heard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBUo2JObT3U. Or you could email back with more questions.

Anyhow, a unifying response is developing from this. At first I thought it was just a short-term coalition about responding to these absurd articles, but the meeting on Saturday consisted of members from LAL, BSU, Watermargin, APAA, MOSAIC, CAN, PAC, Bully Pulpit, and others who seek to address all forms of discrimination on campus. Members are also more than willing to support us in our effort to establish the Asian/Asian American Center (A3C).

For this, I would highly encourage all of you to join the next meeting and contribute in strategizing to turn the discrimination around on campus. We can work to forward the progress of A3C and be the change!

Next meeting: Saturday, 9/13
Time: 4pm
Location: Latino Living Center, Main Lounge

In Solidarity,
Caroline

Summer Updates

Hi all,

We didn't mean to neglect this place, but summer comes with its tides of non-A3C work days and dog days... heck, I'm procrastinating on studying for my bio final by writing here!

1) A3C Center Updates
2) AAA Welcome Reception on Sept. 6th
3) An Upcoming Article about Asians and Mental Health on College Campuses

__________________________________________________________

1) A3C Center Updates

We have had four A3C Committee meetings in the summer so far, starting in July. Yesterday, we spoke with Dan Forlenza, one of the main architects who is working with us. We are starting to visualize what the center is going to look like with a mere 1,200 sq. ft. in the second floor of Willard Straight Hall.

We will need to finalize the floor plans next week, but we will most likely have

• Two offices (one for the Assistant Dean, one for the A3C Program Director)
• A storage closet
• A 10-person meeting room
• A slightly larger multipurpose room/study lounge - max. capacity: 30 people standing
• A bathroom
• A kitchenette - maybe 2 mini-fridges, a coffee machine, and a microwave
• 3 computer stations that line up against one wall

Here is the "aggressive" (her word) timeline drafted by Roberta Dillon, the Project Manager:

• Prepare Design Proposal, Kick-off Design - July 30, 2008
• Start Design - August 1, 2008
• Design PAR due for Pre-CF&PC - August 6, 2008
• Submission of Architectural Design Development Drawings to the AC3 Committee - August 13, 2008
• *Approval of the Architectural Design Development Drawings - August 22, 2008
• Complete Design - October 1, 2008
• Plot and Conduct Coordinated Review of Drawings and Specs - October 1-8, 2008
• Plot and Sign Mylars (allows 3 business days) - October 8-10, 2008
• 100% Construction Documents Due in Contracts - October 13, 2008
• Bid Period - October 16–November 6, 2008
• Construction PAR due for Pre-CF&PC - November 6, 2008
• Pre-CF&PC - November 11, 2008
• CF&PC - November 19, 2008
• Execution of Construction Contract - November 19-24, 2008
• Start Construction Period - December 1, 2008
• Construction Complete (13 weeks) - March 1, 2009

*If customer approval is not received by this date, it may negatively impact the design completion date.

I can post many more updates, but these are the most recent ones. If you want to view the floor plans, the past A3C Committee meeting minutes, or any other updates, email me at ch455.

2) AAA Welcome Reception on Saturday, Sept. 6th
(Noon - 4pm) RPCC 1st floor

This is basically a clubfest for all Asian-interest groups on campus. There will be free food and performances, as well as a few speakers. The A3C as an organization can table, but we'll need your help!

Sign up with me, please.

3) Upcoming Article about Asians and Mental Health

A reporter from a higher education magazine, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, has interviewed several people from Cornell, including students and staff. I'm not sure how much she is focusing on Cornell in particular, but she will send me a link to her article when she completes it. Again, contact me if you want to receive updates about this.

Take care,
Caroline
ch455@cornell.edu

A3C Committee Meeting This Monday

Hi A3C and all who are concerned about Cornell's project,

You are all invited to attend A3C's last committee meeting of the semester. It will be happening...

Monday, May 12, 2008
4:30pm - 6pm
WSH Art Gallery

You can feel free to sit and watch or contribute to the discussion. You should come even if you plan on leaving early. I won't hate you, I promise!

If you plan to participate in the discussion, shoot me an email (ch455). I can send you our most updated proposal to show you what the students on the committee have been working on for the past month & a half.

D. Evan Mulvihill's article on the Cornell Daily Sun's blog

Originally posted here.

Racism and the Asian Community at Cornell
Blog Post
May 2, 2008 - 12:18am
By D. Evan Mulvihill

On April Fools’ Day, I published a fake news piece (in the style of The Onion) titled “Asian Community Center to be Built Adjacent to Uris Library” on my blog CornellWatch. The post envisioned the Center as the cartoonish embodiment of the full spectrum of Asian and Asian American (A3) stereotypes, replete with a Pokémon Card Trading Arena, a Mi-So Slipi Lounge, and a Chinese restaurant selling cat for consumption.

After members of the Asian and Asian American Center (A3C) Student Committee read the post, they were understandably offended and enraged. As damage control, I issued an apology, which attempted to pass the piece off as a “bad joke.” I wanted people to just let it go, because I really didn’t see it as that big of a deal. In essence, I rehashed tired old stereotypes—guilty as charged—but I didn’t really mean them.

I will not attempt to defend my piece anymore or try to assert that calling me racist is a misinterpretation of my work—that it was “satire.” In all honesty, I am unsure as to why I wrote the post in the first place. But I think that original intent is unimportant compared to what I have learned in the wake of the situation.

In speaking with a wide variety of people I encountered a number of attitudes toward the post. To speak generally, there were two major categories of responses: one from the multicultural crowd and another from the “who cares?” crowd.

Multiculturalists are on an unending crusade for diversity. They bandy about the lexicon of Oppression, Marginalization and Gentrification (what I term “OMG”) with stunning precision. They gather in meetings about racism on campus and discuss how white privilege, among other forms of “power,” has created a new breed of latent racism that is harder to fight but perhaps more dire than ever.

The apathetic crowd, on the other hand, sees diversity as something that’s good and all, but just “not really their thing.” When presented with the OMG lexicon, apathetics sometimes recoil and say, “Oh my god.” As much as the apathetic crowd hears about racism, most seem to think that racism is only embodied in clearly racist actions. Apathetics believe it’s okay to use stereotypes in jokes—as long as you don’t really mean them.

I realize that in characterizing the different “crowds” I have begun another round of stereotyping. But this time, it serves to underscore how desperately the Cornell community needs to find a middle ground on issues of race, racism, and power and to engage in some sort of dialogue.

Personally, I find myself somewhere between the two crowds. I realize that the multiculturalists present many compelling arguments about the existence of white privilege and the pervasiveness of racism in America. On the other hand, I didn’t ask for my white privilege, and what, honestly, can I (or anyone, for that matter) do to prevent racism if it’s so ingrained that it can’t even be detected?

In the end, I’ve learned to remember that race is a very emotional and sensitive issue. No, seriously, I know. But sometimes it’s easy to forget that, living in these ten square miles surrounded by reality. What’s most important at this juncture, however, is to try to find some middle ground that both crowds can agree on. The middle ground realizes that issues of race and racism are important, and that respectful dialogue and willful education are needed in order to address these issues as well as to bridge the gap between the apathetic and the radical.

As such, it is important that the Cornell community be informed about the planning of the Asian and Asian American Center, because its existence solves only half of the problem of racism; the other half requires education about the issues facing the A3 community. A major part of the problem, as identified by a 2004 task force (A3TF) investigating A3 issues at Cornell, is “lack of recognition and awareness of the reality, experience, and impact of racism and stereotyping as they relate to Asians and Asian Americans.” This task force recommended the implementation of a cultural center for the A3 community, which eventually became known as the A3C.

Most Cornellians conceive of Asians as the “model minority,” a belief epitomized in the 2005 Antman controversy. On the same day that the Sun ran an article on A3 mental health, including findings from the A3TF, the “Adventures of Antman” cartoonist depicted them as “over-achieving, curve-busting” villains who, along with the precipitous hills and frigid weather, embodied Cornell’s “terrible things.”

Although there is no doubt that family pressures can play a role in unrealistic ideas of academic achievement, pushing the model minority stereotype off onto pushy parents fails to take into account the entire story. In the A3TF report, researchers found that professors and classmates often held A3 students up to higher academic standards, sometimes causing A3 students to choke under the pressure.

In the world of Antman, the majority of the Cornell community remains at odds with robotic, dehumanized Asians who are incapable of socialization. This stereotype blinds many people from seeing A3 students as anything other than soulless study hogs. Instead of bemoaning the supposed “curve-buster,” try to befriend him or her—you will find that, deep down inside, their hearts are not made of gears and chains.

One of the severe issues facing A3 individuals at Cornell is the alarmingly disproportionate suicide rate among students of Asian descent, in comparison with other ethnicities. Though the factors that influence this issue are complex, we, the Cornell community, should try to support the A3 community in this issue in every way imaginable while still realizing that, at its heart, this is a problem that will need to be solved within the community itself. On the surface, jokes such as my post may not seem to be a major cause for depression or mental health issues, but they are symptomatic of a general disinterest in working together. In addition, as one blogger pointed out to me, isolation is often a major factor in suicide, and jokes such as mine can further alienate at-risk individuals.

Although the suicide issue is, in all honesty, likely to be the most salient reason for the greater community to pay attention to the center, a view of the center as an antidote to A3 suicide is myopic. Another major problem the A3TF identified was that the A3 community lacked a real sense of actual community. The center will create a place where A3 students feel they can build a community and a so-called “safe space” from the stereotypes that are likely to exist throughout the foreseeable future.

The A3C is one of the first steps in finding a middle ground between apathy and radicalism, and, in my opinion, it is a very important first step. Jokes like the one I made are a step backwards. These types of jokes are not the biggest threat to the A3 community, but they affirm a system that does nothing to support them.

Most people are tactful enough to make these jokes behind closed doors, but it doesn’t change the fact that they exist on a large scale. I used to tell myself that there was nothing behind such comments, but once they are mentally unwrapped, such jokes are not as harmless as they may first appear.


Discuss this article here. Thoughts? Opinions? Happy or unhappy? What do you think about how he labels us as so-called "multiculturalists"?


--Clara

Aftermath of A3C and Evan Mulvihill

Evan's blog entries were featured again at Racialicious and was briefly mentioned at Reappropriate, which is run by a Cornell alum.

To follow up from this and this post on the racist blog entries that Evan Mulvihill wrote, we present to you another apology:

Originally posted here:

No More Jokes

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a piece I wrote for the 4/16 edition of Bully Pulpit, a political publication on-campus that solicited an explanation of the controversial April Fools’ Day post and its aftermath. It contains an editor’s note (written by Everet Yi) at the bottom, which is reproduced below.

On April 1, I decided to post a Onion-style fake news piece titled “Asian Community Center to be Built Adjacent to Uris Library” on CornellWatch (blogs.kitschmag.com/watch), a blog about current events on campus. I figured it was April Fools’ Day, and that making light of stereotypes might somehow be more acceptable. The center was big news yesterday, and seemed like something that could stand up to some misguided lampooning. In any case, it was “satire,” right?

Wrong. Exactly a week later, some members of the Asian community, specifically those invested in the planning of the community center, found out about the post. Understandably, they didn’t think jokes about their status as the so-called “model minority” were very funny, and my initial response to them was basically: okay, I’m sorry that you’re offended and all, but you’re really reading way too much into this. After all, it was just a joke—a very crass, fell-flat-on-its-face type of joke—and as such, the viewpoints were not ones that I personally hold.

I hastily drew up a new post entitled “An Open Apology for a Bad Joke” and removed the offending April Fools’ post. I explained that I felt their pain and understood that the model minority stereotype is “the reason for the unrealistic academic pressure that Asian and Asian-American students face and likely the reason that they commit a disproportionate amount of Cornell’s suicides.”

Those shards of glass threatening to rip my journalistic credibility to threads were magically swept on the carpet—I was saved, right?

Wrong again. Riding the blogosphere train, commenters swarmed in on and tore apart my poorly constructed and ill-conceived apology. I was described as “a racist, pure and simple,” “some idiot college columnist [trying] to increase his… street cred,” and ultimately “a part of the problem.” Some intrepid internet vigilante even created a blog for me, reposting my initial entry and my “bullshit apology” below an image of two Ku Klux Klan members.

I have to admit that this was a scary situation for me, but that ultimately it is one that I am glad to have experienced. I met with concerned members of the Asian and Asian-American Center (A3C) and was educated as to the specifics of what angered and worried them about my post. I learned that in writing that post, I really was part of the problem—a problem that a 2004 task force reported as the “perceived lack of recognition and awareness of the reality, experience, and impact of racism and stereotyping as they relate to Asians and Asian Americans.”

I also have learned that I should not be one to speak or make assumptions about sensitive issues such as suicide or the model minority stereotype before I had done an appreciable amount of research; that the situation needs to be amended instead of defended; and that a more robust “meta-apology” of sorts should be issued. Hopefully before next Friday, I will be publishing this more comprehensive apology in the Daily Sun.

Once again—this time in light of more knowledge and less ignorance—I apologize for using racist stereotypes in a way that ridiculed the entire Asian and Asian-American community. I am hopeful that I am on the road to opening a dialogue on-campus about this issue, because, unfortunately, the belief and misuse of these stereotypes is altogether common—and fairly socially acceptable—on the Cornell campus. Please send suggestions and questions about the situation to watch@kitschmag.com.

Editor’s Note: We commend D. Evan Mulvilhill for starting an important dialogue across the Cornell campus. We condemn the commenters who have called Evan a cunt, racist, and a bigot.

We appreciate Evan’s use of humor to highlight the various stereotypes facing Asian and Asian American’s today. After all, if we don’t talk about it, nothing is going to get accomplished.

Without humor and dialogue, the world would be a sad place.

So, thank you Evan. Thanks for being brave by putting yourself out there by starting an important discussion regarding stereotypes concerning the APIA community.

P.S. Everyone calling for Evan’s head, CALM DOWN. Sheesh.



I'm not happy with Everett Yi's note. Discussions on stereotypes have always been around. Evan used these stereotypes for "satire" in order to ridicule Asian and Asian American students. We A3Cers called him out on it, as did other bloggers and commentors. How exactly is this "starting an important discussion regarding stereotypes concerning the APIA community"?

In any case, many thanks, Evan, for this apology. We look forward to seeing your piece in the Cornell Daily Sun.


--Clara

A3CTF - last monday's meeting

A3CTF = Asian & Asian American Task Force

A3CTF Monday, April 14, 2008

Attendees: Siv, Susan, Clara, Sam, Jonathan, Dean Hubbell, Christine Forrester, Tanni, Peter, Bhavna

Documents that were passed out:

• Selected sections of AAATF from 2002 – Tanni
• Program Definition Suggestions – Prof. Wong
• A3C Committee Meeting Minutes – Christine F
• Proposed Agenda & Proposed Programming – Clara
  

• We’ll be called “A3C Student Committee”
  
• One of us students to be co-chair with Dean Hubbell – we’ll decide by next meeting
• Following the agenda we posed
• Transparency for public circulation - Christine can make the notes available by Tuesday. If everyone approves, we can circulate them by Wednesday.
• Approval by email – set a deadline: “get back to me by certain time & day”
• Implementation of an effective feedback loop – how can people get back to us on what they think? We have an A3C listserv that we can use.
• Use David Harris’ diversity website – post minutes & agenda prior to meeting
• Can students leave comments on the website?
• A3C blog to get student feedback
• Working list of programming ideas
• Proposed Programming – we had a list to jumpstart brainstorming, which Dean Hubbell had no problem with.
  
• Tanni’s job description of Assistant Dean
• Student volunteers working with paid staff – Laura Weiss is paid, but works w/ student volunteers. Support of program assistants as well.
• We should be adding student staff b/c EARS is hard to translate into A3C model
• 2002 Student Proposal for A3C said that CAPSU is hard to sustain w/ student volunteers alone – we still see this happening today
• Worry that Assistant Dean doesn’t know about intricacies that students know. E.g., how the college infrastructure works or the academic questions about profs or classes
• Visions of diff btwn program director and Assistant Dean?
• Desire for grad students to be paid staff
• Model used for frat/sor affairs – something similar can be used for A3C?
• Syracuse also looks to intern grad students to expose them to student affairs
• Can support their grad study financially and facilitate their participation
• Not a lot of Cornell grad students can get involved – Bhavna said that largest grad groups are engineering & CEEPA (sp?)
• Several models that U-Maryland has
• Advising student leaders with workshops & leadership courses
• AA cultural center with grad assistantships
• Mentoring – peer to peer – how to acclimate yourself to Cornell. Not necessarily EAR-type training required.
• Adding to someone’s job description in order to keep the mentorship alive
• Asking for Provost Martin support for AA library
• 3 full-time staff is not an extraordinary demand, considering the high population of A/AAs on campus
• Hubbell said we should have paragraphs describing the staff
• Bhavna said Thu has research on this already
• Thu can send facts about the A3Cs nationwide
• We students can edit the info down for Provost Martin to read
• Succinct comparisons – “Tufts has had a program like this for 25 yrs. [brief summary of resources made available]”
• Peer institutions to compare to, that Hubbell listed: Yale, UPenn (closest in terms of size, proportionality, selectivity), Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, UChicago
• Making site visits to see how they’re laid out, what’s a friendlier layout to welcome students
• We would do this next semester once we have more details
• Has to be during academic year when you can view student life
• Profs who work in AASP are really overworked trying to apply for tenure as well as raising A/AA community
• Articulating optimal relationship btwn center & AASP? Maybe Shelley or someone else could write about this succinctly.
• Looking at other ethnic studies programs who could integrate social life w/ academic life
• Siv suggested looking at Midwestern univ models like Champaign & UChicago
• Looking at Part IV of Agenda
• We read aloud what Prof. Wong sent us – she was leading us toward creating a program definition
• Going over the goals of our limited proposal from last week
• 1.2 – need to include that we should work with other departments
• 2.2 – need to specifically include alumni?
• Prof. Wong's gonna write up the programming aspect or edit – we’ll decide when she is present at the meeting
• Tanni says A3C’s scope is bigger than CWRC's, which is only directed at students. A3C aims to serve all students, staff, faculty, and alumni.
• Prof. Wong’s document is like mission statement of the center – good draft for now, but it’s better to be more succinct
• Siv said there is an exclusion of the factors that brought about this center? We might want a historical piece on how AAATF & the negative AA student experiences have factored into the mission statement
• This is like the justification of the need for an A3C – simply alluding to key issues that brought about this dialogue would be fine. As an intro or conclusion would be good.
• Approval of minutes from Friday
• WSH is for students by students
• Anything we as A3C committee propose as interim A3C, WSH’s student union board would need to approve that
• Go down to ceramics studio. Used to be Green Room space
• Involves displacing the art club
• ~3,000 sq. ft. of space – we can get a floor plan
• needs diplomatic skill to make it happen
• Previously, the admin had displaced pool/billiards room – 4,000 sq. ft.
• now it’s a “baby Memorial Room” – where people dance
• Good idea to get inventory of what spaces are available – Hubbell would do it
• informal conversation w/ Student Union board
• We would speak with Rockefeller building manager who is very protective of his building. Also speak with univ architect (Gilbert Delgado)
• 2nd floor WSH had a few student orgs previously, but we arranged for them to leave space for renovation. They went peaceably.
• Obligation to look for its “highest and best use” even though it’s for the Student Union
• Elmhurst room downstairs – we’d be fighting with dining for that room
• Maybe we should use the 2 weeks to ID these spaces and see if we could use them.
• East side of WSH is important architecturally. West isn’t that important, plus it’s only a parking lot. The student groups would have a lot more spaces to use as well.
• Next agenda
• We students present what other univs are doing
• We update AAATF to see what services exist now that didn’t exist back then. – not sure who suggested this
• We come up with the student co-chair
• We continue to submit the agenda
• Tanni will dig up historical charge for AAATF
• Christine will send out minutes tomorrow. We’ll have 24 hours to approve and then Wednesday, the minutes will be completely available to rest of campus.
• Hubbell will talk to David Harris about diversity website. Also come up with locations that are possible on campus.
  

A3C Wish List: What do YOU want?

At the last A3C meeting on Friday April 11, we discussed the history of other Asian/Asian American centers at comparable universities (thanks to Thu!). Stony Brook's Charles B. Wang Center Celebrating Asian & American Cultures was one that we mentioned. Taken from their website http://www.sunysb.edu/sb/wang/, the mission of the Center follows:

The Charles B. Wang Center initiates and collaborates with academic departments, student groups, community organizations, and individuals in presenting the public with a multifaceted, intellectually sound, and humane understanding of Asian and Asian American cultures, and their relationship to other cultures. The Wang Center is also a presenting venue for events of cultural, professional and intellectual calibre that are initiated by and involve the various components of Stony Brook University, Long Island communities and organizations as well as other regional, national, and international constituencies. The Wang Center is non-partisan and non-sectarian, and upholds the values of pluralism, democracy, and equality.

Their facilities are extensive and include:

• 120,000 square feet of interior spaces and 35,000 square feet of gardens
• 239-seat theater
• two mid-sized lecture halls wired for laptops and the most current audiovisual technology
• interdenominational chapel
• Jasmine Restaurant, featuring Chinese, Indian, Japanese Grill, Sushi, and Thai food, with other Asian cuisines included in the daily food specials

Programming includes a variety of culture shows, workshops, speakers, film screenings, book discussions, and lectures. For full descriptions of this semesters programs, check out http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/wang/events.shtml

Now, our question as A3C is what do we want to see happen at this Asian and Asian American Center that we are developing at Cornell?

Here are some programming ideas that the six students on the committee developed at our last meeting:

• Cultural
• Cultural celebrations hosted by student organizations
• Musical performances
• Dance performances
• Social Events
• Freshmen Welcome
• Club fair
• Student organization socials
• Community Outreach
• Student leadership retreats
  
• Lectures or talks given by community leaders
• Advocacy and Educational
• Lectures, forums, talks
• Development of Asian-American identity
• Networking between Asian and Asian American students
• Sub-ethnic-historical educational events

Use this post as a WISH LIST of things you personally want to see at the Center, in terms of programming and support. All of your comments and input will be compiled and incorporated into our formal proposal. Thanks in advance!

A3C proposal - demands

The six student members of the Community Center committee (in alphabetical order: Bhavna, Caroline, Clara, Jonathan, Samantha, Susan) met on Monday, 4/7, to discuss the proposal in its current state at the time. Our proposal is still in draft stage, but here are some main points:

Goal #1 – To raise awareness of Asian and Asian American culture and social issues to the larger Cornell community.

Objective #1.1 - To run programs that capture the social, historical, and political diversity within Asian and Asian American cultures for the general public, that unite the Asian and Asian American community, and provide education on the Asian and Asian American culture. See Programming section.

Objective #1.2 - To partner with various departments and programs to foster inclusion of Asian and Asian American students in dialogue on diversity issues.

Objective #1.3 – To disseminate information on Asian and Asian American cultures and backgrounds to the general Cornell community, contributing to a more open and understanding campus climate.

Objective #1.4 – To conduct and publish yearly surveys of Asian and Asian American student satisfaction in order to assess the needs of the community, and to develop initiatives and programs in response to these surveys. *

Objective #1.5 – To publish or sponsor publications that discuss Asian and Asian American culture and socio-political issues.

Objective #1.6 – To organize a biennial conference on Asian and Asian American issues.

Objective #1.7 – To build and maintain a library with literature concerning Asians and Asian Americans that is connected to the Cornell Library system.

Goal #2 – To provide a central hub of resources and a network of support for Asian and Asian American students, faculty, and staff.

Objective #2.1 - To hire full-time staff members and a group of work study undergraduate students as advocates for the center’s mission.

Objective #2.2 - To facilitate communication among Asian and Asian American students, faculty, and staff through various events and programs.

Objective #2.3 - To provide academic, social, career, and cultural resources to students as they progress through the college career and life after Cornell.

Objective #2.4 - To encourage collaboration between over a hundred Asian-related student organizations on campus.

Objective #2.5 – To advocate and raise awareness for Asian and Asian Americans students and socio-political issues they face.

Space

• Office Space - for each of the 3 staff members
• Small computer lab - maximum capacity 10 people
• Conference room - maximum capacity 30 people
• Library (connected to University system, book course reserve. Note Objective 1.7.)
• Storage space
• Study/Social Lounge - maximum capacity 50 people
• Bathroom facilities –gender neutral - capacity of 5
• Kitchenette
• Multi-purpose room – maximum capacity 200 people

Staff/Administration

The Center will employ 3 full-time professional and 6-8 part-time student staff.

• Center Director (full time)
• Center Coordinator (full time)
• Counselor (full time)
• Student Staff (part time) –
  
• Center Coordinator
• Webmaster
• Administrative assistant (2)
• Programming assistant (2)
• Outreach assistant
• Librarian

* = inspired by Stanford U's A3C
red font = additions or edits made to the first draft (sent over a3c-listserve)



The first committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, 4/11, from 2-3pm. Some of us can't make that time, so we'll see how it goes.

Mulvihill's "Open Apology for a Bad Joke"

D. Evan Mulvihill has posted an open apology for his racist blog entry. I'm pasting it into this post for our records:

An Open Apology for a Bad Joke

One week and a day ago, I decided to write an April Fools’ Day, fake news-style post titled “Asian Community Center to be Built Adjacent to Library.” Earlier today, I removed the post because of a large amount of negative feedback.

The day or two before I wrote the post, there was a forum hosted to dicuss the plans for an Asian Community Center, which the S.A. had approved in November. The article’s central joke was that the center would be built next to the library so students could study more easily; this played up the “model minority” stereotype that Asians tend to work harder academically as a whole. While I’m not saying that the stereotype is completely unfounded, I think that it is the reason for the unrealistic academic pressure that Asian and Asian-American students face and likely the reason that they commit a disproportionate amount of Cornell’s suicides.

The rest of the post included myriad stereotypes about Asians: bubble tea, mispronounciation of Rs and Ls, you name it… In being over-the-top with layering on the stereotypes, I thought I could pull off an Onion-style article but it seems, as one commenter noted, that I went in the direction of Carlos Mencia.

In looking at articles on the Onion about Asian-Americans, I found that their angle focused on Asians who decided consciously to defy the stereotypes of being hard-working academic overachievers. This is probably the more tasteful way of addressing the situation, and ultimately the funnier one.

Some commenters seemed to think that I was some mega-racist or the epitome of what the Asian-American community needs to be afraid of. Neither is true: in the end, this was all just a bad, crass joke. So here I am, tail between my legs and offering the offended parties my sincerest apologies.

Sincerely,

D. Evan Mulvihill

Original posting here

Thoughts? Did he get the point of why we're angry? I'm thinking... mostly not. But, at least we have an apology.

--Clara

Kitschmag's "satirically" racist piece about A3C

Thanks to Thu and Mark for bringing this to our attention. The racist blog entry was just deleted on Kitschmag's website, so I'm posting it here for our records. You can also find another copy of this piece on the popular news blogs, AngryAsianMan and ResistRacism:

Asian Community Center to be Built Adjacent to Uris Library
April 1st, 2008 by D. Evan Mulvihill

President David Skorton announced the plans for the construction of an Asian Community Center at a midday press conference today. The building is to be located directly adjacent to Uris Library on the Clocktower Side, and will be designed by the famous architect I. M. Pei.

“I believe that this building will dramatically reduce the amount of Asian suicides at Cornell,” Skorton announced. “We also plan to fill in the gorges with those chewy bubble tea orbs so that distraught students will have to rely on other methods.”

Among the centers many features are the Pokemon Card Trading Arena, the Mi-So Slipi Lounge quipped with 100 beds for study break naps, and one-seater dining areas with calculators built into the tables. Many students are most excited, however, about the center’s Lucky Sun Moon Restaurant, which features MSG, beef with broccoli, and cat-fish casserole, which incorporates not catfish but a mixture of cat and flounder.

“Our plans were substantially modified after meeting with the Asian and Asian-American community,” said architect I. M. Pei. “The original plans called for an underground parking lot, but it was scrapped based on the projected amount of parking mishaps. That was something I did not foresee, perhaps because of my squinty eyes.”

Most Asian students jumped for joy upon hearing the news. Student Mi-So Honee remarked, “Is so close to libelly!”

Other students were appreciative that the name was changed from the Little Rice Room Place. “Besides being a sirry name, I couldn’t rearry pronounce arr those R and Ls,” said Henry Joon-Kimyung-Jook.

ED’S NOTE: I’m not really this lacist… but then, again maybe everyone is:
[youtube video: avenue q, "everyone's a little bit racist"]

This is just another example of why we need this community center, to combat racist instances like this.

-Clara

I have a few questions for you A3Cers and for anyone who visits this blog in general.

1) What do you all think about this "satire"? Is this analogous to Max Karson's "satire" that was published in February?
2) What do you think A3C, the greater Asian and Asian Am community at Cornell, and the rest of the Cornell campus should do about this?

Caroline

A3C 101

A Brief History on our path to A3C:

2003 - Cornell Administration charges a task force to confront issues confronting the Asian and Asian-American student community: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Jan03/Asian.task.force.jkp.html

2004 - The Asian and Asian-American Campus Climate Task Force Report (3ATF) is released by the Cornell Administration. Salient findings include: over-representation of suicides from students of Asian descent, high dissatisfaction of Cornell experience compared to other ethnic groups, feelings of belonging to Cornell community commonly absent. Two of the main recommendations addressed by this task force are:
1. Hiring of a paid staff position to serve the Asian/Asian-American student community
2. Implementation of an Asian/Asian American center to unify the AAA population

2005 - Members of Asian Pacific Americans for Action (APAA) strive for an Asian American program house on campus. N.B.: There is a current moratorium on constructing new program houses at Cornell University (i.e. no new ones are allowed)

Spring 2007 - a group of passionate student leaders meet with the Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs, Susan Murphy, to lobby for an Asst. Dean for AAA students

September 2007 - Vice President Murphy announces the creation of an Asst. Dean for AAA students

November 2007 - Resolution 8 is passed with an overwhelming majority in the Student Assembly. It calls for the creation of an AAA community center

Spring 2008 - A3C is formed and members start meeting to lobby for the center

February 2008 - At the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU 2008) Conference, held at Cornell this year, Dean of Students Kent Hubbel and President David Skorton make offensive remarks to the 1500+ attendees. The president's remarks, such as his "love affair with Asia" are posted on numerous blogs, including www.angryasianman.com, and lead many to start campaigns against the Cornell president, including groups from University of Pennsylvania.

March 2008 - The ECAASU co-directors and other student leaders meet with President Skorton and Vice President Murphy about ECAASU 2008 and Resolution 8. Skorton verbally agrees to a space designated for AAA students on campus. Vice President Murphy starts assembling a committee to figure out the details of the center.

March 31, 2008 - An AAA Community Forum was held and Skorton publically announces his support for an AAA center and announces the committee.

Yea, that wasn't brief, actually. Sorry, thanks for reading!

-Andrew Lee

If you didn't go to the Community Forum last Monday...

Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. invites you to listen to speaker/legislator Nathan Shinagawa and to discuss the Asian & Asian American Community Center that should be quickly developing.

Host: Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.
Date: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Rockefeller 122
Contact: hjc33@cornell.edu
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=26108207096

The Asian & Asian American Community Center Forum was this past Monday, March 31st.

Last month, Pres. Skorton and Vice Pres. Susan Murphy promised to start a committee that would establish an Asian & Asian American community center, to act as a hub for social, academic, and community support and to raise awareness to the greater Cornell community on the richness of the Asian & Asian American experience. The meeting's purpose was to answer questions such as, What do you want from a community center? What does it mean to you?

Nathan Shinagawa was a panelist for the forum on Monday. He is not only a graduate student here at Cornell University, but also the youngest county legislator in the history of Tompkins County, NY and serves as the Chairman of the Budget and Capital Committee. He is also a member of the Health and Human Services. Shinagawa serves on the boards of the Health Planning Council, Senior Citizens Council, Mental Health Services Board, and the Ithaca Asian American Association. In 2006, Shinagawa was named the area's top legislator on behalf of working families by the Central New York Labor Council (SEIU, UAW, IBEW, etc.). http://www.nathanshinagawa.org/

At this event, come listen to Nathan Shinagawa speak about his experienceas an Asian American in politics. We would like to have this discussion again with individuals who could not make the past meeting and would like to bring up more issues, as well as answer any questions you have for us.

Susan Duan, a member of the task force committee for the Asian & Asian American Community Center, will speak about the center. Please join us in this unique event hosted by Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.

All are welcome. *Free food will be provided.

the whole deal!!! (from Thu)

In this e-mail:
i] historical review of campaign
ii] minutes from last A3C meeting
iii] To Do's for certain folks

Next meeting time will be announced via A3C listserve. To be added, e-mail Clara or Caroline (csn7, ch255). In the meantime, give us your input about meeting time:
http://doodle.ch/participation.html?pollId=eb5xpr7y2dbs76zv . I apologize for this message's length... -thu


Yes, yes ya’ll… This year has been one for the record book.

Intensively since the 1980s, we the Asian & Asian American (A3) students have been striving for an inclusive campus – one that allows us to explore and to develop our personal identity and critical consciousness. Out of a long overdue task force report in 2004, two recommendations were made: 1) to have an assistant dean to serve the need of A3 students and 2) to have an A3 community center. Both proposals were finally accepted this year! Without going into details, thank you for your hard work, support and love when there was a scarce amount around this place.

Yes, yes ya’ll… But, we’ve got a long way to go still.

“My wife and I have a love affair with Asia… We have been to many of the countries you and your families are from.” David Skorton, Cornell University President, 2008.

“Once I was American, but America made a foreigner out of me -- not a Japanese, but a foreigner -- a foreigner to any country, for I am just as much a foreigner to Japan as to America.” Kazuo Kawai, As Am student at UCLA, 1925.

There are more commonalities than differences to bring us together. Whether we or our families arrived here as diversity visa cardholders from the ‘60s, as refugees from a war-torn country, as hopefuls searching for a new opportunity, or as international students recently -- the goal of this community center is to simply create a beloved community.

Yes, yes ya’ll… And so, let's begin the real work to actualize this idea.


[1] The Central Goals of the A3 Community Center, decided by A3C work committee members:

1) A working budget/endowment
2) A wide range of programming & leadership training
3) At least one full-time staff member, and
4) A centralized location

[2] The Physical Space, a Charette of Ideas
This is a brainstorm of what we want:

~ Staff Positions: Program Director, Assistant Program Coordinator (at least one), work-study student interns (2-4)
~ A Library: The current collection of Asian American books at Rockefeller is weaksauce and smaller than some of our own personal collections.
~ A Professional Kitchen: Because we love to eat & use food as a method to build community.
~ Programming/Multipurpose/Meeting Space: An space open to student clubs to hold meetings, workshops, et. for 30 students or so.
~ Office: Depending on the centrality of the place, an office with computers for student use.
~ Lounge/Chill space: Smaller than the mtg space for students to hang out.

[3] Education
We are determined to use this opportunity to build an Asian American and Asians in America consciousness. To begin, please start using the Blog site that Ding formed. Please share your information/insight. All minutes from meetings will be there so that this process can also be as transparent as possible.

[4] Mission Statement of Our Group
The following is a draft: To serve as a student voice during this process. To uphold the original purposes for this need. To work towards unifying all groups that this community center will primarily serve.

[5] Long Term Goal
To actualize the proposal for an A3 community center.

[6] Should this be a separate building?
Pros: Establishment of an endowment, operating budget, increase in staffing, larger space
Cons: Most likely, cannot be centralized, administrative policy constraints

[7] Timeline of a Proposal
A working draft to be presented to A3C asap. Write out phase process for the end of this year, i one year, three years, etc & a way to evaluate progress.


[8] Short Term Goals (Internal for A3C group]/THE "TO DO" LIST
~ To create timelines (internal & external)
~ To raise an Asian American consciousness/to educate
~ To hold ourselves accountability that all AAA groups are inclusive to the planning process/To reach out and have working committee reflect the diversity of the AAA community on campus
~ To establish & clearly define what our community looks like/the constituency of this center
~ To serve as a student voice for administration & to provide a forum for all AAA to provide input
~ To bridge the outgoing and incoming leadership


[9] For Next Meeting (TBA, sometime by next Friday)
EVERYONE: go to
Thu (me) will make a presentation of other school's current models
Selected 6 A3C representatives: Perhaps meet to discuss timeline & otr short term-goals?


Thu-Huong Nguyen

first email students received today

Thanks for setting up this blog, Ding.

As we forge ahead on this project to establish an Asian & Asian American community center, we are more than happy to be open and frank with you readers about the day-by-day happenings of this process. For instance, this is an email some students received today:

Good morning,
Thank you for agreeing to serve on the Asian and Asian American Cultural Center Committee; attached is the draft charge to the committee. Christine Forester, in the Dean of Students' office, will be contacting you in the near future to schedule the first committee meeting. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Donna Wilczynski

The letter was addressed to the following staff and faculty: Tanni M. Hall, Catherine A. Holmes, Leon Lawrence, Sunn Shelley Wong, Renee T. Alexander, Kent Hubbell, Christine A. Forester, and Susan H. Murphy. The future "Assistant Dean of Students for Student Support & Diversity Education/Coordinator for Asian & Asian American Student Outreach" will also be part of this committee.

The students who were sent this letter are Caroline H, Clara N, Samantha D, Susan D, Bhavna D, and Jonathan P.

Caroline

we're online!

made a blog for the A3C!
This blog is for:

• keeping track of our progress for our own institutional memory when the years pass
• keeping notes, transcripts, and reflections on this whole process
  
• discussing our internal issues
• discussing our larger purpose

what else?

maybe pictures and videos and announcements and links. let's keep it frequently updated so viewers will have incentive to check back! college blogs can fail miserably so let's not let that happen.

-ding