04.09.08
Japanese-Americans receive honorary degrees
On Sunday, Yasui, 84, and three other former students were back on the Eugene campus. The university awarded honorary degrees to all 20 of the expelled students on what President Dave Frohnmayer called “a day of many emotions, of joy and regret.”
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TonyWKoo said,
April 9, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Hey William,
I’m sorry about not responding earlier about the article. I do have some idea as to what I’d like to write, but I’d like to check it with you first.
It’s about the title “Asian American”. Most reading this, most people focus on “Asian” first and “American” second. I’d like to write something about how we should switch that around. I’d rather project the idea of being American but of Asian descent.
Sometimes I get flack from people because they assume that I’m trying to be white since that’s what most people picture when they see the term “American”. That’s not what I’m saying at all.
The way I see it, WE have to be the ones who define what “American” really means. We can’t just accept what others tell we are. If they say that we don’t “look American”, then WE need to challenge them. Most Asian Americans have lived here most, if not all their lives. We work here, we study here, we’re citizens here, we pay taxes here, we speak english…we deserve the right to call ourselves American. If others (even other Asian Americans) want to challenge that, then we have to draw our borders and defend it.
The bottom line is this. If people want to push us out of what’s rightfully ours, then we need to push back and take it.
-Tony