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Spring 1996
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Asian Students Association
Unifying Our Diversity
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By Jeff Huang,
ASA President
Unity has been a growing catchword as
the minority populations here at UNC con
tinue to grow. Yet, the overall campus
mood seems to be more apathetic than ever,
and if you’re Asian American, then you can
just fade off into invisibility. Here are two
cases in point: the Masala fashion show
organized by Sangam leadership, and “Jour
ney Into Asia,” ASA’s annual cultural cel
ebration. Both were billed as events that
would give people a positive experience
with different cultures and that would pro
mote better understanding between people
of all walks of life. I myself believe that
such activities are invaluable tools for eras
ing some of the Asian stereotypes that are
constantly rehashed on television or in the
movies. Nevertheless, few tickets were sold
prior to the events despite considerable pro
motional efforts, and the audiences con
sisted mostly of performers’ friends and
supporters of ASA and Sangam. After all
the blood, sweat, and tears we poured into
organizing these events, lackluster campus
participation only left our heads shaking.
We’re seemingly doing our part. How
come the rest of the campus community
doesn’t even want to meet us halfway?
To understand the factors that lead to
such a campus environment, one can eas
ily, and incorrectly, point out the lack of
administrative support. My experience
with most administrators is that they are
aware of the growing Asian American
population on campus, but because this
population is so new, they do not necessar
ily understand our needs. Thus, the burden
f^ls (1) on Asian American student lead
ers to educate them, and (2) on administra
tors to create the atmosphere for promot
ing this discussion. When this happens,
administrators will usually listen to any in
sights that we can give them. But Asian
American students need to understand one
important thing about talking to adminis
trators: We are considered “overrepre
sented” here at Carolina because the per
centage of Asian Americans on campus is
greater than the percentage of Asian Ameri
cans in North Carolina. As a result, there
are no administrative initiatives to help
Asian Americans at school. We can expect
to find allies and supporters, but as Asian
American students establish their presence .
at UNC, groups like ASA, Sangam, VSA,
and KASA will continue to offer the only
resources for Asian American students.
Still, we cannot become discouraged, and
we must continue to fight and make a home
for ourselves at UNC.
One of the largest obstacles that Asian
Americans face in feeling true unity with
the rest of the campus centers around his
tory. On a campus .
So are we as Asian Americans unified?
Hardly. But the good news is that we are
getting there. As ASA’s Asian American
Affairs Co-Chairs recently said, Carolina
seems to have two factions of Asian Ameri
can undergraduates: people who participate
in ASA, and those who don’t. I would ar
gue that a third category exists with people
who participate in Asian organizations other
than ASA. There is a tendency— and a very
wrongful tendency— to label those belong
ing to the second category as “twinkies”
and “sell-outs.” (I myself have often been
guilty of this.) I believe that this division
is the single largest threat to the well-being
of the Asian American community. This
message does nothing but destroy the
strength and support that we could develop
within our commu-
that is 202 years old,
Asian Americans
here have had a very
brief history. In fact,
Asian American stu
dents have only
been present in con
siderable numbers
since the 19^0’s, a
brief time period
that
uncoincidentally
saw the rise of
Sangam, KASA,
and ASA. That’s
barely more than ten
years, during which
Asian Americans
have made up a siz
able part of the
I feel that the "melting
pot" idea is one of the most
insidious aspects of Ameri
can culture. There is the
belief out there that in
order to become truly
American, one must let go
of the "old ways" and
sacrifice one's cultural and
ethnic identity. This idea
is wrong, wrong, wrong!
nity. Furthermore,
this kind of bitter
ness turns away ex
cellent individuals
from getting in
volved with some
really meaningful
activities.
Asian Ameri
cans, however,
must walk a very
tenuous line be
tween self-induced
segregation and as
similation. In
terms of the latter,
I feel that the
“melting pot” idea
is one of the most
insidious aspects of
nation’s oldest state university. Carolina is
a school rich with tradition, but what tradi
tions do Asian American students have to
call their own? As the rest of Carolina
struggles to stop thinking only in terms of
black and white, Asian Americans are look
ing for ownership over their college expe
rience. Activities like “Masala,” “Journey
Into Asia,” Asian American Heritage Week,
and East Wind are slowly developing into
traditions that bring together the Asian
American community, but more active par
ticipation and recognition from the entire
campus is necessary to change these pro
grams from simply “events” to “traditions”
for everybody.
American culture. There is the belief out
there that in order to become traly Ameri
can, one must let go of the “old ways” and
sacrifice one’s cultural and ethnic identity.
This idea is wrong, wrong, wrong! True
unity will never result from cultural degen
eration, and unity without identity must be
despised. Sure, it would be very easy to
numbly join the mainstream, but only at the
cost of our very own souls. America will
never be strong with a society whose mem
bers do not have a strong sense of “selfi”
As a result, Asian Americans must continu
ously fight the urge to try and melt with the
mainstream. We all have a unique heritage,
and we ^ould be proud of it.
On the topic of ethnic identity, people
most often misunderstand the impact that
groups like KASA and VSA have on Asian
American unity. A common remark that I
often hear is that “Asian Americans on cam
pus are so divided because Koreans and
Vietnamese have factionalized themselves
off from the rest of us.” But let’s think
about this: KASA and VSA are necessary
members of the Asian American commu
nity because they provide a cultural out
look and support group that continually
escapes ASA. As much as ASA tries, it will
never be able to do justice to the heritage
and culture of each Asian ethnic group.
These are strong ties that pull at the hearts
of many Asian students, and who can blame
them for wanting to be with others who can
strengthen the ties to their heritage? Asian
American unity must not come at the cost
of ethnic identity. We cannot be satisfied
with just identifying ourselves as “Asian.”
Over two billion people live in Asia, and if
we don’t recognize that diversity, then we’ll
be no good to our families, the Asian Ameri
can community, American society, or our
selves. KASA, VSA, and Sangam exist to
make sure that this blindness doesn’t set in.
Another common remark that I hear is
that the Asian American community is not
inclusive enough to include South Asians.
This observation, unfortunately, is ex
tremely accurate. I think that in an attempt
to side ourselves against oppressive insti
tutional structures, we have been too will
ing to overlook differences between ethnic
Asian groups. No where else are these dif
ferences more obvious than in relations be
tween the South Asian and East Asian com
munities, yet we have tried to forge this fake
Asian American unity without respecting
these differences. It hasn’t worked. Again,
it is going to take significant interaction and
dialogue between the members of these two
communities before we can bridge this gap.
Asian Americans must develop a healthy
respect for one another before others will
truly respect us.
Unity is a difficult concept to understand
and achieve, but groups like ASA are tak
ing important strides in that direction. It’s
not here yet, but the word is out: With strong
leadership, unity is coming to the Ameri
can communities nearest you.