05.05.08
FALLOUT CENTRAL Spotlight: Lee Fang
 Name: Lee Fang Occupation: Student, U. of Maryland Place of Birth: Laurel, Maryland; U.S.A Hobbies: Reading Favorite Travel Destination: San Fancisco, CA |
Lee Fang is in the Fallout Central Spotlight.
In April 2008 Fang took the initiative to move forward with his plan to secure a future for the Asian American studies program at the University of Maryland. To understand why the Asian American studies program was in jeopardy, we must first go back to 1996. In April of that year, the University of Maryland formally adopted a plan, “Charting a Path to Excellence: The Strategic Plan for the University of Maryland at College Park.” The Strategic Plan’s purpose was to “boldly [reaffirm] the University’s commitment to a vision of academic excellence and set forth strategic initiatives and guidelines for action to achieve that vision.” Funding decisions for various departments are made based on the verbiage contained in this critically important document.
Fast-forward to April 2008 where Lee Fang learned, in one of his Asian American studies classes, about the relationship between the Strategic Plan, and how the absence of certain keywords could cause the demise of the Asian American studies program at the University of Maryland.
“I wasn’t able to find anyone who would take the charge in securing the future of the Asian American studies program at U. of Maryland, so I had to take things into my own hands.” — Lee Fang
Fang actively sought out other individuals on campus that would rally behind him, and then took things a step further to reach out to other supporters through various internet resources, including AngryAsianMan.com and FalloutCentral.com. Fang’s one request of his fellow Asian Americans was to contact Provost Nariman Farvardin “to ask him to change the Strategic Plan and ensure diversity is included in the language as more than simply rhetoric.”
Fang was born in Laurel, Maryland, and was raised in Prince George’s county, Maryland (a suburb of Washington D.C.). In the 1990’s, his county had an excessively high incidence of police brutality. Driven by a desire to drive change in his community, he volunteered for a campaign for a County Executive (the highest office in the county) who sought to add more transparency into the police review process, and thus reduce the potential for further police brutality cases. Since then, Fang has worked on just shy of a dozen political campaigns– he is no stranger to reaching out to the community to gather support for causes that he believes in, particularly when it’s a matter that directly impacts the Asian American community.
“I fight for social and economic justice because the privileges I enjoy were fought for by generations of activists. The future depends on the contributions I make today.” — Lee Fang
Fang’s request for help was heard, and shortly thereafter fulfilled. “Provost Farvardin said that his email inbox was filled with email messages from not only concerned U. of Maryland students, but also from Asian Americans throughout the U.S.,” Fang said.
A provost is essentially a Vice President of the University. The Provost for academic affairs heads up the committee of administrators and faculty senators who are in charge of the planning process. They set the policies that all departments have to adhere to. That’s why Fang chose Provost Nariman Farvardin as the focus of his campaign, and that’s why this campaign, under Fang’s leadership, has prompted what all Asian American activists strive for: change.
“This will be an ongoing battle,” says Fang. There is still much work to be done, but the path has been forged thanks to Lee’s efforts in getting the ball rolling. If you’d like to assist, contact Lee Fang at lhfang@gmail.com