Interim A3C Floor Plan

Here is the floor plan of the interim A3C. Click on the image for a larger view.

The shaded rectangle on the bottom of the picture was our space. Right now, we are able to use the "secret" chapter room space as well, which would practically double the size we had originally. Renovations include breaking down the blocked doorways to the chapter room and making new walls around the two offices and restroom (left corner of image).

If you want a better copy, I can try sending the PDF to you. Shoot me an email.

Recent Editorials/Articles

1. Anti-A3C Editorial by Anthony Liu, dated 3/4/09

Check out the comments under the editorial.

By the way, if Cornell administrators say they support program housing, it's about time they speak up on this issue--publicly--and why they support it. While the A3C will not be a program house, program houses and the A3C (as well as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center) are safe spaces for oppressed groups to gather and have resources devoted to their needs.

2. Response to Liu by Kevin Cheng, Irene Li, & Olivia Tai, dated 3/5/09

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3. Unrelated to what's above: Chronicle article, dated 3/6/09, reporting on Monday's forum and updates about A3C.

Is anyone else bothered that this center is always called "Asian center" in the media?

Thank you for attending Monday's Forum!

Hi all,

Thank you for attending Monday's A3C Forum! With your tough questions and take-no-crap attitude, we showed the administrators that they have to be accountable to us, despite the reality of the economic downturn. The fact is, the A3C project is both a tiny and necessary initiative that Asian/Asian American communities deserve.

1) For future reference and to keep a good account of what the administration said,

Alex Berg's article is a great summary of what was discussed: http://cornellsun.com/node/35721. If you have any comments/constructive criticism, she would like to hear from you (aberg@cornellsun.com).

Clara Ng-Quinn, Kevin Cheng, Janelle Teng, and Susan Duan have recorded some chunks of the forum.

• For the first few minutes, check out Clara's link: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/video/video.php?v=616819292035
• For the last hour or so, check out Kevin's link: http://www.archive.org/details/2008CornellA3cForum-March2nd
• We are still waiting on other clips.
  

If anyone else has recorded any part of the forum or has taken photos, please let me know.

2) For those who attended, please help the A3C Committee archive what happened!

• Email me your notes/thoughts from the forum - even one sentence helps a lot.
• Link me to your photos or recordings of the forum.
• Please volunteer to listen to five or so minutes of a clip we will assign you to. You do not have to transcribe everything--only what you feel deserves attention.
  

A3C Forum - THIS Monday!

Dear friends,

We, the students, staff, faculty, and administrators on the Committee for the Asian/Asian American Center (A3C), invite you to attend the second community forum addressing the A3C. This forum will be a unique opportunity to engage with Cornell's top administrators with concerns regarding the resources for communities on campus.

In the spring of 2008, we held the first forum to address the needs of the Asian and Asian American community at Cornell. Top administrators pledged their commitment to establishing A3C and called for the formation of a committee to oversee its implementation. Present at this forum were President David Skorton, Vice President Susan Murphy, Dean of Students Kent Hubbell, and Vice Provost David Harris.

Now, a year later, our administration will again speak on A3C. At this new forum, A3C committee members will update the public on the progress of A3C, as well as the next steps to be taken in the future. President Skorton and Dean Hubbell will be present at this forum to address the administration's stance on A3C and to answer your questions.

This forum is open to all members of the Cornell community and friends. We would appreciate it if you would forward this invitation to your friends and email lists.

Here are the details:

Date: Monday, March 2
Time: 6:30 - 8:00pm

Location: HEC Auditorium, Goldwin Smith

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=52922927529

See you at the forum!

We are happy to announce that...

The Assistant Dean of Students for Asian/Asian American Outreach is finally hired! Patricia Nguyen is filling two positions, as she will also be the Director of the A3C. Patricia will begin work on April 20th. We look forward to hearing more information from Associate Dean of Students Tanni Hall in the days to come.

no actual updates about the A3C...

...because the administration has not provided us with any. But I have five items to discuss with you:

1) An A3C community forum will take place in late February or March, after the CAAA Pan-Asian banquet (see Item 4 below), where Pres. Skorton, VP Murphy, and Dean Hubbell will answer questions about the A3C. There, we should put more pressure on the administration to finish the A3C as soon as possible.

Two students on the committee (Bhavna Devani and Susan Duan) are leaving Cornell in May, and I won't be far behind. We are concerned that they are stalling us until current Asian/Asian American student leaders leave the school, and then they will let the initiatives die again. We should try our hardest to not let this happen. That includes telling new students, regardless of undergrad or grad status, about our efforts and the importance of their involvement.

2) We have been submitting articles to the Bully Pulpit (see previous entry for more info). See the January 21st issue for my article on the history of our A3C movement. The next issue, which will be published around February 4th, will have Bhavna's article on why the A3C should and can be funded during this recession. If you are interested in writing, let me know! We expect to publish at least one article in BP for the rest of this semester.

3) Are you interested in tabling for A3C during CAPSU's annual Asia Night event? Asia Night is happening Saturday, February 21st this year. It has always been a grand event, which will helpful to recruiting more people for the A3C effort. At the very least, people can sign up for the mailing list and stay informed about efforts for our Center.

If you are interested in tabling for half an hour--or longer--please let me know. You won't be tabling alone, and we'll make it fun, I promise :)

4) The Cornell Asian Alumni Association (CAAA) is holding a banquet in NYC on Sat, February 21st as well. Some members of the A3C Committee may attend, but certainly Kent Hubbell and Renee Alexander will be there. This year, the banquet's proceeds will go into A3C funding, which is old but always good news.

5) I found out that you can subscribe to this A3C blog through Atom. Scroll down to the way bottom of the page, and click on "Posts (Atom)." I can't give you more details than that, as I am technologically illiterate, but if you subscribe to the blog, you should be emailed whenever I make a new post. That way, you can get the latest news on the A3C without me having to email you personally! Win-win.

Take care,
Caroline

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