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
4 comments:
I sent Evan an email, asking him to explain his rationale behind writing his article. Here's his response:
Hi Caroline,
I wrote the satirical fake news article intending to exhaust the full spectrum of stereotypes about Asians. It was also an April Fools' Day joke. It was intended to be so, so over-the-top that it might come across as not tasteless. In the end, I think if I had used only the positive stereotypes of Asians instead of the others (poor pronounciation, higher suicide rates, etc) then it might not have been such a flop.
I personally am close friends with many Asians, and don't have any prejudgments about them. I know that as a whole Asians tend to be more studious which is what the article was supposed to harp on: the funniness that an Asian community center would be built right next to the library.
I'm glad that you would like to hear my side, because I think the discussions about racists and racism usually amounts to the "oppressed" group sitting together and whining about how oppressed they are instead of actually seeing what other people perceive their group.
Thanks,
Evan
This has been one of the most irresponsible "journalism" I've come across in a while. As the former EIC of a magazine, I am amazed that this piece has made it this far. D. Evan Mulvihill is not the only one to blame here. Where are the editors that allowed this to be published? But here is Evan taking all the heat, while the magazine hides behind him. I want to know how this blatant racism could've passed through the entire editorial board of a magazine.
The simple removal of the article from the blog site is not enough, and neither is Evan's half-hearted "apology." To be honest, the apology made me even angrier. Sure, I can pretend that he has terrible taste in humor and horrifying writing skills, but I can't accept how ignorant he really is: "I think if I had used only the positive stereotypes..." What? He seems to think that "positive" stereotypes would've made it OK? And: "I think the discussions about racists and racism usually amounts to the "oppressed" group sitting together and whining about how oppressed they are instead of actually seeing what other people perceive their group." What in the world is THAT? It's pretty clear that he's the one who's ignorant of the perceptions of other groups, not us.
I've watched the A3C group struggled to get to where we are now. To say everyone's worked hard is an understatement: In an institution where there are little to no support for its Asian/Asian American community, receiving overdue representation and resources is a triumphant moment in our history. Not only do we not receive support from our fellow students, we essentially get slapped in the face with offensive words. Apparently I study at an institution where my peers think I want more resources because I am illiterate. Great. Makes me so proud to be a Cornellian.
By removing the article and offering a concise apology, Evan seems to want this issue quickly resolved. I don't want this simply swept under the rug. I want the Cornell community to know racism is not only present in the "less liberal" parts of the country (ie: Colorado). I want the Cornell administration to do something - after all, they did say they were going to support us, didn't they? Now's a good chance to show they weren't all talks. Let's show that we've at least learned something from the ECAASU incident.
And please Evan, learn how to properly write satire. To call that a satirical piece is an insult to writers.
~Claire
Satire aims to expose the follies and short-comings of an established power--i.e. high society, the government, Hollywood, etc. Ridiculing Asians does not qualify as satire in any sense of the word. I think the "author" needs to spend more time with his dictionary in the future.
Racism stigmatizes a group for its deviations from the dominant culture, mainly, the middle-class white culture. That is why this writer treats us with so many stereotypes depicting the perceived cultural inadequacy of Asians--flawed English, strange study habits, non-Western culinary preferences. Essentially, he harps on how non-white Asians are. That's not satire, that's racism.
And to also note, "positive" stereotypes also point out this deviation from white culture--Asians study more, are quieter, etc. Again, these stereotypes mark Asians for being non-white, but in a quote-on-quote "positive" fashion. That's like saying labeling others as nerds or prudes is positive. I really do not understand how this logic survived into this person's college years. Then again, I fear many at Cornell, and other top universities in America, harbor these backwards views.
--Jeffers
I would like to engage the AC3 group as well as other members of the Asian-American community. I'm receiving a lot of hate comments and would like to take the time to engage in a constructive dialogue about issues of race, stereotypes, and humor. I can attend one of your AC3 meetings, or we can set something informal up somewhere on campus. Please email me at dem64@cornell.edu so we can set something up.
Just to be clear, the CornellWatch blog is edited and maintained by myself, and no one else in the magazine has any editorial authority over it. The post is an example of stupidity by one and only one person: me.
I posted in total 3 Onion-style "fake news" posts over the past few months, including the April Fools Day tripe, but have removed them all and will not be posting any fake news on CornellWatch in the future.
Sincerely,
Evan
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