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
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
4 comments:
One of the things we're hoping for is a biennial conference on Asian American issues like:
- Asian American Women
AND! a biennial conference on issues facing minorities in the US (both native and immigrated) in general
I think it'd be awesome and we would definitely be the IVY that was most tapped into other schools as well as politics.
Two models Cornell should realistically strive to emulate are the centers at Stanford University http://www.stanford.edu/dept/a3c/cgi-bin/programs/ and at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign http://www.odos.uiuc.edu/aacc/
HEALTH & WELLBEING SERIES
The Cornell A3C should offer a series focusing on health and social wellbeing, aiming to dispel misconceptions, increase awareness, and introduce students to resources on campus. Topics can range from parental pressures to body image issues. Stanford's center does this through their "After Dark Series."
EVENING EVENTS
Illinois' center has Wednesday Evening Events, weekly programs that are co-sponsored by another group to promote a diverse array of Asian American cultural, social, academic experiences. This could parallel Cornell's current Cafe con Leche series presented by by the Latino Living Center.
GRADUATE & FACULTY OUTREACH
Stanford's center also does a neat program that reaches the graduate and faculty community--"the Asian American Ph.D. Forum seeks to create a supportive environment and a sense of academic community by bringing together doctoral students and faculty in the fields of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, and Business. Data from the registrar’s office indicates that it is in these fields that Asian American Ph.D. students are most isolated."
LUNCH SPEAKER SERIES
Stanford's center brings faculty and students together through its lunch speaker series, addressing issues of academics, career options, and public service. This series can particularly benefit freshmen students, allowing for a smoother transition to college. Stanford's topics have included: “How to Avoid Model-Minority Burn-Out”, “The Pre-Med Thing: Is it Really for Me?”, and “How to Work with Faculty”.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT & MENTORING
Both centers have leadership development programs for Asian American students consisting of retreats and mentoring programs.
I urge all committee members to check out both these websites. They are both strong and effective models that Cornell should emulate!
** I really did not mean to emphasize Stonybrook in the way that it came across! I meant to bring it up only in that we should not be doubtful about obtaining one. However, to have something of the Wang Center's scale at Cornell is an impractical goal or process to follow. Please consider the other 15 minutes of my presentation as plausible strategies to start with. Let me know if you need contact info of these schools. -t
In regards to programming, many of them can start next year if students and staff are willing to set it up over the summer.
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