04.21.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment at 6:27 am by admin
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Lee Fang (301) 318-7351 Lhfang@gmail.com
April 19, 2008
Asian American University of Maryland Students Mobilize To Save Asian American Studies
(COLLEGE PARK, MD) — Students at the University of Maryland are stepping up to demand Asian Americans are included in the future of the University. The current draft of the University “Strategic Plan” – a document which governs future resource allocation and academic affairs policy for the next 5 to 10 years – completely ignores Asian American Studies and does nothing to address meeting the needs of Maryland’s growing Asian American student population.
Outrage has been vented at several recent meetings of Asian American student organizations and activist groups. Given forecasted fiscal shortfalls for the state of Maryland, many students fear Asian American Studies, as well as other academic programs dedicated to the study of race, gender, sexual orientation and issues of identity, face elimination or severe cut backs in the case of a budget crisis.
“Without inclusion in the Strategic Plan, you don’t exist,” lamented Pi Delta Psi President Scottie Siu.
As the deadline nears for community input, several Asian American groups are preparing to lobby and write letters demanding that the Provost add provisions to ensure that Asian American Studies be protected and promoted one day into a Major. Other demands include that there should be more needs based assessment surveys so counseling services can be improved, and that there should be a space on campus for Asian American cultural events.
Take action now! Call Provost Nariman Farvardin at (301) 405-5252 and ask that Asian American Studies be in the Strategic Plan!
Permalink
04.14.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment at 2:00 pm by william_lee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
William Yoshino
JACL Midwest Director
Midwest@jacl.org
773.728.7170
Asian Americans Push Candidates on Information, Access, and
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
WHAT: NCAPA news conference
WHERE: JACL, 5415 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640
WHEN: 11 a.m., April 15, 2008
Chicago, IL, April 8 – The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) calls on presidential candidates, Congressional, state and local lawmakers to address the data, access, and immigration needs of their communities in a platform to be unveiled in Chicago on April 15, 2008.
Progress for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in all public policy areas – including civil rights, economic justice, education, health care reform, and immigration – depends on progress in information collection and presentation, equal access to programs and services regardless of English language ability, and comprehensive immigration reform that creates a path towards citizenship and keeps families together.
NCAPA advocates that data must be collected and presented for specific Asian American communities. Since 2000 the Asian American community, which now includes over 14.6 million people, has grown by over 23 percent, making it the fastest growing racial group in the country. In Chicago, Asian Americans constitute almost 5 percent of the population, and the community is rapidly growing. Accurate and readily available data focused on specific Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are the foundations upon which effective public policy must be built.
Additionally, communities must have full access to all publicly funded programs. Many face language barriers in using of essential services that are supported by the federal government, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has found that these barriers constitute discrimination based on national origin and are forbidden under legislation as well as presidential executive order.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders also need comprehensive immigration reform. According to the Census Bureau, over 60 percent of Asian Americans and 4 percent of Pacific Islanders are foreign-born, compared to just over 11 percent of all people in the U.S., and the communities account for over 25 percent of the nation’s foreign-born population. Real progress in civil rights, economic justice, education, and health are all tightly linked to progress in immigration reform.
Participants in the news conference will include Becky Belcore of the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), Jerry Clarito of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), April Lewton of the Asian American Institute (AAI), Ann Kalayil of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), Anne Shaw of the Asian American Bar Association (AABA), Bill Yoshino of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and other local Asian American organizations.
### ###
NCAPA, founded in 1996, is a nonpartisan coalition of 25 national organizations that represent Americans with heritage in Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Permalink
04.11.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment at 12:03 am by admin
The 2nd NYC Asian American Student Conference takes place at NYU this Saturday, April 12. This year’s conference theme is "redefine"; a broad range of subjects will be up for discussion. I’ll be speaking on a panel entitled Challenging the Mainstream: Asian Americans in the Ethnic Blogosphere, along with Carmen Van Kerckhove (Racialicious), Jenn Fang (Reappropriate), William Lee (Fallout Central), Jen Wang and Diana Nguyen (Disgrasian), and Phil Yu (Angry Asian Man). The workshop description reads:
Since its advent, the internet has been a crucial medium through which APA activists channel their thoughts and opinions about progressive issues.
From it, the growing phenomenon of writing web logs, or "blogging", has allowed activists and ethnic commentators to challenge mainstream media’s opinions of society. The Boston Globe has called such blogs
"places where people of color gather to refine ideas or form thoughts about race relations, racial inequities, and the role pop culture has in exacerbating stereotypes." In this workshop, you will learn how you can begin your own such process of blogging as a form of activism in order to challenge mainstream media and its dialogues upon race and
Asian Americana.
Permalink
04.10.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment, Community Alerts at 11:44 pm by admin
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Elizabeth R. OuYang, Executive Vice President, 718-596-0143
Vicki Shu Smolin, President, 646-263-6044
OCA-NY CONDEMNS ACTIONS BY NEW YORK CITY SPELLING BEE ORGANIZERS
April 10, 2008 - Today, the Organization of Chinese Americans, New York
Chapter (OCA-NY) condemned an incident where a Chinese American student
was denied the right to participate in a city-wide spelling bee, after
she was told she had qualified.
On January 29, 2008, Ariel Leung, a PS 124 student from District 2
qualified for the city-wide spelling bee, after having placed 7th in the
Manhattan borough spelling bee. The final 8 contestants were told they
had all qualified to advance to the city-wide spelling bee and parents
were told they would be notified once the details of the event were
finalized.
On March 5, 2008, PS 124 librarian, Ms. Albert, learned that the
spelling bee would be taking place on March 13 and asked Ariel’s mother,
Ms. Li Wen Mo, if she had received the notice of the event. As it
turned out, Ms. Mo was not notified and the spelling bee operation
manager simply said Ariel did not qualify. PS 124 Principal, Ms. Hom,
then contacted the spelling bee organizers to obtain to arrange for Ms.
Mo to listen to the tape. Mo found the exact location on the tape that
indicated her daughter’s qualification to compete. When confronted on
this fact, the operation manager stated that the organizer had made a
mistake and that the ultimate decision on who would move forward should
have been made by the judges and told Ms. Mo that Ariel would not be
able to compete as it would mean another student would have been kicked
off.
It was at this point that OCA-NY Executive Vice President, Elizabeth R.
OuYang, who also is a civil rights attorney, intervened. Ms. OuYang
contacted the attorney representing the spelling bee and insisted that
the tape of the January 29 competition be preserved and that given the
evidence on the tape, Ariel Leung should be allowed to compete in the
city-wide spelling bee. With one-days’ notice, the organizers of the
spelling bee allowed Ariel to compete. As it turned out, a student who
DID NOT finish in the top 8 at the Manhattan competition was competing
at the city-wide event, in addition to Ariel.
In an April 8, 2008 letter to Joel Klein, Chancellor of the Department
of Education, Vicki Shu Smolin, President of OCA-NY wrote, “As you and
Mayor Bloomberg both can agree, access to quality education,
participation by parents and a healthy spirit of competition, along with
support from the Department of Education and the community, are
essential to the academic and psychological growth of our city’s youth.
This incident highlighted the achievement of a student, the tenacity of
a parent, the support of the school and the backing of the community,
but the breakdown somewhere was somewhere in the administration.”
“The manner in which Ms. Mo was treated by the organizers was
appalling,” stated Liz OuYang, Executive Vice President of OCA-NY.
“They did not notify her of the date of the city-wide competition, then
they were trying to convince Ms. Mo her daughter did not make it when
she herself was at the competition and it was caught on tape. It sends
the wrong message to the Chinese American community, a message that
implies that Chinese immigrant parents are stupid and can be taken
advantage of. More Chinese parents like Ms. Mo must assert their rights
or they will be treated like second class citizens.”
Comments Ms. Mo, “They need to be more responsible. They need to treat
parents with respect and not with an attitude that they can do whatever
they want. It is not fair that anyone has to go through what I did. I
do not want it to happen to anyone else.”
-END-
Founded in 1973, OCA is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization
dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of
Asian Pacific Americans. With a national headquarters in Washington DC
and over 80 chapters and affiliates across the country, OCA embraces the
hopes and aspirations of the nearly 12 million Americans of Chinese and
Asian/Pacific Islander ancestry in the United States. The New York
Chapter was founded in 1976.
OCA-NY is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax
deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.
OCA, “Embracing the Hopes and Aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans.”
Permalink
04.09.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment, Fashion, Offbeat, Business at 10:35 am by jj_de_la_cruz
Just look at the expression on this guy’s face. He doesn’t need this T-shirt to look like a douchebag, but it sure completes the ensemble.
If you want to be a racist douchebag just like him, call toll-free: 1-877-BUSTED-3 (1-877-287-8333).
All phone calls paid for by Bustedtees.com, so ring them to your heart’s content.
Permalink
04.08.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment, Community Alerts at 7:01 pm by admin
NCAPA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
William Yoshino
JACL Midwest Director
773.728.7170
Midwest@jacl.org
Asian Americans Push Candidates on Information, Access, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform
WHAT: NCAPA news conference
WHERE: JACL, 5415 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640
WHEN: 11 a.m., April 15, 2008
Chicago, IL, April 8 – The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) calls on presidential candidates, Congressional, state and local lawmakers to address the data, access, and immigration needs of their communities in a platform to be unveiled in Chicago on April 15, 2008 and in other cities across the country.
Progress for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in all public policy areas – including civil rights, economic justice, education, health care reform, and immigration – depends on progress in information collection and presentation, equal access to programs and services regardless of English language ability, and comprehensive immigration reform that creates a path towards citizenship and keeps families together.
NCAPA advocates that data must be collected and presented for specific Asian American communities. Since 2000 the Asian American community, which now includes over 14.6 million people, has grown by over 23 percent, making it the fastest growing racial group in the country. In Chicago, Asian Americans constitute almost 5 percent of the population, and the community is rapidly growing. Accurate and readily available data focused on specific Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are the foundations upon which effective public policy must be built.
Additionally, communities must have full access to all publicly funded programs. Many face language barriers in using of essential services that are supported by the federal government, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has found that these barriers constitute discrimination based on national origin and are forbidden under legislation as well as presidential executive order.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders also need comprehensive immigration reform. According to the Census Bureau, over 60 percent of Asian Americans and 4 percent of Pacific Islanders are foreign-born, compared to just over 11 percent of all people in the U.S., and the communities account for over 25 percent of the nation’s foreign-born population. Real progress in civil rights, economic justice, education, and health are all tightly linked to progress in immigration reform.
Participants in the news conference will include representatives of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Asian American Institute (AAI), Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and other local Asian American organizations.
### ###
NCAPA, founded in 1996, is a nonpartisan coalition of 25 national organizations that represent Americans with heritage in Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Permalink
04.04.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment, Community Alerts at 9:55 am by william_lee
The Asian American Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania has been restored. College Dean Dennis DeTurck said that the new budget will guarantee:
04.02.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment at 7:03 pm by admin
United under the theme “Awareness To Action,” the Asian Educators Alliance invites you to the 4th annual AsEA National Conference. This year’s Conference will take place on April 18 – 19 at the Chinese-American International School in San Francisco. We are honored to have as our confirmed speakers at the conference:
• Jeff Adachi – public defender for the city of San Francisco
• Michael Omi – professor at UC Berkeley’s Ethnic Studies Department whose work includes race theory, Asian American studies, and antiracist scholarship.
• Anisha Desai – executive director of the Women of Color Resource Center
• Katherine Dinh - Head of School at Prospect Sierra School (K-8 independent school in El Cerrito, CA)
• Jane Kim – San Francisco Unified School District board member and the youngest elected official in the city
• Sally Matsuishi – president and CEO of Next Generation Scholars
Founded in 2004, the Asian Educators Alliance (AsEA) is an affinity organization that provides support and outreach for self-identified Asian and Asian Pacific Islander (API) educators.
The Asian Educators Alliance 2008 National Conference is by and for API educators. We welcome all self-identified API colleagues in independent, charter, and public schools and current API graduate students or professionals in the field of education. While we appreciate and honor the support of our non-API allies, we ask that they respect our intentions for this space. As an alternative method of support, we encourage our allies to help in publicizing this event to their API colleagues.
Permalink
Posted in Activism and Empowerment at 8:54 am by william_lee_intern
The Asian American Association at UT host their annual Asian Awareness Night on April 2 at the International House.The event promotes awareness of Asian American issues, serves as a representative voice of the Asian American community, and celebrates the diversity and commonalities of Asian Americans with the theme called Real Asian World which is based on reality TV shows.
Click here for the original article
Permalink
03.28.08
Posted in Activism and Empowerment at 9:00 am by william_lee_intern
The annual V-Day women’s movement continues on March 31 with the Filipina Women’s Network’s fifth annual presentation of Eve Ensler’s highly acclaimed play, The Vagina Monologues, at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. The Filipina Women’s Network, a nonprofit organization that provides resources for women of Filipino descent in abusive relationships, has also organized performances in New York on April 18 and 19. Ten percent of the show’s proceeds will be donated back to Eve Ensler’s global V-Day efforts. The rest will be used to pay for the play’s production.
Click here to the original article
Permalink
« Previous entries · Next entries »
