AACC 2013 Year in Review

A YEAR IN REVIEW DECEMBER 2013

Staff

Asian American Cultural Center Promoting cross-cultural understanding and providing educational and cultural support in our university community

Academic Year Hours Monday - Thursday: 9AM - 9PM Friday: 9AM - 5PM Closed on Holidays Summer & Winter Hours Monday - Friday: 9AM - 5PM Closed on Holidays /aaccillinois @aacc_illinois

David Chih Kenneth Importante Mai-Lin Poon Maria Conrad

Director|Assistant Dean of Students Assistant Director Assistant Director Office Support Specialist

Fall 2013 Student Staff Xavier Hernandez Audrey Chun Grace Kyung Ashley Lamb Kelly Uchima Sherry Yuan Monisha Shah Zilin Zheng Anish Patel Tracy Mapaye Simaren Sandh

Graduate Assistant Graduate Assistant Graduate Assistant Graduate Intern Hermia Soo Intern Communications Intern Outreach Intern Outreach Intern Office Specialist/Programming Intern Office Specialist/Programming Intern Office Specialist/Programming Intern

Asian American Cultural Center 1210 West Nevada Street, MC-149 Urbana, Illinois 61801 Contact us at aacc@illinois.edu or (217) 333-9300 /aaccillinois Asian American Cultural Center

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A Letter from the director

David Chih Happy New Year,

We adapt and innovate every year as our Asian American Cultural Center community grows. This fall of 2013, our campus has nearly 13,500 Asian students (international and domestic combined) which make up over 31% of the student body. To encourage dialogue among both international and domestic students, we are launching a new Intercultural Horizons Program to explore the intersections between Chinese and American culture, identity and social justice.

We continue to outgrow our center with the number of programs and events held here each year, which now numbers nearly 900.

Our very active programming ranged from a Tibetan monk visit this summer to a screening of the much-anticipated Jeremy Lin documentary “Linsanity” this autumn. This past spring, we brought Kip Fulbeck’s Hapa Project to campus as part of our multi-racial and mutli-ethnic Initiative. We celebrated the accomplishments of students and their student organizations during the 18th Annual Leadership Awards in the spring.

During this time, we were honored to award Karin Wang with the Outstanding Alumni Award. Our library collection keeps on growing, including the works of David Yoo, author of The Choke Artist, who came to campus as part of our Book Club. This semester we are happy to announce that we are bringing Jeff Yang, one of the authors and editor-in-chief of Shattered, an Asian American comics anthology, to campus for our fall Book Club.

The AACC proudly hosts four rotating art exhibits per year that showcase the talents of students and local community members. Our civic engagement Lunar New Year program with local elementary schools quadrupled in size and added greater involvement with local public libraries. We kicked off our inaugural AAPI Heritage Month with the AsiaFest Celebration at Japan House and had 1,000 attendees come out to join the festivities. External funding continues to grow each year through grants and generous donors totaling over $36,000 in the 201213 academic year. We would like to thank you all for your great interest and support.

Our AACC staff continues to thrive with a bustling internship program and graduate assistants. We congratulated JoAnne Ramirez upon her retirement after seven years as our AACC office support specialist, and we welcomed Flordemia Maria Conrad into that same role. We hope that the Year of the Horse brings you much luck and prosperity.

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Best, David W. Chih, Ph.D. Director, Asian American Cultural Center Assistant Dean of Students

Wishing the best

JoAnne & Maria This year, was a bittersweet farewell to JoAnne Ramirez in August as she retired after eleven years of service to the University of Illinois.

JoAnne joined our staff in July 2006 and, for seven years, acted as the Office Support Specialist. Previously, she worked in the College of ACES Office of Advancement. She earned both a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in English as a Second Language from Southern Illinois University. She brought many years of experience teaching, counseling, program management , and teaching English to new Asian immigrants.

We continue to miss her smiling face and wonderful sense of humor, but know she is but a short drive away.

We were happy to welcome Maria Conrad to our AACC family in August as the new Office Support Specialist. Maria formerly worked in the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations (OIIR) since 2009 with La Casa Cultural Latina, Native American House and Diversity & Social Justice Education. She earned a B.A. in Mass Communication from Silliman University in the Philippines. She enjoys learning about the wide array of cultures and backgrounds of the students and staff with whom she works. Maria likes to spend time with her family, friends and her beloved pet. In her leisure time, she loves traveling, food tasting, cooking and gardening.

Maria is a first-generation Filipina-American who came to the US in 2003.

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Spring 2013

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Asian American Leadership Awards

18th Annual

Yuki Llewellyn Award for Outstanding Asian American Student Organization Asha for Education Asian Pacific American Coalition Chinese Student Scholars Association

This service-based award credits student organizations that have developed and implemented activities and programs promoting greater cultural, social, or political awareness of Asian American issues. The award recipient must be a registered organization affiliated with the AACC.

The AACC, with much delight, presented the Yuki Llwellyn Award for Outstanding Asian American Student Organizations to three student organizations.

The local Asha for Education UI chapter shares in the mission to provide basic education for underprivileged children in India. They partnered with 25 projects in India and disbursed nearly $300,000 over the last 13 years. Asha’s events raise awareness about the social cultural issues of current Indian society. One of their largest events, Sharad Saavan, showcases Indian dance, music and food to spread the Indian cultural awareness about socio-political issues in India.

The Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) aims to bring awareness and collaboration among 18 affiliated organizations and the community. Last year, APAC cosponsored with AACC events that promoted cultural, social and political awareness of Asian American issues. APAC held Asiantation to showcase each affiliated cultural organization, the Career Center, Counseling Center and AIESEC to the general public, especially to incoming freshman. APAC aims to promote social interaction between the different APA organizations who are affiliated with the organization. APAC held numerous workshops addressing topics such as Asian American identity, cultural diversity and racism.

Established in the 1980s, the Chinese Student Scholars Association (CSSA) at U of I has been the most influential organization for Chinese students and Scholars in the Urbana-Champaign area. With the mission to help Chinese students and scholars study, work and live better in America, CSSA spreads Chinese culture while introducing Chinese students to diverse American cultures. Each year CSSA organizes a variety of events to fulfill its mission, like the Lantern Festival and the Moon Gala. CSSA also holds events that aim to enrich students’ experience in America.

These amazing student organizations were just three out of the many different affiliated groups on campus who have done great work on campus and in the Champaign-Urbana Community.

Outstanding Asian American Community Builder Award

Hua Nian

The outstanding Asian American Community Builder Award honors individuals who embody the spirit and mission of the Asian American Cultural Center.

The award recognizes significant and sustained commitment to building a stronger Asian American campus community.

This past year, we recognized Hua Nian’s outstanding dedication and collaboration with the AACC on numerous art exhibits by presenting her with the Outstanding Asian American Community Builder Award. The outstanding Asian American Community Builder Award honors individuals who embody the spirit and mission of the Asian American Cultural Center. The award recognizes significant and sustained commitment to building a stronger Asian American campus community. We wanted to honor the past seven years, Hua Nian has dedicated to the community as a photojournalist, collaborator, and teacher in the Urbana community. In addition, she has had two solo shows at the AACC, one featuring her own paper tearing art form and a second featuring her pen & ink work. Last semester, she curated a show featuring 80 works done by her art studio students showcasing the “Vibrant Colors of Lunar New Year.” We are thrilled to present this award to Hua Nian who exemplifies community building in sharing Asian cultures through her own art and through her teaching of children.

Outstanding Asian American Alumni Award Karin Wang This award recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through outstanding contributions to the Asian American community, exceptional success in their professional careers, or meritorious service supporting the mission of the University.

This year we honored, Karin Wang with the Outstanding Asian American Alumni Award. This award recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through outstanding contributions to the Asian American community, exceptional success in their professional careers, or meritorious service supporting the mission of the University. Karin served as the External Vice President of Asian American Association (AAA) from 1989 to 1991 and President from 1991 to 1992. Karen was also actively involved in the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) and the Midwest Asian American Student Union. In the fall of 2010, Karin returned to campus to present at Food for Thought at the AACC. Her presentation, “The Road to the Asian American Cultural Center: Reflections by an Asian American Alumni Activity,” Karin Wang is currently the Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles, which is the largest legal and civil rights organization that serves the Asian American and Pacific Island communities, where she directs immigrant rights project fighting for their civil rights. Karin Wang also helped lead the first Los Angeles field office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the federal civil rights laws across the Southwest.

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Jason Finkelman

Outstanding Asian American Undergraduate Student Leader Jiarong “Jerry� Fu Maylene Liang

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Karan Talati Ariel Wang

Outstanding Asian American Graduate Student eader Award

Outstanding Asian American Faculty/Staff Award

Julian Ignacio

Amandeep Gargi

Un-Yeoung Park Michelle Chhong Rose Ann Aragon

Susan Yung Maul Award for Outstanding Asian American Program / Event The Susan Yung Maul award recognizes excellence among programs or events that have shown a significant impact in serving the Asian American community, developing awareness of Asian American issues, and promoting unity in the Asian American campus community. These amazing programs and events put on by different campus organizations were just three out of the multitude of events created by organizations on campus that have greatly served the Asian American community by developing awareness of Asian American issues and promoting unity in the Asian American campus community.

FACT Conference

Filipino Americans Coming Together

Conference, or “FACT,” is an annual event that the Philippine Student Association has been hosting since 1992. The 2012 theme was Ating Panahon: Leave Your Mark”. Ating Panahon is a Filipino phrase for “our time” in English. FACT had an unprecedented turn out with over 1300 delegates, several innovative workshops and an exciting variety show.

Illinois Won’t Stand For

Illinois Won’t Stand For was an event hosted

various Asian American student organizations.

The purpose of this event was to highlight racist incidents that have occurred across the nation, discuss their importance, and how we as a community can be proactive and reactive to such incidents and creating cross-cultural understanding.

Raas Mania

Raas Mania was an event hosted by the

Indian Student Association for the first time. Raas Mania was an intercollegiate dance competition attracting teams many teams across the nation.

The event allowed for UI to ascend to the national stage since it affected other Indian communities throughout the Midwest and East coast.

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Asiantation

Programs and Events

Every year, the AACC partners with Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) to welcome new students on campus as part of the Week of Welcome events. In August 2013, we welcomed over 600 new and returning students showcasing the diverse student groups that make up APAC at the University YMCA . With over 20 student organizations and four campus departments, Asiantation provided an opportunity for our students to network with one another. Most student organizations also showcased a small bite that best represents their organizations. In addition, four performance based groups entertained the crowd. This included TASC Special Ops who showcased their Chinese Yoyos, VSA’s Lion Dance to welcome the group, PSA’s Barkada performing a traditional Filipino dance using wooden chairs as props and Floor Lovers Illinois break dancing in front of the crowd.

Multiracial, Multiethnic

The Asian American Cultural Center, in collaboration with University Housing and Illini Union Board programs, started a series of events called the Multiracial & Multiethnic Students Initiative. Events included guest lectures, presentations, art exhibits and monthly dinner dialogues.

On April 4, 2013, the Multiracial & Multiethnic Students Initiative hosted Kip Fulbeck, an author, filmmaker, and performer. Fulbeck spoke at the Illini Union Ballroom about his mixed heritage identity as part of the opening reception for his “Hapa Project” art exhibit, which ran at the Illini Union from April 4 – 28, 2013. The exhibit featured a series of portraits of individuals photographed from the collarbone up. The project’s goal is to increase awareness and promote positive selfidentification for the multiethnic & multiracial Asian population.

Other presentations included “On Being Biracial” by Michelle Bringas from Northern Illinois University, and “Post ‘post-racial’ Mental Health and Multiracial Relationships in the Age of Obama”

by University of Illinois alum, Ranjit Bhagwat.

The “Mosaic Dialogues” are monthly meetings designed to encourage students participate in discussions, share their own experiences and identities, and identify resources available for multiracial and multiethnic students.

These monthly meetings have taken place in the AACC and each of our partnering centers in the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations (OIIR). Each Mosaic Dialogue meeting is co-hosted by student groups from the host center.

The University of Illinois now ranks as the number one public university with the largest international student population.

This fall, there are over 9,000 international students enrolled at the University of Illinois.

InterLink is a mentoring program held every semester by the Counseling Center, Asian American Cultural Center and International Students & Scholar Services. The program pairs up international students with domestic students, faculty and staff members to encourage building connections and cultural understanding, but to foster a more inclusive community. InterLink first launched in the fall of 2008, with over 100 matched pairs participating in the program.

Since then, the program has grown exponentially with almost 300 matched pairs last spring and this fall. Each semester, we hold a kick-off event that brings together mentors and mentees to introduce one another over a shared meal to build connections and support. We also have monthly social events that people can attend.

These exciting programs ranged anywhere from Laser Tag to discussion dialogues.

interlink

InterConnect is a series of workshops hosted by the Counseling Center, Asian American Cultural Center and International Students & Scholars Services that encourage cross cultural exchange between domestic and international students. These workshops introduce American culture to international students to help them adjust to American and campus culture as successful individuals. Similarly, domestic students can share their knowledge and experience about their culture to illustrate the differences that exist within the United States. Workshops have included dating in the US, an introduction to American classroom culture and a crash course in American holidays and festivities.

interconnect

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Lunar New Year The Year of the Snake was a busy one for us.

The AACC’s Lunar New Year Celebration, a cultural diversity program, teaches UI students leadership and civic engagement while educating others about diversity and helping to build an inclusive community. Our 4th Annual Lunar New Year Program grew exponentially with the addition of Martin Luther King Jr., Garden Hills, and Westview Elementary Schools to our existing program at Barkstall Elementary. At each school we were able to reach out to children to teach them the cultural significance of Lunar New Year so that they could also share their knowledge at home. We also added a wonderful partnership with the Champaign Public Library and Urbana Free Library. Through this program we were able to reach roughly 2,500 children and their families.

Asia fest

On the afternoon of May 4th, the Asian American Cultural Center and Japan House capped off the 2013 AAPI Heritage Month with AsiaFest. A large pan-Asian celebration, the AsiaFest celebration showcased the rich diversity within the Asian cultures in the Urbana-Champaign region. Members of the community enjoyed the diverse sensory expeirence of traditional and modern acts performed by talented local artists, including Bal Vihar, a local children’s singing group, the Philippine Student Association (PSA), Illini Awaazz A Capella and many others. A Taiko performance featured Ho Etsu Taiko, Akira, Riya Katogi, and Tiffany Tamaibuchi. People participated in an interactive kimono demonstration within Japan House itself. Several cooking demonstrations inspired people to cook and sample some of their favorite Asian cuisines. Children and adults alike flocked to the hands-on cultural educational booths which included calligraphy, ikebana, mendhi and other such activities. Despite a downpour of rain, the AACC and the Japan House witnessed hundreds of excited visitors sharing in the joint venture.

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Asian american pacific islander heritage month Cultural festivals, lectures, and celebrations are among the highlights for University of Illinois’ annual observance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

May has nationally been celebrated as AAPI Heritage Month for almost four decades now, but hosting formal celebrations for our AAPI community in ChampaignUrbana has been a new endeavor.

Last year’s fourth annual AAPI Heritage Month Celebration brought together the diverse facets of C-U’s unique campus and community AAPI population.

Cultural performances, interactive artwork and educational booths thoroughly engaged the public.

This year, we hoped to bring about the same success in uniting our Champaign-Urbana communities.

On April 11th, the Asian American Cultural Center, in conjunction with the Boneyard Arts Festival, hosted a reception to showcase our “Many Cultures, One Community” Art Exhibit.

The assorted display featured several diverse cultures of Asian Americans in the ChampaignUrbana Community. Unveiling work by Ian Wang, Selena Wang, Rashmi Kapoor, Vivia Tran, Hua Nian, Amrita Bamrah, Lei Shanbhag, Joy Yang, Jason Xing, Siti-Mariah Jackson, Cheryl Chau

and Hermia Soo, the reception amazed with a lavish array.

The Midwest’s biggest Color Carnival, Holi, occurred April 13th in partnership with Delta Kappa Delta. Holi, commonly known as the Festival of Colors, is one of India’s biggest festivals which is celebrated with great zeal across the globe. During Holi, people throw colored powder on one another to represent the colorful coming of Spring. A welcoming and joyful event, Holi astounded attendees with bright colors, lively music and dance routines.

The Sikh Student Association at the University of Illinois hosted a langar during April 24th in front of the Union. The Sikh faith centers around the langar, or “free kitchen.” The langar offered free traditional Indian food to all attendees. It is designed to uphold the principle of equality amongst all people regardless of religion, sexuality, caste, color, age, gender or social status. In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community, inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind. Langar hoped to promote interfaith acceptance and awareness of the Sikh faith.

Indian Student Association’s celebrated the annual India Night on April 27th in Foellinger Auditorium. The event showcased

the wide array of South Asian talent and diversity present at the UI. That same day, the Taiwanese American Student Club presented their Spring Illinois Chinese Adopted Siblings Program (ICASP). ICASP is a daylong event that provides two separate programs for parents and children of adopted families from China in hopes of sharing knowledge, questions, and advice on important issues in adoptive families. Students from the UI volunteered as “big siblings” and are paired up with children from the adoptive families to help them learn more about their heritage and culture. The theme for this year was “Discovery.”

As a final capstone to AAPI Heritage Month, the AACC and Japan House co-hosted AsiaFest. Incorporating panAsian performances varying from Taiko drumming to cooking demonstrations, a thousand people celebrated despite a downpour of rain.

AAPI Heritage Month saw an amazing set of talented cultural groups participate in several cooperative programs.

With passionate students and community members active in programming, the AACC could not have hoped for a better level of engagement.

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Book club The AACC Book Club encourages members of the community to engage in meaningful literary discussions that explore various issues related to Asian and Asian American experiences. Each semester, the club reads and discusses a book which prominently features characters within the Asian American community, with the overall objective of exposing our participants to the growing genre of Asian American literature. In the spring, we invited author David Yoo to share his book, The Choke Artist: Confessions of a Chronic Underachiever. The book discusses ideas of perfection, failure and fear from childhood to adulthood, college life, and relationships with parents and partners. The event was co-sponsored by the Asian American Association (AAA).

This fall semester, AACC chose Shattered, the 2nd volume in the original Asian American graphic anthology series Secret Identities. The book is a collection of original graphic fiction contributed by over 50 Asian American artists and writers who play on the various images that have promoted Asian American stereotypes throughout the history. One of its main contributors and editor in chief, Jeff Yang, visited the AACC for the 2nd time on December 3rd. Yang led a public book reading of Shattered and discussed the book’s attempt to shatter Asian American stereotypes. His first visit in 2009 promoted the 1st volume of the Secret Identities anthology.

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Chai time

Chai Time, the AACC’s weekly Monday night social hour, provides an open space for the campus community to enjoy the numerous amenities that our center has to offer. Our AACC affiliated registered student organizations (RSOs) often take the time to host these weekly discussions. Highlights of our Chai Time events in 2013 include a screening of Hollywood Chinese with Kappa Phi Lambda, a dessert night with Taiwanese American Student Club, a Diwali greeting card workshop with Delta Kappa Delta, game nights hosted by Malaysian Student Association and a movie night with the Vietnamese Students Association. On November 11th, the AACC also proudly hosted the 2013-14 Asian & Asian American New Student Social, welcoming over 100 new students to our U of I campus community.

Food for thought Food For Thought, our weekly lunchtime event and part of the OIIR’s “Lunch on Us” program, gives an opportunity for students to learn about a multitude of issues relating to diverse communities and intercultural relations. We welcomed speakers representing many of our campus and community partners.

They engaged the student body in a variety of discussions regarding the Asian and Asian American community. Some highlights from the program this year include a group panel discussion of Asian American Greek letter organizations, “Why Do Sikhs Wear Turbans?” hosted by the Sikh Student Association, “Japanese American Incarceration” by the Japanese American Citizens League’s Midwest Director, Bill Yoshino, “Third Culture Kid,” by our Hermia Soo Intern Carmen Cheung and the Last Lecture Series entitled “Life Lessons Through Community Service” by Pradeep Khanna, the Associate Chancellor for Public Engagement.

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“The Art of India: Through the Eyes of a Child” (November 5, 2012 – January 31, 2013) featured artwork from the Vernon Barkstall Elementary School in Champaign. We were extremely happy to encourage these young creative voices and to build stronger ties with our local Champaign-Urbana community.

Art exhibits The students of the Hua Nian Art Studio in Urbana presented “Vibrant Colors of Lunar New Year” (February 1 – April 5, 2013). Hua Nian is a signature artist of the International Society of Acrylic Painters, and her students’ work contributed significantly to the AACC’s overall efforts to promote and celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday throughout the campus community.

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As part of the Champaign County Arts Council’s Boneyard Arts Festival, the AACC presented a group art exhibit featuring work from Asian American artists within the Champaign-Urbana community. “Many Cultures, One Community” (April 6 – July 1, 2013) featured both contemporary and traditional pieces from a variety of media including oil, water colors, photography, paper tearing and pen and ink.

The AACC proudly hosted several art exhibits throughout 2013. These exhibits presented a wide range of artistic styles and mediums that captured the incredible diversity of the Asian and Asian American experience at the U of I and beyond.

Members of over twenty AACC-affiliated student organizations collaborated to create the “What Do You Care About?” art exhibit (August 1 – November 1, 2013), which provided a forum for Asian American students to express their interests, concerns and ambitions as a campus community. Using digital photography as its primary medium, the “What Do You Care About?” project will continue as a blog at www. apavoice.org.

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Student Organizations

The AACC is proud to have over 50 registered student organizations and community groups participate in our affiliate program. These organizations all do amazing work to contribute to the vibrant Asian and Asian American community. Here, we celebrate a few of the organizations and their dedication to making a more inclusive campus. For a more comprehensive list of organizations and the wonderful work they do, please visit our website.

Asian Pacific American Coalition

Founded in 1993, the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) was founded as an umbrella organization for the Asian Pacific American community to unite and have a voice. To this day, APAC continues to build connections within and outside the APA community and act as a resource for all affiliated organizations.

Currently, APAC consists of 20 affiliated Asian American and Asian international organizations. Alongside biweekly coalition meetings and monthly workshops, APAC has two big events every year.

Every month, APAC comes together for Seen & Heard Workshops. They are events that range from presentations on the history of APAC at UI to discussions on current Asian American issues. The school year kicks off with Asiantation, a large event for all APA organizations to showcase their organizations to new students. For spring semester, APAC holds I Am Asian Week, a week-long event that has all affiliated organizations plan activities and games to showcase Asian culture. Each organization is allocated a booth to present information on their culture as well as having an interactive activity related to the culture. This ranges from learning dance moves to answering trivia questions. Asian food is also provided alongside performances from different Asian organizations. The next Seen and Heard workshop will be held on February 6th and I Am Asian Week in late February.

Singapore Students Association

The Singapore Students Association (SSA) at the UI aims to forge stronger bonds and provide greater support as a new home away from home for Singaporeans on campus. SSA also hopes to increase our outreach to nonSingaporeans in our university community to facilitate understanding about Singapore and Singaporean culture. After all, Singapore is much more than a country that bans chewing gum.

Last spring, SSA successfully organized our Spring Formal and a graduation lunch for seniors. The annual Spring Formal drew together Singaporeans for a formal dinner with performances from our members. It was also a great time for our members to catch up with their peers. In May, we hosted a special graduation lunch for our seniors before they moved on to their next phase in life.

This fall, SSA started the semester with an Orientation Day for our freshmen, which kicked-off orientation by a BBQ later in the evening. To help our Singaporean freshmen familiarize themselves with the surrounding area, SSA also organized a 2D1N Labor Day trip to Chicago. Following that, we jointly organized our Annual Mid-Autumn Festival with the Malaysian Students Association (MaSA). At the event, we celebrated this traditional festival over moon cakes and tea. Most recently, SSA organized a Halloween celebration party where snacks, a haunted room and pumpkin carving filled the night with excitement and a festive atmosphere.

Our future events include the upcoming Singapore Night on December 7th at 7pm at the Asian American Cultural Center. Singapore Night will be a night with food and probably music and short films from Singapore! For more information please be sure to check us out at “Singapore Student Association at UIUC� on Facebook.

Indian Student Association

The Indian Student Association (ISA) is a cultural organization dedicated to bringing South-Asian culture onto the UI campus. We strive to connect our community through social, philanthropic and cultural events.

Every year we host several of these in the hopes that we can build a strong, tight-knit community that both nurtures growth and cultural diversity to our campus.

Last spring we started an intercollegiate dance competition, Raas Mania to promote and spread the beauty of India’s culture through the use of a traditional folk dance called “Raas.” Our competition brings together students from all over the nation and gives them the chance to share their passion for the culture and the dance. This event won the Susan Yung Maul Award for Outstanding Asian American Event at the 2013 Annual Asian American Leadership Awards Night.

Gandhi Week is an annual weeklong event that ISA puts on to celebrate everything that Gandhiji has done for the Indian community. This year we had four events during Gandhi week: Gandhi Hand Print Mural, “What Does Gandhi Mean to You?,” Illinois Fast-A-Thon, and Be the Change.

We co-hosted Fast-A-Thon with 10 other organizations raised $1,250 for the Zakat Foundation which was matched by General Electric and donated $356.50 to the Wesley Foundation.

ISA hosted our biggest event of the semester “Diwali Night 2013: All of the Lights” this last November 16th, 2013. Attendees got the chance to see a variety of acts featuring UIUC students and special performances by Dance 2XS, Chai Town A-cappella and Special Ops. In the spring, ISA’s biggest event is their annual India Night, which showcases all of the South-Asian talent to the Champaign-Urbana community. This includes dance teams, a capella teams, bands, and more.

If you want to learn more about the Indian Student association you can find more information at isaillinois.com. You can also like us on Facebook at “Indian Student Association (UIUC)” to be updated of all upcoming ISA events.

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Philippine Student Association

The Philippine Student Association (PSA) is a multi-faceted, Filipino culture-based organization that caters to roughly 120 members with varying ethnic backgrounds, academic disciplines, and personal interests. We unite our members by providing a network that is passionate about culture, community awareness and the development of essential life skills. Members can engage in multiple ways from intercollegiate events, to performing cultural dances, the Ate-Kuya-Ading Program, and PSA Intern Program.

On November 8th, PSA hosted their 21st annual Filipino Americans Coming Together (FACT) Conference here at the UI. Bringing together over 1,200 delegates from around the US and superb facilitators of diverse specialties, the FACT conference fosters the uniting, enlightening and empowering of Filipino, Filipino-American and Non-Filipino youth. The workshop seminars at FACT vary from education on ancient Filipino traditions, to the exploration of community history and the value of heritage. This conference is free to all of its delegates so be on the lookout for FACT 2014 next fall!

Last year, PSA hosted its very first Filipino Cultural Night (FCN) which combined the elements of the accustomed Asian-American Fashion Show with philanthropic efforts creating a family-friendly night of traditional dining and a benefit show. Featuring performances from other Midwest schools, student organizations on UI campus and from our own talented members, FCN provides entertainment to all and raises funds for a different nonprofit organization every year. This year, PSA has been fundraising for ARK: Advancement for Rural Kids, a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower the rural communities in order to feed and keep their kids in school.

This year’s FCN will be held on February 1st, 2014! For more information, email contactus@psauiuc.org.

In light of recent events with Super Typhoon Haiyan, $2,700 was raised for the ARK emergency relief fund. Our contributions will help rebuild the ARK-sponsored schools in Cuartero and Dumarao, Capiz, Philippines. In addition to fundraising for ARK, PSA is initiating fundraisers for Philippine Red Cross (PRC). PRC is a leading aid to the central Visayas in damage assessment, rescue and relief. A Typhoon Relief Fundraiser was hosted at the YMCA within the week of the typhoon involving bake sales and various pay-by-play activities. PSA was also featured at the Asian American Cultural Center leading a discussion on the effects of this tragic typhoon. There will be continuing efforts to raise awareness and to raise funds for the PCR.

Please donate to ARK: Advancement for Rural Kids atruralkids.org/content/donate-now or Philippine Red Cross at redcross. org.ph/donate to help the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Photo courtesy of Patrick David

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Fall 2013

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Richard W. Chang

Alumni Reflections

B.S. History-East Asian Concentration, ‘94

Who would have thought that stopping by the Asian American Association table on the Quad to look at a t-shirt would send me on a long journey of Asian Pacific American activism. Joining and participating in AAA and APAC events played a pivotal role in my life. When I entered college, I had no idea about the profound history and issues of Asian Pacific Americans. It was only through AAA’s educational efforts and activism on the APA studies program and cultural center that I learned about these issues. I was one of the authors of the APAC Cultural Center Proposal at UI that helped the Asian Pacific American student groups land an initial $30,000 grant for APA programs. Currently, UI has instituted almost all of the proposals key programs and in September 2005, the AACC opened its doors for the first time.

After my experience in writing the APAC Cultural Center Proposal, I continued to participate in APA activism once I graduated from UI. In law school, I joined many APA groups in

It was only through AAA’s educationa efforts and activism on the APA studies program and cultural center that I learned about these issues

Washington DC. Membership in groups such as OCA, CAPAL, NAPALSA and APABA allowed me to continue my support of APA civil rights and activism.

After years of working as an APA activist, I realized that APA’s needed to take the next step, run for public office. In 1999, the Asian American Action Fund (AAA-Fund) was founded to help Asian Pacific American’s run for public office. As one of the original board members, we helped put together a national organization dedicated to aiding APA’s win elected offices through fund raising and public awareness campaigns. AAA-Fund continues its success today by continuing to support APA’s running for public office through its various programs.

As a junior partner at Wasserman, Mancini & Chang, I specialize in immigration and nationality law. I continue to serve the APA community through my work with community organizations by providing free immigration law advice. I also support various APA candidates through donations to their campaigns. At this stage in my life, I feel that I can help best by acting as a donor to support more Asian Pacific Americans for public office to ensure that the APA point of view is well-represented in our government.

B.A. Global Studies ‘13

Carmen Cheung

I graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies. During my undergraduate, I interned at the Asian American Cultural Center for three years. I started as a Programming Intern my sophomore year and became the Hermia Soo Intern my senior year of college.

During my time at the U of I, the AACC played an important role in my development both as a community member and as a professional. It was my three years working at the Center which made me aware of Asian American issues and reflect on what my ...the AACC identity means played an to me. During important role in my that time, I also developed development both meaningful as a community relationships member and as a with staff, professional. students

I would be a very different person today had I not gotten involved...

Vida Gosrisirikul

friendships and mentorships that I’ve enjoyed throughout the years have been invaluable to me. I also met my husband, another U of I alum, at an AA alumni event years after we both graduated. So, my life would be completely different had I not gotten involved.

More recently, I had my own law practice based in Chicago from 2001 to 2012, but now serve as legal counsel for an internet company that my husband and I formed. I enjoy being an entrepreneur and have put my journalism degree to good use as a blogger. I’m also a mom to a wonderful and energetic 2-year old son.

B.S. Journalism ’94, J.D. Law ‘97

I would be a very different person today had I not gotten involved with the AA community at the U of I. When I arrived at the U of I for freshman orientation, I was confused as to why AAs were not part of the minority student orientation going as far as to even go up to the registration table that I saw during the event to ask more about it. I was already conscious of being different, but I hadn’t really explored that difference. It wasn’t until my junior year did I become involved in AA activities, and it played a huge role in my future. I doubt that I would have started one of the first pan-Asian law firms in Chicago or become President of the Asian American Bar Association had it not been for my involvement.

Most importantly, some of my strongest enduring friendships also came about because of my activities. We not only enjoyed the fun and crazy times as typical college students, but we were also tied together by the bond of a common cause. The

and community members. Serving the Asian American community and students at the University made me realize my passion for working with people.

My internship grew me as a professional and ultimately helped shape the beginning of my career aspirations.

Since my graduation, I moved to Vancouver to study Public Relations at Simon Fraser University. I have since finished classes and will be working as a practicum student at the Royal Bank of Canada. During the practicum, I will be collaborating on communication strategies with retired Canadian Olympians who work at RBC as brand ambassadors. After completing my certificate, I hope to start my career as a PR professional in Vancouver.

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Matthew R. Lee

Ph.D., Clinical/Community Psychology, ‘08

The AACC provided a job, a learning resource and a cultural home to me as an undergraduate at U of I. In retrospect, I see that each of these aspects of the center was vital to my growing sense of self. It was during college that I really first began to understand AACC myself as an Asian provided a American job, a learning woman, resource and a someone whose life cultural home and work are a part of a larger social and political history and identity.

Currently, I’m a Chancellor’s Fellow completing my Ph.D. in Social and Cultural

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Studies in the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley and am a Graduate Training Fellow at the Center for Research on Social Change. My dissertation is an ethnographic examination of racial power at a high poverty, predominantly Asian urban high school. I’m particularly interested in Asians’ relationship to racial power and the Black-White racial binary.

While living in the Bay Area, I met and married my husband. We had a total of 3 celebrations—

Yenhoa Ching

B.S. History ’06, summa cum laude

one ceremony was in California, one was Jewish and took place in Canada, and one was a blessing ceremony in Laos. We welcomed

a terribly sweet and blessedly happy daughter into our family last year. Her name is Winter.

While on campus, I was involved in the AA Student Mentoring Program . I taught an Asian American identities course as well as the course, Being Asian American. I also presented at a wide number of AA community conferences, including Unseen/ Unheard , Filipino Americans Coming Together, and the Midwest Asian American Student Union and the East Coast Asian American Student Union. In 2005, I was the first president of the Asian Pacific American Graduate Student Organization.

Good grounding in social support and outreach with Asian American students taught me the means to build strong alliances among different campus groups and departments. In order to improve the cross-cultural communication and understanding of the Asian American community, we maintained quality relationships.

The AACC was a home for student functions, social justice-related events and great guest speakers on so many diverse topics.

Through teaching and advising Asian American students, one of the most fulfilling things I was involved with at U of I, I learned talking about change is often not enough—you have to

do something about it to really make a difference in this world.

I believe all students are looking for mentors to help them feel heard and represented both on campus and in the curriculum.

When there is a lack of support, you have to advocate for it.

I am now an assistant professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. I teach coursework associated with cultural diversity and psychology, lifespan psychology and psychology and literature. My lab studies discrimination in the Asian American community, perceptions of affirmative action and interventions that hopefully make students less homophobic, transphobic and racist. I recently co-chaired the Asian American Psychological Association’s national conferences in Orlando, Florida (2012), and Honolulu, Hawaii (2013).

AACC was a home for student functions, social justice-related events and great guest speakers on so many diverse topics

Donors Jake Chen Michelle Chhong Deborah Ikeda David & Angela Lum Theresa Phan Paul Poy Emily Seto Shane Carlin & Annie Sit Ronald & Ghaea Tam Sherry X. Tang Anthony Winick

A Special Thanks...

volunteers alpha Kappa Delta Phi Wu Shu Chinese Heritage Association Vietnamese Student Association Floor Lovers Illinois Deeper Roots in Christ Delta Xi Phi East Central Illinois Bengali Association Bal Vihar Westview Elementary School Performers Ka Melia Hawaii Club Chinese School Performers Illini AWAAZZ A Capella Taiwanese American Students Club Japanese Intercultural Network Philippine Students Association Chi Sigma Tau Kappa Phi Lambda Miwoo Lee Sigma beta rho

We would like to thank our donors for their generosity and support to the AACC. Whatever size or type of support you have given, you have helped make 2013 a success. With your donations you have:

Supported the continuation of our mission of helping students become leaders and professionals Created a better understanding and cultural experiences that prepare students to be citizens of an ever changing, global community Continued the legacy and of civic engagement with diverse communities Helped Asian & Asian American students maintain a strong presence on campus with a long history of student involvement We would also like to thank our volunteers for their generous gift of their time and skills. Without you programs such as Lunar New Year, Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, and Service Days would not be possible.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of making a gift to the Asian American Cultural Center, please contact us at aacc@illinois. edu. You can also make a gift online by visiting our website.

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January 25, 2014 @ 11 am

New Year

Upcoming Events

at Urbana Free Library

February 1, 2014 @ 2 pm

Lunar New Year at Champaign Public Library

February 11, 2014 @ noon

Mulberry Child: A Memoir on China Food for Thought Public Talk at the AACC

by Filmmaker, Jian Ping & daughter, UI Alum Lisa Xia

February 18, 2014 @ noon

“Day of Remembernce�

Remembering Japanese internment camps Food for Thought Presentation at the AACC by James Mukoyama

March 11, 2014 @ noon

Growing Up Multiracial

Part of the multiracial & multiethnic students initiative Food for Thought Presentation by Ken Tanabe

April 10, 2014

Women, Culture, & Society Boneyard Arts Festival Art Exhibit

May 3, 2014 @ TBD

AAPIHM AsiaFest at Japan House

For more information about upcoming events, please visit our website

A special thank you to Michelle Francisco for designing this publication.

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