Asian Outlook Fall 2011 Issue #1 by Asian Outlook

ASIAN OUTLOOK volume XXV, issue 1

PROUDLY PRESENTS: THE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ISSUE FEATURING

IAMMEDIC

KOLLABORATION DUMBFOUNDEAD

DAVID CHOI

KELLY TSAI

editorial 22 | The Influence of Spoken Word on Asian American Identity Representations | By Diane Wong

ASIAN

Volume XXV, Issue 1

contents OUTLOOK

Arts & Entertainment

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Sports 32 | Figure Skating 2011 - 2012 : Season Preview | By Ritesh Kadam

letter from the editor... In the past several months, we have witnessed the protests, demonstrations and riots that have been erupting across North Africa and the Middle East, in places like Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Jordan, Albania, Syria, and Bahrain. These protests have gained momentum, as they are now closer to home. Three weeks ago, few people were paying attention to the Occupy Wall Street protests, but now the initial images of demonstrations in the financial district of New York City represent a nationwide struggle against corporate greed and corruption, amongst other concerns. The protests have not only become multi-city, but have spread with frenzy around the world, reaching places as far as Tijuana in Mexico and Madeira in Portugal. While the Occupy Wall Street protests, in many ways, parallel the dynamic and widespread Civil Rights protests of the 1960’s, what is troublesome about the Occupy Wall Street protests is the political rhetoric employed by protesters. The Occupy Wall Street protests have been afflicted with criticism throughout their genesis for a lack of a cohesive message and, more recently, for their disproportionate number of white protestors and misrepresentations of people of color. During a revolutionary time like this, it is important that all voices are well interjected into the national discourse. In addition, it is important to keep in mind the rhetoric used to define the national discourse, and how that rhetoric shapes the nation’s future. The word “occupy” has deeply colonial implications that root back to a historical symbolism of the oppressed populations who are currently “occupied” abroad, and the indigenous populations who have been unjustly occupied for the past five hundred years on the domestic front. The word “occupy” affirms a form of institutionalized discrimination, unfair treatment, and disregard for those who have been historically marginalized on the domestic front. While the overall tone of the Occupy Wall Street protests is preeminently about change, I fail to foresee the possibility of a peaceful transition in our nation as long as the rhetoric used in the movement screens a reality of brutality, violence, and genocide that settler societies have “occupied” and built on. In the last decades of the Old Regime, educated French revolutionaries rendered revolutionary rhetoric as both a subject and tool to gain political consciousness and solidarity. Rhetoric is just as important today because it is still one of the most important vehicles to advocate for social change, and to redefine national language. The type of rhetoric we use will have a definitive role in the creation of certain social identities, including national identities. As we live through this revolutionary juncture in time, let’s keep in mind that this struggle is not about hate nor violence, it’s about reflection. Diane Wong Editor-in-Chief, Fall 2011 The countdown has begun. For the new freshmen, we welcome you. It’s already halfway through the fall semester of 2011. Finals are just around the corner, and before you know it, so is graduation. It’s my fifth year here at Binghamton University and sometimes I can’t help but ponder my accomplishments and my failures of the past four years. What do four years at a university amount to? A degree on a piece of paper? Countless student loans? A job? A “career,” whatever that means? Really, it’s what you make of it. Some might tell you that the college years are the best four years of your life. Five years for those who need the extra time. But the reality is that college can be as enjoyable or miserable as you make it. The choices you make now will affect your personal growth, livelihood, and character for the next few years. These past few months have been a slow process of crucial growth for myself. Even as a fifth year student, I am still discovering things about myself, learning how to love others, and figuring out what it means to “grow up” and become an adult. Being part of Asian Outlook has been a significant part of that. Even this first semester as editor-in-chief has taught me much of what it means to be an Asian American involved in magazine journalism. The work is unending but rewarding. Being part of this magazine has afforded me opportunities to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t have been acquainted with. I have also grown as a person. Besides gaining skills that can be used in the work place, I have gained a better understanding of who I am and what my strengths and weaknesses are. Kudos to my predecessors Calvin and Jeff for paving the way and bringing Asian Outlook to the place it is now. My hope is that our magazine continues to serve as a venue for Asian American student voices. Jonathan Yee Editor-in-Chief, Fall 2011

ASIAN OUTLOOK EXECUTIVE BOARD FALL 2011 editors-in-chief

Conscience Editor copy editors

layout editors

secretary business manager publicity managers

Social Chairs Activism Chair

Diane Wong Jonathan Yee Kelvin Chan Johnny Thach Kayla Natrella Ricky Soulski Ritesh Kadam Aimee Mun Mark Lim Simon Wong Meng Zhu Roxy Dinh Kitrena Young Christopher Ng Ivan Yeung Michael Wong

EDITORIAL POLICY Asian Outlook is the art, literary and news magazine of the Asian Student Union of SUNY’s Binghamton University. Originally conceived and created to challenge, redefine, re-imagine and revolutionize images and perceptions associated with Asians and Asian-Americans, Asian Outlook also serves to protect the voice of those in the minority, whether by ethnicity, gender, and/or political orientation. All matter contained within these b`eautiful pages do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board. Asian Outlook reserves the right to edit submissions and publish work as deemed appropriate. Prospective contributors are encouraged to discuss their work with the editors prior to submissions. Articles may be submitted as an e-mail attachment to ao.editor@gmail.com. All artistic and literary pieces may be submitted to aoconscience@gmail.com.

CONTACT POLICY Uninvited contact with writers and contributors is forbidden under punishment of pain. Please direct all questions, comments and complaints to ao.editor@gmail.com.

interested in contributing?

E-mail us at:

ao.editor@gmail.com

Or come to our weekly meetings held in the Asian Student Union office (UUW-329) every Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Meet the Groups of the Asian Student Union Asian Outlook In 1988, Asian Outlook became the art, literary and news magazine of the Asian Student Union at Binghamton University. Conceived and designed to challenge and re-conceptualize forms of awareness of Asians and Asian-Americans, we serve to protect the voice of those in the minority, whether by ethnicity, gender, political or sexual orientation. We work to protect the voice of anyone interested in using the magazine as their vehicle for self-expression, since we are not an Asian exclusive publication. Currently, Asian Outlook is the sole Asian-interest magazine circulated throughout campus and in the New York upstate area. We have worked closely with alumni, faculty members and various groups, including NYPIRG, the Black Student Union, Rainbow Pride Union, Latin American Student Union, and Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Student Union, to address student concerns on campus. Asian Outlook hosts weekly meetings and forums on Thursday at 7:30PM in UUW329. For more information, please contact ao.editor@gmail.com.

Asian Student Union ASU is one of the largest cultural groups in Binghamton University. Representing over 20% of the campus, ASU along with our seven subgroups, serve to defy stereotypes, define culture, maintain a sense of tradition, and demonstrate what it means to be Asian American in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world. Every semester ASU works hard to educate the campus through means of educational workshops, cultural events, and holiday gatherings. One of the main purposes of ASU is to unify our subgroups to celebrate a common Asian heritage. We host interactive and fun events throughout the year such as bowling, potlucks, and workshops in efforts to achieve our goals. Our biggest event of the year, Asian Night, is a collaborative effort between all of our seven subgroups. Students enjoy exciting performances while eating delicacies from various Asian countries. In the Spring, we have Asian Empowerment Week, where we have brought in well-known Asian performances such as Wong Fu Productions, Victor Kim, and Joe Wong. If you would like to become involved or find out more information about ASU, please contact asu.binghamton@gmail.com.

Philippine American League PAL is a student-run organization that spreads and informs the Binghamton community of Filipino culture. Founded in 1989, PAL comprises of all different ethnic backgrounds, but all have a common interest of our culture. Over the past two decades, PAL has been constantly changing members and activities. However, we have been able to keep tradition and pride for our culture vehemently clear. Our biggest events, Barrio Fiesta and PAL Banquet, have been not only events to share our culture, but have been influential in helping us become a family. For more information, please contact us at binghamtonpal89@gmail.com.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Chinese American Student Union

Korean American Student Association

Founded in 1982, we are a social and cultural organization on campus that focuses on and promotes Chinese and Chinese American awareness by holding social and cultural events throughout the year. Some of the events we have had in the past include China Night, which is our biggest annual event, lantern making, tea tasting, bowling nights and more. We also pride ourselves with our successful Big and Little Program in which underclassmen are paired up with upperclassmen to gain a mentor, guide and friend. We are neither a Chinese nor Chinese American exclusive organization so we encourage anyone who is interested to come out to our events. Being on CASU will give you the opportunity to enhance your networking skills, organization, time-management and public speaking skills among others. Joining CASU is also a great chance to get involved on campus while meeting many new and different people. If you would like to become involved with CASU, or you have any questions please contact bucasu@gmail. com.

KASA is a cultural organization that is built on the foundation of seeking, maintaining, and fostering different aspects of Korean and Korean American identity, tradition, and culture. We are organized and run solely by the students of Binghamton University. The great development and successful accomplishments of KASA are possible, without any doubt, by the hard work and dedicated efforts of the awesome executive board members, Korean night directors, professors, and both former and current members of this organization. Through meticulous planning, KASA holds cultural, political, social and educational events to sustain our goals and visions. Such as Korean Banquet, K-Night, KASA SemiFormals, and mentor program. Of course, we do not do it by ourselves. KASA works continuously alongside other affiliated Korean student organizations such as BUKUSA, KCF, and KABSO. In addition, we have close relations with ASU, SA, and many other groups. With these extensive collaborations, KASA is able to act as a liaison, opening an arena of thorough communications and empowering unity on our campus and surrounding communities. For more information, please contact us at juliaha@gmail.com.

Asian student groups represent over 20% of the campus. Vietnamese Student Asssociation The Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) at Binghamton University was founded in 1993 by Phong Nguyen. Since, we maintain the same goal of promoting Vietnam to the members of Binghamton community by working together as a family to address issues related to the Vietnamese community, organize cultural and social events and continuously support our members in both academic and social aspects. We have introduced Vietnamese history, performance arts and cuisines to Binghamton students through annual unique events such as Saigon CafĂŠ, Summer Roll Competition and Vietnam Night. If you are interested in our association, please contact vsa.bing@gmail.com and/or like our Facebook fan page at https://www.facebook.com/vsabing. We hope to see you soon!

Taiwanese American Student Coalition

Binghamton University Japanese Association

TASC is a network of college students who come together based on a common interest in Taiwanese culture. We are here to provide a support group, to facilitate the defining of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Taiwanese American identity and to afford an opportunity to actively address the issues and concerns of Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans. The goals of TASC aim to promote an environment in which the student body can get to know each other, learn about Taiwan and Taiwanese culture and to promote events that share many aspects of the Taiwanese culture to the public. Events for the school year include but are not limited to Night Market, Asian Night (in collaboration with other asian sub-groups), and the TASC Banquet. Our Upcoming event is the TASC Night Market on November 5th. Please like us (TASC) on Facebook or contact us at binghamtontasc@gmail.com to find out about our future events!

BUJA was founded in 1993 and is currently the only Japanese organization in Binghamton University. The goal of our organization is to bring the Japanese and non-Japanese community together by promoting the culture of Japan through various events and fundraisers. A couple of events we have annually are the Ghost House in the fall and Japan Night in the spring. Around Halloween time, Ghost House is where any brave soul can experience the horrifying Japanese style haunted house. In the spring, we have Japan Night where we show BU what Japan is all about via cultural performances, food, games and etc. If you want to find out more about BUJA you can contact us at buja.binghamton@gmail.com!

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

INTERVIEW/

A Conversation with

IAMMEDIC

Interviewed by Jonathan Yee, Kayla Natrella & Kitrena Young

he music trio IAMMEDIC is an increasingly popular Electro-pop group based out of Los Angeles, California. The group consists of Andre, Danny, and Enik. Asian Outlook was able to meet and talk to these talented individuals shedding some light on their music careers. They seem to be warm hearted people who love their work. Check them out here. Kitrena: So what do you draw inspiration from and what do you want to accomplish when someone hears your music? Enik: Well the inspiration behind our music is actually about our lives. I mean everything happens behind it. Even the kind of pointless songs like spaceship. Spaceship the reason I wrote it was because I was extremely going through a lot of stuff I was extremely depressed and I wanted to write something to cheer myself up. So there’s like hidden moments behind everything but when it comes to our album Perfect basically it is literally about what we were going through at that time like I had gone through like the last three years have been really really extremely hard for me. So that’s basically… it’s just life. When it comes to like our newer stuff like we I think we gather a lot of inspiration just from watching like watching people, putting ourselves in other people’s shoes, uhm a lot of our own life experiences but it’s just all relevant stuff, it’s relevant for us. What we hope to gain from it? You know honestly I don’t really…there’s no goal. I’m not trying to have people relate with it. If they do then that’s a real blessing to us but the main thing that we want is just to express ourselves. Kitrena: Well then so I know that you guys are living solely on your music. . . so like what is the most that your fans have contributed? And is it hard to live off of a fluctuating source of income?

Danny: Yeah even if someone rips our album and gives it to somebody else for free I mean that’s just like honoring Enik: That’s flattering for us Danny: Yeah flattering for us Enik: Even some of our fans by stuff for each other. Some of our fans are from like Malaysia and some really third world Danny: Really poor nations

Enik: It is. Like me and Andre eat one meal a day.

Enik: You know we like. .people here will buy our music for people out there. And it really is pretty ridiculous when you think about it I mean 20 dollars is 20 dollars here 10 dollars there but if you think of somebody from Malaysia . .it’s a third world country. 20 dollars for them is a lot of money you know?

Danny: I think I get a little bit more

Danny: It can probably be like 100 dollars for us

Enik: More? Yeah he gets a little bit more. . .

Enik: These kids actually go out of their way to buy somebody else an album so that they have it

Danny: Uh I think actually one of our fans actually donated over 150 dollars for one song. Like out of nowhere. .so It was like a huge blessing for us . Danny: I mean what I’m saying is it’s kind of crazy because sometime some fans donate like even a penny but you know what I’m not talking trash or anything like that But it can go anywhere from some fans paying like 20 dollars for a song. Now I don’t mean we get that a lot but whatever I mean any fan that does anything to help us out we’re so appreciative of it. I mean I don’t know. Actually a lot of the money doesn’t go back to IAMMEDIC to feed us. Enik: No, none of the money actually goes back. Ae actually reinvest it in the group so we can write more music for people but our whole motto really is you know we tell people that they can

share our music and that’s why we initiated the whole name your own price because if you’re broke and you’re a fan of our band we encourage you to download our stuff for free. Like I’m not…we have it in albums everywhere like iTunes like every digital domain in the world but we have it there for purposes of the music industry like the politics of music you know for pure music and all those things. But as for how you procure our music Honestly all I can say is I’m blessed if someone listens to our music.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Danny: It’s pretty crazy Enik: Yeah I mean we ourselves we brought a whole case of our albums Danny: We actually had to pay to bring them out here because you know Virgin Airlines charges extra for freaking baggage Enik: So we paid to have the baggage flown in so we can give away the CDs. Like I said our motto really is share the music you know the way we get paid is by doing these shows, and donations obviously. When it comes to music, music is an art form like I don’t—if you wanna pay for it, super blessed If you just want to listen to it, even more blessed

Jon: I guess, besides your fans where do you guys draw your support from because I imagine that can be difficult sometimes

ballad in Taiwan called “Hello”. How is that coming along and do you know when that’s going to be released.

Enik: We have a surprisingly very large k-pop fan base and uh you know we just luckily stumbled upon it and we latched onto it. . . And we have a lot of—A lot of our friends are really high profile bands. . . Aziatics, Far East Movement and all these things so they all helped in getting our name out there. . . Like I said me and Andre have been doing music for the past 7 years. We have friends on major labels. Like we have some high profile friends like I said and we really took advantage of that this time around and it was literally like “Vaness, post my crap. Can you help us out please” And they were more than happy to do that so we’re blessed. Thank you guys.

Danny: The song is done. The thing is it’s going to mixing right now. I don’t have any details on when it hits radios in Taiwan but I’m sure we’ll be informed as soon as they know and it’s gonna be our first single in Taiwan so it’s something new. . It’s a power ballad. Get those girls.

Kitrena: So yeah you treasure your fans like family responding to them through facebook twitter and even through the phone. Have you discovered any talents within your fans? And want to work with them? Do you think that you would be able to maintain that connection with your fans if you became more famous?

Kitrena: Okay, so last one. So you have collaborated with many artists. How does it feel to collaborate with others and which artists have you guys enjoyed collaborating with the most? Enik: We actually haven’t collaborated with many artists. We’re actually—we’re planning to do that with our upcoming album Monster Monster but there’s a million artists that we would love to collaborate with. Danny: Really, yeah

Enik: Yeah. I think that—You know a lot of artists. The problem with a lot of artists is that they—they get to a certain point in their career and they’re like hey I’m this right? And they cast everybody aside but what they never realize is you gotta stand back because you’re nothing without your fans. If no one is going to listen to your music then you’re not selling anything, you’re not playing any shows. I mean our fans are like family and we treat them like family. We’re nothing without our fans. The way that our fans support us is like how my sister supports me through everything…how my mom urges me to do music. I mean literally like that how they show support and because it’s like that, we treat them like family. We’re never gonna forget them, we’re never gonna stop cherishing them, we’re never gonna stop chatting with them.

Enik: In fact, you don’t have enough battery time on your phone to go over that. But yeah, there’s a lot.

Danny: And that’s something that we’re never gonna …that’s something that we’re never gonna stop. Unless you cut my mouth off, bite my hands off

Kitrena: Is it true that they met you at JFK?

Jon: I wanted to follow up on what you said about Aziatics. I heard that you guys are going to be collaborating with them making a

Danny: And I think all three of us draw our inspiration from all different places so that list can go on forever Kitrena: Do you have anything else to add? Enik: Um Paramedics. Thank you for the magazine. Shout out to this magazine right here, Asian Outlook. Our paramedics—thank you so much for supporting us. Even today’s show—we have paramedics that flew out from different states to watch us perform—North Carolina, [], yeah they’re all over the place so it’s been a blessing.

Enik: They were at the airport…to meet us at the airport. The Paramedics are our fan group right? Yeah, that’s our fan group. That’s our family. They’re really supportive of us.

AO Members with IAMMEDIC

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Aspiring Artists Perform for Kollaboration NY

by Jonathan Yee,Kayla Natrella, & Kitrena Young

s an artist or performer,

breaking into the world of arts while perfecting your craft has got to be one of the toughest tasks anyone can attempt. The goal of Kollaboration NY is to provide a viable space for Asian American and Pacific Islander youth to showcase their talents. Their motto is “Empowerment through Entertainment.” The Kollaboration movement is nation wide and spans across 12 major cities in the U.S. and Canada. New York City is just one of the many. This annual showcase of talent allows youth to compete for a 1000 dollar prize. This year’s winner was the dance group “Wanted Ashiqz.” Take a look at the other talented individuals who showed up this year for the competition.

Cheryl Chin Cheryl Chin is a student pursuing a Masters Degree in Clinical Social at New York University. Aside from obtaining her Masters Degree, she is also a talented singer. She started out as a singersongwriter in 2010 and infused her style with indie, alternative and pop sound. Some artists that influenced her were Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, The Cranberries, Sarah McLachlan, Bjork, Imogen Heap, Lauryn Hill, Feist, Brook Fraser, and Misty Edwards. Cheryl received an interest of audience from spreading her love for music throughout high school and college and was part of a cappella group, Shine at NYU. She has recently performed at Kollaboration NY after years of playing piano at churches and weddings.

Elijah Park Elijah Park was the first to perform at Kollaboration. He had many supporters in the crowd, screaming his name and waving signs for him. New to the world of music and performance, Elijah was clearly nervous—even forgetting some of his lyrics. According to his bio on the Kollaboration website, Elijah’s greatest musical influences include John Legend, Adele, Cold Play, and some gospel singers. Elijah is currently a graphic design student at the New School in New York City. He is originally from the Bay Area.

Mitchell Grey Mitchell Grey is an alternative rock/R&B group made up of four members, Ryan Bandong (vocals), Matt Pana (drums), Napon Pinton (bass), and Joseph Diaz (guitar). Their Kollaboration bio compares their sound to One Republic and The Script. The group’s mantra is “Once we get going, we’re not going to stop,” and thus far, they have stuck to it. They are gaining popularity around the country, and even the world—a segment of them recently aired on VOA in Indonesia. They plan to release their debut album in 2012, but for now, you can check out their first music video, Three Seconds, on youtube or listen to a few of their songs on their facebook band page!

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Rooftop Pursuit Phil Good, Jason Yi, Paul Monopauly Lee are members of Rooftop Pursuit, a pop/rock band based in the DC area. Phil Good, the singer/ songwriter along with Jason Yi, the drummer, started their journey to spread their unique style of R&B/Soul music infused with modern pop/rock. Paul Lee, the guitar player was a later addition to the band and brought an exciting and fresh sound with his skillful songwriting abilities that advanced the development of the band. Together, they devise music about their life, love, and what holds close to their heart.

Triangle Offense Triangle Offense, based in Jersey City, NJ, is an independent electrohop trio consisting of members: Sci, Bry, and Pwol. The trio is Filipino-American; they are one of many Asian-American artists striving to be in the spotlight. The musicians specialize in constructing beats with captivating lyrics. With their creative musical talents and their passion for music, they took it to the next level and received astonishing results from a wide range of audiences. Currently, they have performed three songs: “Thank God I’m Fresh” (TGIF), “It’s All Good” (TO’s Diner), “Love It” (One In a Million). Their music is a fusion of hip-hop, R&B, dance, and indie rock. They draw their inspiration from Far East Movement, Theophilus London, and Passion Pit. Although one of their members is currently studying medicine in the Philippines, the group is managing to create music as a whole despite the distance.

Wanted Ashiqz The winner of Kollaboration, Wanted Ashiqz, is an all male bollywood/ fusion dance troupe, founded in 2003. They have performed alongside many impressive, well-known artists, including Shahrukh Khan, Bipasha Basu, Said Ali Khan, Rani Mukherji, Sonali Bendre, Karan Johar, Mira Nair, RDB, Raghav, and Jay Sean. They have also competed in numerous competitions, such as Fusion Royale (1st Place), Showdown 2 (1st Place), Naach Naach Revolution (1st Place & Viewer’s Choice Award), Dance Fusion 2009 (3rd Place), Masti Royale (1st Place), Best of the Best V (1st Place HFD Team Champions), Phillyfest V (1st Place All Male Fusion & Overall PF V Champions), Bollywood America 2010 (First Ever Filmi-Fusion National Champions), World of Dance NY 2011 (2nd Place, Best Costume, Best Theme & Most Crowd Favorite Awards), Kollaboration NY 6 (1st place). They definitely deserve the recognition, as they succeeded in winning the hearts of the audience members at Kollaboration New York 6 with their elaborate costumes and seamless fusion of hip hop and bollywood. The group’s bold humor makes it unique and sets it apart from similar talented dance troupes.

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

INTERVIEW/

Meeting Dumbfoundead

his fall,

Interviewed by Jonathan Yee, Kayla Natrella & Kitrena Young

Asian Outlook was able to meet with Dumbfoundead, a Korean American rapper from Los Angeles. We were able to ask him some questions regarding his career, how he got where he is now, and what he plans to do in the future. Here are some snapshots of our conversation. Kayla: First, we see that you have a few exciting things going on. You just finished a music video for your upcoming album, DFD, and you’re releasing an album on November 1st - that same album. Can you describe the album for us and tell us a little bit about making the music video? DFD: Um yeah. I mean as far as the album goes, it’s a lot of different styles and a lot of stuff about women and stuff because they play a big role in my life. Not just like me chasing after women but I’m talking like I grew up with my mom and my sister in my household so I feel like I know a lot about women but also like don’t know anything because like I don’t know what ticks them off. Because when my mom and my sister used to flip and I’d be like what the fuck is the problem here. And so there’s a lot of things that influence me in life. There’s stuff about weed obviously because you know. . . I do smoke weed and a lot of vices and kind of the struggle about . . . me being a young hearted older guy now. . . I’ve been in this industry a long time, started rapping when I was 15, so I’ve been doing this for like 10 years now. And you know I was playing in colleges when I was not supposed to be in college and then I was playing it when I was supposed to be in college and now I’m playing it when I’m not supposed to be in college so I kinda really…I’ve been living that young lifestyle for a long time and now I’m kind of…I feel like I’m grown up now and I’m already old. So I’m finally…it was like a it was like a long process but all the experiences from that journey are in my album…it’s much more mature than my first album…my first album I was like a young kid…talking about all sorts of shit—that young kid stuff you know. Now it’s like…now it’s the problems of a of a grown man who’s still struggling to grow up. That’s kind of what this album’s about. Kayla: Do you think you’re going to stay in the music industry then? Like for a long time, or do you think as you get older you might… change your career path? DFD: I think I’m always gonna be in entertainment, but I don’t know. I don’t think I’m gonna be rapping when I’m like 35… I’d like to get into acting or comedy writing. Kayla: Oh, okay. DFD: Yeah I do…I actually started doing stand-up comedy about 6 months ago so that’s something I wanna transition into cuz I know I can…you know there’s all these little Justin Bieber motherfuckers coming up and I can’t compete against them you know what I’m saying. Kayla: Do you have any upcoming comedy acts?

ASIAN OUTLOOK

DFD: Yeah I always do… In LA I always do shows around…at clubs [around locally]…That’s new to me though. You know, I’m still paying my dues in that world so… Kayla: In last December you performed in Korea with Jay Park, David Choi and DJ Zo…As a Korean American, what was it like for you to perform in Korea for a Korean audience? DFD: I’ve gone to Korea a few times before that event but um, I loved going to Korea because it’s just…you know, I’m from K-Town so I already see a lot of Koreans in my community in Los Angeles, but that’s like going to K-World. You know what I’m saying? It’s crazy, it’s pretty intense. And um it’s dope to get that…to know I have fans over there. You know. I do all of my stuff in English, so a lot of them still probably don’t understand what I’m talking about but they really like me and I think…I think um beyond just the music too, they actually like my personality I think and that’s kind of cool to see that because [I think that] Koreans can be very judgmental and come to a conclusion very quickly but I guess I have that charm you know for the motherland I don’t know…yeah, I don’t know, I’m talking out of my ass right now. Kayla: Are you trying to get more…to do more performances…in other countries? Jon: Internationally? DFD: Yeah, I definitely want to do internationally. I have no intentions of trying to like blow up in like Korea, you know what I mean, mainly because to me it’s disrespectful to the people who’ve been doing art and music out there and building their stuff and for me to just like come in and…like you know. . . invade, you know what I’m saying? I really…I’m a strong believer in paying dues in everything…you know what I mean? I mean even with stand-up. Like when I do stand-up I don’t do stand-up as Dumbfoundead and try to pack the crowd with using my name Dumbfoundead. People don’t…Most people don’t know I do stand-up because I use my real name, Jonathan Park. I don’t announce it on my…any of my social networking sites or anything…It’s something I want to really build respect from my peers on my own. I want my comedy show hold off on its own. So even with Korea, I want to come in as just like a performer from the US and not trying to blow up in Korea. And I think me taking this approach has really gotten respect from other artists out there. Like Epik High, Drunken Tiger, like they’re good friends of mine, they all understand what I’m trying to do here and not there. They know that I show them respect as they’re the pioneers of that scene. They’re the ones doing it out there.

Jon: What was it like working with Epik High and others? DFD: It was an honor. I mean I didn’t know any… I didn’t know much about k-pop honestly until… and Epik High was the first k-pop groups I was like really digging. You know what I mean? When I went on tour with them I didn’t know much about their stuff and I saw them rock and I was like yo this shit is crazy dope like to me they’re like one of the most innovative, like dope, k-pop groups, you know? They’re one of the few hip-hop groups in Korea that actually when they go to transcend just hip hop and hip-hop over into the k-pop world and get all those k-pop fans too you know what I mean? So I have mad respect for them and Tablo’s like a genius to me you know? I’ve saw this dude making beats on tour in the green room and like write lyrics and you know, he knows what he’s doing and the energy of the beats and the lyrics is amazing and it was an honor and that’s what really got me into the Korean scene. And that’s you know, I met Drunken Tiger before them, and he was actually one of the first kids I really respected but I never really looked at him as like k-pop you know? He was pure hip-hop. Epik High kind of had like the balance of both and uh but yeah JK is probably the one I respect the most. He’s like the pioneer you know? And he’s from LA, went to Korea and changed the whole hip-hop game out there so. . Kayla: Being in the music industry obviously affords you opportunities you wouldn’t have otherwise you know like being at Kollaboration or going to Korea or meeting Epik High, what do you think the most memorable or exciting experience that you’ve gotten out of the music industry or like rewarding experience? DFD: I think the most rewarding experiences of the music industry is just when I get contacted by fans all over the world and places I haven’t been and they tell me how my music affects them. Like I love

that shit you know like that is the most rewarding thing. These trips and stuff - I believe that---I’m a hippy, I love traveling and I’m artsy and all that shit…I believe I’d be traveling anyways even if I didn’t do music. My little sister she doesn’t do music at all…she works a 9-5 job in LA and she fucking travels everywhere because she’s like a hippy at heart, you know like…she wants to save up money, spend it all on traveling, come back, work, and do the same shit over again. As far as traveling and meeting people like that shit can happen for anyone. The most rewarding this is actually reaching people with something you create or make, so I love making shit. I love making shit and I love people hearing that or experiencing the art…that’s the main thing. Jon: Do you have anything else you’d like to add? DFD: Yeah I mean yeah but my last thing I would say is one thing I feel honored to do is being looked at at like somebody you could learn a lesson or receive a message from knowing that I dropped out of high school and I perform at ivy leagues—I performed at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, all that shit—these kids flying me out to their schools to speak or actually perform you know what I mean and I’m just a kid from LA who dropped out of high school but and my vocabulary and grammar is all fucked up but I know how to craft rhymes you know what I mean, for me it has nothing to do with knowing the proper—there is no proper—everyone communicates in a different way and this is my way. Kitrena: Just out of curiosity, in your BRB um music video, what were you guys smoking? Jon: We were thinking about that earlier today! DFD: Yeah that was weed. I don’t smoke cigarettes, so…

Asian Outlook with Dumbfoundead

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

INTERVIEW/

SPOKEN WORD ARTIST – KELLY ZEN-YIE TSAI WITH DIANE WONG

(Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is a Chicago born, Chinese Taiwanese American spoken word artist who, according to her website, “fights for cultural pride and survival through how she spits and how she lives.”) Diane Wong: Spoken word is largely influenced by the Black Arts Movement and other aspects of African American culture. Why do you think there so many Asian American youth identifying themselves with the spoken word movement today? Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai: I’d have to say that there are many different worlds of spoken word poetry. Some spoken word poetry communities are very directly influenced by the Black Arts Movement. Other spoken word poetry communities would be much harder to identify in their aesthetic or political connection to the Black Arts Movement, although it may still be there in latent ways. My experience of spoken word poetry sits at the intersection of slam poetry, neo-soul, indie hip hop, punk rock, folk, the last descendants of the Beat poets, cultural nationalist movements in the Asian American Pacific Islander, Latino/a American and African American communities, performance art, political activism, feminism, queer activism. So I think Asian American Pacific Islander youth are drawn to spoken word poetry for the same reasons that all these incredibly different people have been drawn to spoken word poetry: a deep love of the power of language when set in the context of rhythm, rhyme, and image and the opportunity to speak to and of your own emotional experience of the world with no filter. DW: The ‘model minority’ image of Asian Americans as hardworking, law-abiding and one- dimensional still continues to proliferate mainstream media, publications and American thought today. Do you think that Asian American participation in spoken word has had a positive impact in defying these stereotypes? KT: One of the most dangerous issues I experience re: the model

minority myth is not so much that people outside of the Asian American Pacific Islander community believe it, but it shocks and saddens me to find that AAPI’s often believe these myths about ourselves. This I think has a much graver consequence in that some AAPI’s I know think that there is something inherent in our race or culture that programs us (or entitles us) to move within a highly constricted idea of who we are and what we could be. This has the effect of completely silencing less privileged sectors of the AAPI community along with creating a complete division along class lines within the AAPI community. There’s nothing wrong with being hard-working and law-abiding, but there is something very sad about a community that does not feel as though it has the right to equal political participation or full human expression in exchange for the economic privileges of living here in the U.S. as a function of our race, ethnicity, and culture. I’m not so interested in explicitly working to defy a stereotype, so much as I am interested in expressing the full range of humanity that I have as well as the people I have met in life and have come to care deeply about. It is my hope that Asian American Pacific Islander participation in the spoken word poetry community can help people feel as though they can express their experiences, desires, and lives as fully as possible through the written and performed word. DW: What and/or who has influenced you the most to pursue spoken word as a career? KT: I think that spoken word poetry has chosen me as much as I have chosen it. It’s not something that I explicitly decided to do as a career path so much as something I couldn’t stop myself from doing. I just know that there is so much power in the experience of bringing words to life through poetry. It cuts straight to the heart. It’s highly intimate. It can run the entire gamut of content, ideas, and emotions. Your night with the audience is whatever you hope it to be, and the art form is flexible and dynamic enough that wherever you’re brave enough to go, it can sustain you in your goals.

... THERE IS SO MUCH POWER IN THE EXPERIENCE OF BRINGING WORDS TO LIFE THROUGH POETRY. IT CUTS STRAIGHT TO THE HEART. IT’S HIGHLY INTIMATE. 12

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

David Choi Performs in Seoul Attracts Fans From All Nations I think one of the things that struck me the most when I first arrived at David Choi’s concert was the sheer amount of variety in the people waiting to see him perform. Besides native Koreans and Koreans from abroad, there were a number of foreigners from not only the US, like me, but also Europe, Australia, and other parts of Asia. Going into the David Choi concert, I have to be honest and say I did not know too much about him. Sure I had heard of him, but I had never really heard him and I was not exactly sure what to expect when I sat down in row B with my friend. It turns out that I was pleasantly surprised. David Choi’s live performances are just as good as those that I later went and watched on his youtube channel davidchoimusic. On stage he has this quiet charisma, a bit scatterbrained and goofy at one moment and then the serious artist the next as he starts a song. His songs are mainly ballads, some sad and some happy as ballads are, but they carry a fresh note to them and did not seem redundant in any aspects. He also is very good about interacting with his audience and shows that he really cares about and appreciates their support. Before the concert began, he had his staff passing out pieces of paper to those waiting in line and they wrote questions on the paper. A little ways into the concert, he had everyone take those papers and turn them into paper airplanes to throw up at him on stage. It was actually pretty funny because he used his own phone to record the moment when everyone threw their paper planes at him and put it right up on twitter. Entertaining and enjoyable, David Choi presents an unassuming figure that can turn out a very nice performance for a theater full of people. He kept the pace going at a good rate and also had a surprise guest with the appearance of Dumbfoundead whom he collaborated with on a song. That concert made a fan out of me and I hope that in the future his fanbase keeps expanding because this is a man with real talent who has not been spoiled by the requirements of being “mainstream.”

ASIAN OUTLOOK

ttrell i K a r y Cla

p o Kp mba! Zu ulski

y Sos k c i R y

I took my first Zumba class a couple of weeks ago and proceeded to get hooked. For those of you who do not know what Zumba is, it is a dance exercise craze that originated from Brazil and now has popularity all over the world. To have a little more fun while exercising and put my own personal spin on it I decided to create a special K-Pop Zumba mix. Enjoy!

SISTAR (left) and GD&TOP (right)

Name 돌이킬수없는 모나리자 (Mona Lisa) Hot Shot PUSH PUSH My Ear Candy (Feat. Taek Yeon Of 2PM) Sixth Sense SO COOL 바람났어 (Feat. 박봄) A-CHA Roly-Poly In코파카바나 HIGH HIGH Don't Stop the Music Oh Yeah (feat. 박봄) 밤하늘에

Album step 2/4 (EP) 모나리자 (Mona Lisa) SIXTH SENSE SO COOL Timeless; The Best SIXTH SENSE SO COOL 무한도전서해안고속도 로가요제 A-CHA Roly-Poly In 코파카바나 GD&TOP Vol.1 2NE1 2ND MINI ALBUM GD&TOP Vol. 1 The 4th Single Album RED OP Vol.1

Artist 가인 (Ga-In) 엠블랙 (MBLAQ) Brown Eyed Girls 씨스타 (SISTAR) Baek Ji Young Brown Eyed Girls 쏘쿨씨스타 (SISTAR) GG Super Junior 티아라 (T-ara) GD&TOP 2NE1 GD&TOP 애프터스쿨레드

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

BINGHAMTON FLOOD RELIEF

By Kayla Natrella

In the first weeks of September 2011, Binghamton experienced its worst flood since the flood walls were built 70 years ago. According to Press & Sun Bulletin, an inspection of approximately 13,000 homes in Broome County found that 7,273 were damaged and another 47 were destroyed. Although flood waters have subsided, relief efforts still continue in Binghamton, but with a declining number of volunteers. 16

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“IT WILL BE HARD WORK, YOU WILL GET DIRTY, YOU WILL GET WET. BUT I’M NOT SAYING THIS TO DISCOURAGE YOU, I’M SAYING THIS TO CHALLENGE YOU! IT’S EASIER TO PRAY FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY THE FLOOD, BUT ISN’T IT BETTER TO ACT UPON THOSE PRAYERS?”

n October 15th, members of the Korean American Student Association and Asian Outlook joined members of Korean Christian Fellowship to aid in the relief efforts of the First Presbyterian Church of Johnson City. KCF’s Outreach Committee leader, Jonathan Back, challenged his peers, writing in an email, “It will be hard work, you will get dirty, you will get wet. But I’m not saying this to discourage you, I’m saying this to challenge you! It’s easier to pray for those affected by the flood, but isn’t it better to act upon those prayers?” So often we hear about devastating disasters all around the world and we say a prayer or wish the victims well, maybe even send a few dollars, but then we go on with our lives. This time, some of us were in the midst of a disaster for the first time and we had to make the jump from well-wishing to action, or as Jon said, ‘acting on those prayers’. Jonathan Back’s challenge was accepted, as about 30 students showed up early Saturday morning, ready to work hard, despite the light rain. When we got to the church, we had to sign waivers, freeing the church from responsibility in the case of injury or illness, and we received masks and rubber gloves. Before cleaning out the floodaffected home, we quickly moved donated items from a trailer to the church basement. As we finished our task, two church members expressed their gratitude exclaiming, “We love BU students!” and explaining that it would have taken them hours to move all the items. Ten of our members stayed behind to continue organizing the donated items and getting them ready for distribution. At the house, we formed an assembly line from the front door to the basement. Everything in the basement was still damp from flood water and covered in mold. About five people gathered items from the basement into buckets and garbage bags

to pass up the stairs and down the line at a time, switching out every so often to get a break from the bad air. Press Connects warns “Standing water remaining from any flood is a breeding ground for microorganisms. Bacteria, viruses and mold can become airborne and be inhaled, putting people at risk for lung disease.” The process took between two and three hours and by the end, a pile of debris was stacked about three feet high and four cars long in front of the house, ready for an excavator to come and take it away. The elderly woman who lives in the home thanked us, explaining that a professional would have charged her about $3000, much more than she could afford. Unfortunately, many people in the greater Binghamton area are in similar situations, with damaged homes that they cannot afford to fix. The flood waters may have subsided, but its affects remain.

“The first time volunteering was an eyeopening experience to me because the damage of the flood became very real to me, especially as a student living on campus. I encourage everyone to volunteer a few hours of their time, because it will make a huge difference in someone’s life.” jonathan back, KCF outreach committee leader

“Well the flood relief was a different experience even though I’ve done other community services in the past. Everyone chipped in to do equal amounts of work— some people went in the basement first and the others outside, then they switched. I don’t know another word for it, but I felt good after the work was done because of how grateful the halmunee [grandmother] was.” bryan pae, KCF member

“I went to do the volunteer work because I thought we all need to make time to forget our own problems. When I finished, I felt inspired and refreshed by the common purpose that we all had and the mountain of stuff we were able to take out of the basement so easily because we worked together. Doing that kind of thing on a Saturday is never a waste of time.” mark lim, asian outlook e-board

“Even though I’ve been at Binghamton for over a month, I was really out of touch with the community outside of campus. I kept hearing stories about the devastation caused by the floods but they didn’t really affect me in any way until I decided to help with flood relief. Working together with fellow Binghamton students to clean out a flooded basement in town definitely helped me to develop closer ties to both the community outside of campus and to the caring student community within Binghamton University.” andres xu, asian outlook member

“I could not believe how much stuff came out of that basement. Everything was destroyed. Conditions that flood-affected community members are still living in are worse than I had imagined. The smell was unbearable and the work was really dirty and intensive, but the reward was more immediate than, say, sending a donation or doing a charity walk.” toshiharu ichikawa, KCF member

“Through volunteering, I learned how much work and how many hands were needed to recover from a natural disaster. Even though every single one of us was hard at work, in reality we only accomplished a very minuscule aspect of the relief. This shows the need of a community as a whole to participate in the relief effort.” manshui lam, asian outlook member

students responses to flood-relief work:

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

How much is an

‘Asian American’ Worth? O By Michael Wong

University of California-Berkeley, controversy is in the air. The campus’s College Republicans group decided to host an “Increase Diversity Bake Sale” in order to satirically protest an Affirmative Action-like bill that waits to be signed by California governor, Jerry Brown. The prices of baked goods varies upon the race of the student purchasing said goods, ranging from $2 per pastry for “White” students to 25 cents per pastry for “Native American” students. Women receive a 25 cent price break on all pastries. If bringing attention to the bill was the purpose of the group, they certainly succeeded with flying colors. However, I cannot help but find flaws in their satirical protest. The purpose behind the bake sale is abundantly clear: the College Republicans wish to illustrate how unfair they believe affirmative action to be. There is certainly precedent for this in the University of California system. Just a few years ago, Asian Americans fought and won a court case in which UCLA was convicted of reverse discrimination. Asian American high school students were being n the campus of the

Pictures of cupcakes sold at the UC Berkeley bake sale

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denied from UCLA despite higher scores than peers who were accepted, simply due to racial background. As an aftereffect of Proposition 209, which prohibits racial discrimination in public universities, UC boasts a 35 percent Asian enrollment for undergraduates. The idea behind affirmative action is that students who come from underrepresented groups get a special consideration when applying to school or jobs, usually as a way to counter the effects of a history of discrimination. But where does this leave Asian Americans? This is a difficult argument to make, because Asian Americans represent a different kind of anomaly in the system. As far as race goes, Asian Americans are among the most “underrepresented” when it comes to sheer population; Asian Americans comprise less than four percent of the United States population. Regardless, recent data shows that Asian American men have more difficulty gaining admission to college than those of other ethnicities with similar test scores and GPAs.

Student protestors demonstrating against the bake sale

Prices for UC Berkeley racist bake sale As far as a history of discrimination goes, Asian Americans have faced discrimination throughout the history of the United States just as harshly as any other race. During the gold rush in California, Asian Americans were little more than slaves working on the railroads and during World War II, Japanese Americans were thrown into concentration camps. Asian Americans have faced segregation, racism, and the loss of civil liberties, even though it is not well-known in American history. So if Asian Americans are underrepresented in population and have just as much right to preferential admission as any other race, then why are Asian Americans so adversely affected by affirmative action? Studies suggest that this is because Asians perform statistically better in academics and thus, do not qualify as eligible for an “underrepresented” status for admissions. But how is this fair? Is it right for Asian Americans to be punished for performing

well academically? Herein lies the crux of the situation: Asian Americans have every right (if affirmative action stays around) to benefit from it because the terms dictate as such. There is no term that if a minority group starts to perform well, that group should no longer receive special consideration. If I were at this racist bake sale, I would ask why the pastry for an Asian American male is not more expensive than the rest. After all, that would properly represent the status quo of the current situation of affirmative action. I am not condemning the current practice of affirmative action, nor am I condoning it. I simply feel that, if affirmative action is to continue, it should start to play by the rules it was created to follow. Asian Americans should not be the subject of reverse discrimination simply because they play the game they were thrust into better than everyone else. That would truly be a poor show of sportsmanship.

“why are Asian Americans so adversely affected by affirmative action?” Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Mother Nature’s Destruction in Pakistan By Roxy Dinh I come from a country where the annual rainfall ranges from 1200 mm to 3000 mm. In comparison, New York State’s annual rainfall yields only 0.0006199 mm. After having witnessed the damaging flood in Binghamton, I’m sure you all can imagine how Mother Nature gets angry with us during the rainy season. Obviously, Vietnam is not the only country that suffers a serious flood every year.

ast year, a flood, the worst ever in 80 years for the region, devastated Pakistan. Specifically, the country suffered more than 2,000 deaths, 20 million homeless people, 7.9 million acres of destroyed crops and 15 billion U.S. dollars worth of damaged infrastructure. Sadly, the nightmare did not end there; it came back again this year. During the past few weeks, TV and newspapers have continuously reported the desperate situation in Pakistan. Floods in Sindh, a province situated in South East Pakistan, have laid waste to the region. By the time you are reading this article, the flood would have affected more of Pakistan’s people, provinces, and infrastructure. For the most part, the climate changes caused Pakistan’s flooding. This climate change has led to an abnormal seasonal cycle of land temperature. This worsened the amount of monsoon rainfall in different regions of the country. As a result, the rains produced a substantial volume of water; eventually, the rains flooded seven districts of Sindh province on August 11th this year. According to the National Disaster Management Authority, up until Sept. 25th, the floods had killed at least 412 people, injured 1172 others and generally affected over 8.2 million more. Out of those who were affected were 240,000 pregnant women and 1.36 million children have been affected terribly. They suffer not only from flood damage but also from the hunger and disease caused by the floodings. Approximately, over two million people are suffering from flood-related illnesses such as malaria, diarrhea and snakebites. A Pakistani senior official reported that more than 20 percent of the patients suffered from acute respiratory infection. Furthermore, thousands of houses, crop fields, livestock and infrastructure got destroyed. Consequently, the Pakistani government

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took several actions to address the problems. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani cancelled his visit to the U.S. in order to visit the damaged areas. In particular, Pakistan Army and Naval Forces have shown considerable efforts in rescuing and relieving residents of all dangerous areas. People have been evacuated and located to camps on higher ground or roadsides. In fact, more than 100000 victims have been rescued along with their cattle. These rescued people have been provided with shelters and food. However, given the continuously terrible state of the country, the aid responses were criticized as being much less than last year due to not only a shortage in manpower but also a lack of cooperation between heads of different governmental and military offices. It is sad to actually see how much the innocent citizens have to suffer because of leadership inefficiency. The serious degree of destruction has fostered a bond among the international countries involved. Many nations generously provide relief forces, money,

“The floods have killed at least 412 people, injured 1172 others and generally affected over 8.2 million more.”

food and medical aids to help Pakistan escape the tragedy. Hundreds of million dollars of aid flow from many developed countries such as China, U.S. , Japan and South Korea. In particular, Iran proposed a substantial amount of 100 million U.S. dollar grant to Pakistan. Besides individual states, institutions, such as the European Commission, pumped 210 million dollars into the country. As a result, the United Nation-led humanitarian community in Pakistan received over 337 million dollars of financial aid from donor countries. The world’s philanthropic attitude toward Pakistan flood should have significantly bolstered the government’s responsive plan to effectively resolve the issue. But still, more actions need to be carried out. I do not need to say any more to illustrate how devastating a flood has been and how miserably the lives of the victims have been affected after such a catastrophe. In spite

of all the wars, conflicts, and commitment problems in the international politics, the world actually stands together in order to support each other to protect the lives of the innocent people and overcome these natural disasters. Although we cannot manipulate nature, we can learn from previous experiences. We will know the right actions to take when faced with another crisis. First, we must address the global warming and soil erosion issues in order to minimize climate change and limit the amount of soil washed by the flood. In addition, we should invest in building a stable and high quality dyke system to protect vulnerable provinces. In addition, the relief operation must change. It is crucial to improve recruitment and training of relief forces. It is also important to enhance communication between different governmental agencies in order to fasten reactions to emergency situations in order to save more people.

We are lucky to live in a country that possesses one of the highest standards of living in the world. While we have been spending money on extravagant expenses that we don’t really need, there are people on the other side of the world who desperately need every single penny in order to survive. Non-profit organizations like Save the Children, UNICEF and many other networks have been encouraging people to make donations to Pakistani flood victims through their websites. Hence, it’s never too late for us to start looking around and paying a little more attention to the unfortunates, starting now! Sources: http://ochaonline.un.org/OCHAHome/ WhereWeWork/Pakistan/ PhotoGalleryPakistanaffected/tabid/6919/ language/en-US/Default.aspx

Children cook their daily meal above one of the some 5,900 camps that sprung up across the country during the height of the crisis. Most of them were in Sindh Province, where more than one million people found shelter. (Photo: Marta Ramoneda/UNICEF)

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

The

Influence of Spoken Word on AsianAmerican IdentityRepresentations By Diane Wong

“Asia-America, when will you return to me, when will you deem me worthy? There’s gotta be a solution to this Rubik’s cube identity, a dictionary for this shifting terminology, the key that unlocks the mystery why neither Asia nor America will ever feel like home to me.” –Alvin Lau, Asian American Spoken Word Artist 22

ASIAN OUTLOOK

The Asian American Movement emerged... as a means to empower Asians in America with the common goals of racial equality, social justice and political empowerment.

lvin Lau is a Chinese American spoken word artist from Chicago. The excerpt above is from his Asia-America, Where Have You Gone? poem, which was first performed at National Poetry Slam finals back in 2006. After watching Alvin perform on stage, I was drawn to his audacity to be bold, out-spoken, and most notably, his ability to rock the boat which so many Asian Americans have found comfort in. During one of our short encounters, Alvin and I discussed the significance of spoken word on the formation of ethnic identities. I recall Alvin telling me that the art of spoken word helps to deconstruct certain social phenomenon such as the ‘model minority’ myth, while at the same time re-construct more positive images of the self. Naturally, I questioned his statement because it was hard to imagine that such an informal mode of expression could have such an immediate impact on the identity consciousness of the self. However, looking back on my experience with Alvin Lau, and the underpinning narrative of his Asia-America, Where Have You Gone?, it seems that spoken word is much more than just a form of expression or a type of performance art. Spoken word performance is a contemporary form of expression that blends poetry with music, performance art, stand-up comedy, oral storytelling, testifying, or any number of other popular avantgarde forms. Spoken word is by no means unique to our current era; from traveling poets during Medieval Europe to Enlightenmentinspired revolutionary intellectuals during the French Revolution, African American slaves during the Antebellum Era, and the Beatnik writers during the Civil Rights Movements, spoken word has been a universal art form. In the past centuries, spoken word has evolved quite drastically in both style and prose, and has changed with the individuals or communities who subscribe to it. Today, spoken word is most prevalent among the youth generations through open- mic events, slam poetry, hip-hop, street rap and oral storytelling. The purpose of this piece is to examine the use of spoken word as a means for Asian American poets to inspire identity representation within the ethnic self, and to more specifically, examine the use of spoken word in the re-construction of certain social phenomenon in order to adequately represent individuals and the community at large. I argue that the dynamic rhetoric, style and form exhibited with spoken word allows for the de-construction of certain dominant national narratives that have historically marginalized the individual voices of the community, while at the same time allows for the construction of ethnic narratives. the history of spoken word

Spoken word finds its roots primarily in the 1950’s and 1960’s, during the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-War Movement, the Black Liberation Movement and most importantly, the Black Arts Movement. As an art form, spoken word poetry distinctly morphed under the influence of the Black Arts Movement, which was a

radical separatist movement proposing to disengage itself from not only from the larger world of American literature, but also from the mainstream national narrative that excluded the African American voice. Drawing inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement, Black Panthers, and the Black Liberation Movement, artists, writers and poets involved in the Black Arts Movement sought to create politically-engaged work that explored African American culture, historical experience and music traditions. The Black Arts Movement represented a larger social movement that inspired an intersection of differing ethnicities, identities and cultures, and motivated a new generation of poets, writers and artists from various ethnic backgrounds – Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, gays and lesbians, and younger generations of African Americans. Ishmael Reed, a prominent African-American literary figure, noted that “there would be no multiculturalism movement without Black Art. Latinos, Asian Americans, and others all say they began writing as a result of the example of the 1960s. Blacks gave the example that you don’t have to assimilate. You could do your own thing, get into your own background, your own history, your own tradition and your own culture” (Donnelly, 68). The Asian American Movement emerged during this period of cultural and ethnic revitalization as a means to empower Asians in America with the common goals of racial equality, social justice and political empowerment. Asian American activists, students and organization leaders involved in the Asian American Movement drew inspiration from other ethnic movements, most notably from the Black Liberation Movement, the Black Arts Movement and the Beat Generation. Through a shared sense of common struggles, for liberation, racial justice and equal representation, many Asian American students and activists found the need to collaborate with Black activists, students, and writers, allowing for a unique cultural intersection of the Asian American Movement with the Black Liberation Movement. Through this ethnic interweaving, many Asian American activists, poets, writers, influenced by the Black Arts Movement, approached questions about the Asian American identity through poetic and literary devices, and helped to reinvent Asian American literature. Although poetry has undergone drastic changes since the 1950’s, the ethnic interweaving, and the usage of poetry to inspire social change, is still prevalent today in the form of slam poetry, rap, and underground hip-hop. the black-white literary discourse

Due to the unconventional nature of spoken word as a form of literary expression, there has been debate among scholars about the genre classification of spoken word, and whether or not spoken word is a legitimate form of expressive prose. However, the significance of spoken word in the Asian American community is a field that has not yet been subject to much scholarship, especially within the literary or academic community. Xiaojing Zhou, a professor of Asian American Literature at the State University of New York at Buffalo,

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

has observed that Asian American poets are among a group of writers frequently neglected in American studies and other literary studies. In The Ethnic and Policies of Alterity in Asian American Poetry, Zhou posits that within the literary community, there exists a rigid white and black social structure, in which Asian American writers are rendered invisible. In addition, the marginalization of Asian American poets in American literature is evidently related to Asians being portrayed as neither white nor black. Gary Okihiro, professor of international relations at Columbia University, examines this phenomenon in his essay Is Yellow Black or White?, Okihiro contends that on the one hand, Asians are “viewed as ‘nearwhites’ or as ‘whiter than whites’ in the model minority stereotype, and yet Asians experienced and continue to face white racism ‘like blacks’ in educational and occupational barriers and ceilings and in anti-Asian abuse and physical violence” (Okihiro, 62). And since Asians are neither white nor black, living in a rigid blackwhite society endangers Asians, along with other marginalized communities, who become invisible on the ethnic spectrum. As a consequence, the voice that continues to perforate is only situated at either side of the spectrum. Referring back to The Ethnic and Policies of Alterity in Asian American Poetry, Zhou makes an important argument that discusses the reason as to why contemporary poets, who identify as being marginalized, have not been properly represented in American literature. She argues that there is a problematic relationship between the “racially marked cultural other, and the dominant language, which has been used, among other things, as a tool to colonize, exclude, or assimilate the other” (Zhou, 2). This relationship is evident in the formation of the American national identity, in which the dominant language is used as a measure to separate the white national self from its racial counterparts by assigning racial meanings on those labeled as nonwhite. This dominant language asserted over Asian Americans, and other marginalized minority groups, who have been deemed as ‘racial other’ has historically been imposed by the white elite. In order to separate the white national self from the ‘racial others’, the white elite creates a dominant language that sets a standard discourse to further separate and segregate the American national identity from those that may pose a threat to that constructed identity. In congruence, Manuel DeLanda, a contemporary Mexican philosopher who discusses geological, biological and linguistic history in his book, A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History, explains that the “elites, after making their dialects the standards, have access to the institutional means to impose their norms on a much wider speech community, particularly on those with aspirations of upward mobility whose diffused linguistics are prone to succumb to standardization” (DeLanda, 193). DeLanda contends that the dominant language of the elite is invariably used as a mechanism to control and assert power over those who are labeled as the other, ‘nonwhite’, or marginalized to keep social discourse order.

impact of spoken word on the asian american identity

While these arguments pertaining to the language dominance in American literature may be subtly observed, they are nonetheless true. The lack of belonging and cultural representation of Asian Americans in American literature has encouraged Asian American writers to become more vocal and experimental in reinventing ways to express themselves through differing styles and rhetoric. With provocative and dramatic rhetoric, spoken word artists have created works to eliminate the black-white social structure that forces Asian Americans to be considered the ‘racial other’ or clumped together with other marginalized voices. In the process of removing the self and the community from the black-white discourse, Asian American spoken word artists have succeeded in conceptualizing Asian Americans as a distinct and uniquely vocal group. Many spoken word artists including Kelly Tsai, Beau Sia, Staceyann Chin, Bao Phi, D’Lo and Ishle Park, focus on themes including the model minority image, gender, sexuality, and political activism in order to re-conceptualize the traditional narratives set by the dominant language of the elite. Asian American spoken word artists act as agents in social change, and part of a grassroots educational movement to re-conceptualize the national discourse. The fluidity of language inherent in spoken word allows for the re-conceptualization of certain social dynamics, of forming certain identities and political values, in order to speed up the pace of social change. Through spoken word, Asian American communities, and other marginalized communities are able to provide contesting alternatives to the dominant narrative. The dynamic rhetoric, style and form associated with spoken word allows for individuals to re-define the self, and change perceptions of Asian Americans through bold experiments in search of a new ethnic narrative that is more representative of Asians living in America. De, Landa Manuel. “Linguistic History: 1000-1700 A.D” A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History. New York: Zone, 1997. 183-214. Print. Donnelly, Mary. “Walker and Her Times.” Alice Walker: The Color Purple and Other Works. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2010. 68. Print. Okihiro, Gary Y. “Is Yellow Black or White?” Margins and Mainstreams. Seattle: University of Washington, 1994. 31-63. Print. Zhou, Xiaojing. “Introduction.” The Ethics and Poetics of Alterity in Asian American Poetry. Iowa City: University of Iowa, 2006. 1-23. Print.

Since Asians are neither white nor black, living in a rigid black-white society endangers Asians.... As a consequence, the voice that continues to perforate is only situated at either side of the spectrum. 24

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Queen of Seoul By Bunch of Kimbap

It is often said that there is no such thing as a gay Korean. This saying is painfully wrong. In this world there exists many a gay Korean. The wary may ask how I would know. Well, I have experienced them.

spent this summer in Korea. Now, it was my first free weekend in Korea and the first thought that came to my mind was going to Seoul. Not just Seoul - specifically Itaewon. Why Itaewon? Well, for those of you who do not know what Itaewon is, it is a district in Seoul that close to a U.S. Army base and known for immense amounts of foreigners. Itaewon is also the home of Homo Hill, which needs no explanation - it’s all in the name. My night on Homo Hill started out with me and a group of my friends arriving at around 10 p.m. at Itaewon by subway. When we got out of the subway station it was on. I was ready and excited. Guided by my great gay instincts and a set of direction another friend had on hand we began to move towards Homo Hill. Now, it was still early and we had not eaten yet so we decided to find a place to eat before going to any bars or clubs - a difficult task with a vegetarian, but we ended up with a good old Bibimbap. After dinner we began our ascent to the hill, which is a smaller hill on a side road of a gigantic hill. On the way there we passed a bunch of lady-boys (yes, there is such a thing as a Korean lady-boy), which was a little frightening for me because I was afraid one would approach me. Since it was only 11 p.m. and the clubs really started hopping at midnight we decided to go a bar named, ever-so-rightly, Always Homme. At this bar there must have been the tallest Korean man I have ever seen. Ever. He had to be at least 6’7” and our interaction doesn’t stop after he greets us as we come in. The Boy Scout in me that makes me always be prepared, drank a lot of water before we go to Itaewon, resulting in my having to go to the bathroom multiple times that night. So I ask the Korean giant where the bathroom is and he proceeds to take me by the hand to physically show me where the bathroom is. Being that we were at a bar and everything was very loud, my friends did not hear me ask, so the only thought running through my head at the time where is

Queen, a popular nightclub in Itaewon. he leading me to and “I AM NOT A SLUT.” When I returned from the bathroom I coolly explain that I had only had to go to the bathroom to my friends after which we decided to pay and we go to a different club. After a series of going from club to club we finally end up at the club appropriately named, Queen. The club is packed with people and we end up making our way to the opposite side of the floor and all start dancing in a circle. Now, I love my friends, but being in Korea I want to be with Korean people so I decided to begin to venture away from our cluster. My first encounter ended with the two guys that I was eye-fucking disappearing on me. My second encounter was way more successful. It all happened by accident. In fact, we were kind of just pushed together, but that accident lead to at most an hour dancing together. This dancing was not the typical dancing in Korean night clubs, line dancing-which is when everyone is in a line and one person starts doing one move and the rest follow, it was all-American grinding. As we were dancing together I was debating whether or not to make a move. I had wanted to, but sadly the hyung, or older male friend, that I was dancing with was wearing a hat and I had not clearly thought through what I would do with it if I took it off his head. The fool that I am did not realize that I could just take the hat off his head and put it on my head backwards, an idea that only popped into my head the day after my night on Homo Hill. But it did not end all that tragically because at the end of the evening, I even received my hyung’s phone number. So, to reassure you all there definitely exists gay Koreans. Photo Sources http://queerkorea.weebly.com/itaewon.html

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TROY DAVIS CASE

By Tamara Theodate

Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 11:08 pm, Georgia executed Troy Anthony Davis by lethal injection for the alleged murder of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. While Davis laid strapped to a gurney moments before his execution, he proclaimed his innocence for the last time. He announced, “I am innocent. I did not have a gun.” Davis then proceeded to address the MacPhail family stating, “I did not personally kill your son, father, brother.” Lastly, he turned to his supporters and encouraged them to continue to seek the truth through a closer look at his case. On the evening of August 18, 1989, Davis attended a pool party at a friend’s house. As he was leaving with his friend Darrll Collins, a car drove by shouting obscenities at them out of the window. Shots were fired at the car and Michael Cooper, a passenger, was hit. Davis and Collins continued to Charlie Brown’s pool, located in close proximWity to a Greyhound and a Burger King. n

ASIAN OUTLOOK

There they encountered Sylvester Coles engaging in an argument with Larry Young, a homeless man, over alcohol. According to his testimony, Davis instructed Coles to leave the homeless man alone, to which Coles retorted saying, “Go to hell.” Coles and Young proceeded to the parking lot of the Burger King. Davis and Daryl followed out of curiosity. Mark Allen MacPhail, a 27-year-old police officer was off-duty at the time, but reported for a complaint at the Greyhound. As MacPhail arrived on the scene, he witnessed Young attacked with a pistol in the parking lot surrounded by Davis, Coles, and Collins. Out of fear, shots were fired and the men dispersed. MacPhail was hit twice with bullet wounds piercing his left lung and face. He died shortly after. The police determined that MacPhail’s bullet wounds came from a .38 caliber pistol. The murder weapon itself was never found. In fact, no other physical evidence had been uprooted. In time, the police linked the shooting of Michael Cooperto outside the pool party where both Daryl and Davis had been in attendance, to that of MacPhail. It was determined that a .38 caliber pistol had been used in both instances. That is not to say that the pistol used in the murder of MacPhail was the same one used to shoot Cooper, but simply that a .38 caliber pistol was used to shoot both men. As the police investigation continued, it was clear that the accounts of the witnesses differed. They all seem to agree on one point though. The witnesses established that of the three men surrounding Young, one wore a yellow shirt and another wore a white shirt. The man wearing the white shirt was the one who assaulted Young with the pistol before proceeding to shoot MacPhail. Thereafter, Coles sought out the police and in the presence of his lawyer. He informed the police that he had seen Davis with a .38 caliber pistol at Charlie Brown’s pool and Davis used that pistol to assault Young. The police then narrowed their investigation down to Davis. In the meantime, Davis was headed to Atlanta with his sister, Correia. He claimed that he was doing so in order to check on the prospect of a construction job. While the MacPhail family claims that Davis was running and an innocent man would not run, Correia maintains that at some point, on their way to Atlanta, they were lost and stopped to ask a South Carolina state trooper for directions, an act that guilty man on the run would not do. Additionally, Correia insists that she dropped off Davis at a construction site in College Park, Atlanta, and that she was never aware that she was aiding in the escape of a fugitive. Davis was soon arrested. On Aug. 19, 1991, the trial began. Young’s girlfriend, Harriet Murray, testified that a man in a white shirt shot MacPhail. MacPhail fell to the ground and the man proceeded to shoot MacPhail two or three more times. MacPhail never had the opportunity to reach for his gun. Murray states, “He had a little smile on his face, a little smirky-like smile.” She pointed to Davis, establishing Davis as the man in the white shirt. Dorothy Ferrell testified that she was extremely sure that Davis had shot MacPhail, at the time of the incident she was across the street from the Burger

King. Antoine Williams, an employee of Burger King, identified Davis as the shooter. Davis’s neighbor testified that Davis confessed to shooting MacPhail. Coles also took the stand. He maintained that he only argued with Young and that Davis was the one who had struck Young with the pistol. When questioned on why he insisted on being accompanied by a lawyer to inform the police that he had seen Davis with a .38 pistol days later, rather than going straight to the police the day of the murder, Coles responded that he had worked for the lawyer periodically and “I don’t know. That’s what I chose to do.” What he failed to mention to the police at the time was that he also owned a .38 caliber pistol. Coles claims that he had hidden the gun in some bushes prior to going to the Burger King. The murder weapon was never found or Cole’s gun or the one that Davis allegedly owned. In Aug. 1991 Davis was convicted for the murder of MacPhail and sentenced to death. As he sat on death row, witnesses began to change their stories. Murray later admitted that the man who shot MacPhail was the one following Young. Murray stated, “The man following Larry started digging in his pants for a gun and slapped Larry in the side of the face with it…I saw the man who was arguing with Larry…and who slapped Larry shoot the police officer.” While on the stand, Coles had testified that he was in fact the one who was arguing with Young and had followed him. In 2000, Ferrell signed an affidavit recanting her testimony. Ferrell admitted that she was on parole in 1989 and feared that she would be sent back to prison if she refused to comply with the police and tell them what they wanted to hear. Ferrell would later state, “I don’t know which of the guys did the shooting because I didn’t see that part.” Williams also recanted his testimony saying, “I was totally unsure whether [Davis] was the person who shot the officer.” Anthony Hargrove, Shirley Riley and Darold Taylor claim that Coles admitted to murdering MacPhail following the trial. Hargrove said that Coles confessed to letting a man by the name of Troy take the blame for the murder. Davis’s legal team has repeatedly argued that the absence of physical evidence connecting Davis to the crime and recantations by key eyewitnesses who initially implicated Davis in the shooting are plenty reasons for the courts to grant him a new trial. Nonetheless, state and federal courts, have continuously ruled against his appeals for a new trial. On Tuesday, Sept. 20, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Davis’ plea for clemency and executed Davis on the basis of the original jury verdict. The reluctance of the U.S. justice system to simply reexamine Davis’s death sentence in the face of new evidence is absurd and proof that the justice system is flawed. In light of all of these facts, could you beyond a reasonable doubt sentence Troy Anthony Davis to death? Photo Sources: http://allisonkilkenny.com/tag/troy-davis/

“IN AUG. 1991 DAVIS WAS CONVICTED FOR THE MURDER OF MACPHAIL AND SENTENCED TO DEATH. AS HE SAT ON DEATH ROW, WITNESSES BEGAN TO CHANGE THEIR STORIES.” Vol. XXV, Issue 1

My Volunteer I

have long thought about going to an impoverished

area in China and improving the education of local kids in some way. As a result, a group of other students and I founded the organization: Student Action in China. We went even further when we jump started a service learning camp in a mountainous Chinese village. Unlike other study abroad programs recommended by ISSS (they are awesome!), we started the program completely on our own. First, we contacted a Chinese volunteer teacher in that village. Then, a group of volunteers went on for an unknown adventure. Having been a volunteer, I definitely loved the experience. It is sometimes hard to imagine how hard a life can be when one is surrounded by soap operas, night TV shows, endless assignments and boring lectures. The poverty depicted by the media can only hold people gasped and sympathetic for one minute. When they turn on to another channel, they will completely forget about it. I am not saying that one should live in a world of other people’s tragic lives. However, it was a real shock to me when I saw it with my own eyes, the reality deviated from the media’s depictions of their lives.

Dormitory and Classroom of the School

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Located in the Yunnan province, the village is situated in south west China. Unlike the bustling metropolis of Shanghai or the storied city of Beijing, this village is neither cultural nor modern; it is poor. Of about 2000 students studying in the only local middle school in that area, only ten of them can pass the entrance exam. Unlike standardized tests in America, these tests determine a student’s entrance into a city based high school. Working as farmers, these people earn an average of $3.25 per person. Admission into a university is a luxury for both the kids and their families. Once they graduate from middle school, most become dropouts and continue their family tradition of farming, $3.25 per person. During the service learning program, I worked with several children. A girl, Moon, impressed me the most. Our organization arranged a parttime job program in the school library. We gave $3 dollars to kids who helped out in the school library. These jobs varied from categorizing books to cleaning work. But to my great surprise, Moon and other kids refused to take the money. Moon, only 12 years old, said that if we wanted to give the money to her, then we should donate it to the school library towards purchasing extra books for the kids. Eventually, we talked them into using the money for buying nutrient food for the local elderly citizen center. It reminded me of one sentence by Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “We don’t need your help, but you have to be here.” The people who need our help are no different from us volunteers. The

Experience

By SAIC

only difference between them and us is that we have the ability to help them in some ways. It is extremely lucky for us to have the ability to determine how our life path will go. Whether it’s studying abroad, going to a university, pursuing a dual degree, transferring to another school, we have our choices. It is not a privilege. It is a gift for us to shape our future and to help shape the future of others who cannot do it on their own. -Liuming Chen

much loneliness in her daily life. After having lunch together, we talked in her house. She said that her dream is to go to a college and leave the village when she grows up. But the reality is cruel. Due to the poor quality of the education there, only few students can go to college. For most children like Yonghui, they can’t concentrate on studying while taking too many family responsibilities. The chance of getting to a college became uncertain. Before I went to Qujing, I told my parents and friends my plans of volunteering. They all doubted that my team could really help out and make changes in the rural village. To be honest, I also doubted myself. As a college student, do I really have the capability to change the current situation in China’s poorest area? But as soon as I arrived in Qujing, I found that I could do many things and I needed to do many things to change even a tiny part of the children’s life there. Fortunately, I’m a person that can choose my future and achieve my dreams by working hard. But for children in the villages, they only get to know how the world is like by reading the books donated by people from the world outside. Although they never have the chance to leave the village, they want to change their future by get into a college or even a high school. Many of them have to stop attending middle school because of poverty. However, I’m in a much better situation than they are. How can I not help them? -Jiaying Cheng

This summer, my teammates and I spent about two weeks in Qujing. During those two weeks, we visited several student families and helped shelve the books in the school’s reading room, teach students how to use computers and even work in the farms. For people who never been there before, the situation there is hard to imagine. Besides low family income and bad living conditions, children face many other problems, such as lack of teaching resources, bad quality of education, loneliness and social isolation.

I met a 14 year old girl named Yonghui. She invited us for lunch and we cooked together in her house. In order to afford middle school Yonghui’s tuition, both of Yonghui’s parents have to go to work in a big city. They can only come back home on major holidays. For most of the year. Yonghui has to live alone in her house, take care of herself and arrange all the things in her house. She even grew some of her own vegetables and took care of a little goat. As a 14-year-old girl, she takes too many responsibilities and bears too

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

The two-week volunteering life in Yunnan Province has become an indelible memory for me. Devoting myself to various practical activities, I got some precious experiences in living and teaching in rural China. At the same time, I tried my best to help local students there with my knowledge and efforts. I encountered many stories in the span of two weeks. We also heard a lot from the local students and teachers when we communicated with them. All these stories have made a great impact on us. It is easy to do good once, but it is much more difficult to do good (substitute well or keep good for symmetry?) for life. We had a chance to know a teacher named Sun Ningsheng. He devotes all his life to teaching in the countryside of China. Being a retired teacher from a high school in Nanjing, he spent most of his time teaching in the countryside of China. Once a part time activity, Teacher Sun became full time after his retirement. He moved into the village, where we held our first summer camp, and built up a library all by himself for the students there. Being respected by all residents there, Teacher Sun also has a great impact on the whole society by his actions. Many people support him in their own way. During our stay in summer camp, he served as an advisor for us during our summer camp. He even helped us schedule our itinerary. Without his help, we may have lost the ability to communicate with local underprivileged students. Thanks to him, we got a bunch of information about local education condition and a list of students who have financial difficulties. We will keep our eyes on these students and build a long-term mentor relationship with them. -Jingyi Zhou

When I was a child, my mother often told me this: “See how lucky you are! When I was a child, the discrimination on girls in small village is pervasive.” (I don’t want to change a direct quote) I was responded like: “Mom, stop telling the history, it’s 21st century now.” But I visited a small village named Hamazhai during my volunteering in Yunnan; I began to realize the truth of my mother’s words.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Hamazhai is a small village built between mountains. They have no public transportation. We met a girl who dropped out from school because of poverty; her mother could only support the schooling of one child, which was her little brother. There’s only one half of a roof on her house, I just can’t even imagine how her family can stand the winter weather. When she talked to us, I was shocked when tears just burst out on her face. It was during this time that I began to realize how lucky I was, because I have the ability to change my life. I can choose which school I attend, what kind of job I will work, and which city I am going to stay. Yet, the little girl’s fate is just destined the day she was born. She is just 14 years old; shouldn’t we try our best to help her to have a brighter future? Shouldn’t we try our best to help those children who want to change their lives by knowledge but can’t even afford high school? This volunteer trip has inspired me for a long time, and I believe that I will keep doing it. - Yujia Zhang

AFTER A POLICE RAID, VIETNAMESE AMERICANS STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS IN FALLS CHURCH

of Vietnamese Americans stood in solidarity outside Eden Center one month after a controversial police raid rummaged through restaurants and cafes, arresting 19, purportedly related to the “Dragon Family” gang, on misdemeanor charges for gambling and alcohol violations. Based on a common stereotype that Vietnamese Americans are associated as gang members, community members believed that the raid symbolized inequality and an infringement of their rights, as they protested with signs that read, “Fight the right fight,” “Racism is not a color,” and “Equality for all.” Eden Center, a cultural center in Falls Church, Virginia, is commonly considered a safe and protected haven for Vietnamese American immigrants, many of whom had fled Vietnam in search for democracy after the war. The hub is similar to a shopping center, with a wide array of restaurants, cafes, beauty salons, and other small businesses. The police reported that they have long suspected illegal gambling and gang-related activity in the enclosed walls of Eden Center, and, thus, sought the aid of the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force to put a conclusive end to the illegal gambling ring. Prince William County Police Lt. Daniel Hess led the task force to suspect Eden Center as the ideal location for a Vietnamese American gang to thrive. He speculated that the gang sponsored gambling machines were placed in cafes that accepted bills from $1 to $100; café customers also partook in games of poker and blackjack. Hess continued to point out that extortion and drug dealing also tainted Eden Center and prohibited the community from having legitimate businesses, despite statistics that gang-related crime declined from 2008 to 2009, with only one incident in Falls Church. Nonetheless, on Aug. 11, the police, in collaboration with the task force, raided Eden Center and confiscated money and video machines assumed to be used for gambling, as well as, made arrests of those allegedly a part of the “Dragon Family.” The next day, more connections to gangs were manufactured by the media. In one television report, a picture of the South Vietnamese flag, which represents democracy and freedom to Vietnamese Americans, was shown side-by-side with the headline, “Criminal Gang Activity.” Of the 19 defendants accused of illegal gambling, Jack Hoang was the first to be acquitted. Larry Reed, an investigator of the task force, referred to Hoang, saying, “That was the first time he had gambled. He advised me that he lost a dollar.” Reed acknowledged that he never had, in fact, seen Hoang gamble or receive money, nor did he read him his Miranda rights. Hoang argued that he could not understand Reed’s questions due to his English deficiency, and never said he was gambling. Another man, Cuong Cao, stated that he had been arrested while drinking coffee at a café with his daughter in ozens

By Johnny Thach Eden Center. Another, Ta Van Loc, claimed that officers confiscated his money without a receipt after forcing him to sign a citation related to gambling. The other defendants continued to defend their innocence as bystanders victimized by the raid. No evidence since then has been found to link them with illegal gambling or gangrelated activity. Tensions continued to rise in Eden Center in the aftermath of the raid. As news spread about the possibility of gang-related activities, businesses discovered that customers became increasingly wary about coming to shop or eat. In addition, between the local Vietnamese Americans and the police, there is a growing mistrust out of the outrage of the use of harassment and force by the police to penetrate Eden Center. Community leaders hold that there was no real justification for conducting the raid and that it was fueled by stereotypes about gangs that suggest Vietnamese Americans are involved in gang-related activity and part of illegal gambling rings. Outside Eden Center and the courts, community members continue to advocate for equal rights and fairness. Due Tran, the defendants’ lawyer and counsel for the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Washington, said, “But the big fight now is to equalize the playing field, get Falls Church its reputation back as a strong business center.” Equalizing the playing field is not easy, especially if Vietnamese Americans, even in their ethnic enclave, are treated as perpetual foreigners. Equality does not mean that Vietnamese Americans, stereotyped as gang members into illegal gambling, are arrested and prosecuted without solid evidence or justification.

Vietnamese protestors outside of Eden Center.

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Figure Skating Season

World Championship is the highlight of any nonOlympic figure skating season. It’s where fans see their favorites rise to the challenge or fall short. A newcomer on a hot streak could go the distance. The runt of the litter may go on to become a rising star. Even then, some aging stars fade but never lose their brilliance. The hosting of the event itself is a badge of honor. Strict requirements entail that the host nation has the money, infrastructure, and logistics to support such an event. The Japanese city of Nagano was home to some of the most unforgettable figure skating matches. In 1998, the city served as the battleground for the Winter Olympics’ skating and hockey events. The four figure skating events, in particular, were spectacular. The single’s events produced several memorable moments. A flu epidemic ravaged the ranks of the men’s events. Ilia Kulik, a Russian skater in good health, won the gold with two flawless performances in an ice rink strewn with falls, mistakes, and coughing fits. The Ladies event made the history books. At the tender age of fifteen, Tara Lipinski defeated fellow American, Michelle Kwan, by a narrow margin. After losing the short program to Kwan, Lipinski edged out her arch-nemesis through one of most technically demanding performances of her time. She went on to become not only the youngest Figure Skating Olympic Champion, but also the youngest Olympic Champion in any individual event. With stricter age requirements for modern skaters, this Olympic record will not be broken or even challenged. In both the Pairs skating and ice dancing, Russia continued its domination of those two events with convincing gold and silver victories. In particular, Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov became the first ice dancing team to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals. The near sweep for the Russian Ice Dancers was not without controversy, especially from the Western bloc. The highly subjective event of ice dancing was no stranger to disagreement over the winners. he

Maia and Alex at World Figure Skating Championship 2011

ASIAN OUTLOOK

2011-2012 : Preview By Ritesh Kadam In 2002, Nagano hosted the World Figure Skating Championships. The highlight of the Men’s event was Russian skater Alexei Yagudin, the newly crowned Olympic Champion, and his two spell-binding skates. Having failed to medal at the Nagano Olympics in 1998, Yagudin made up for the lost opportunity by dazzling the Japanese crowd with an electrifying performance and earning a rare, perfect 6.0 score from a judge for technical merit. The hometown favorite, Takeshi Honda, became the first Japanese skater to medal at the World Champion since 1977. After an injury forced him into retirement later in his career, Honda became instrumental in teaching the next generation of Japanese skaters. In the Ladies event, a rivalry dominated the headlines once again. This time, the fierce rivalry between American Michelle Kwan and Russian Irina Slutskaya reached a crescendo. Defeating her long-time adversary, Irina earned her first world title. In Pairs skating, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo became the first Chinese Pairs skaters to win a gold medal at the World Championships. Surprisingly, the ice dancing event ended without much controversy. As expected, a Russian team, Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh, won the gold. A non-European team, ShaeLynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, took the silver for Canada. Nearly a decade later, Nagano would host the 2011 World Championships. The planning of World Figure Skating Championship is a complicated affair. They are assigned two years in advance to the host nation. They must pass strict requirements for infrastructure. Security, especially in the post 9/11 world, is also a major concern. Political instability and riots have prevented countries from hosting the World Championships in the past. Furthermore,

skaters can no longer have figure skates as carry-on luggage in airplanes and in certain public areas. Strong logistics and planning help skaters concentrate on the competition instead of mishaps, such as lost luggage. The assignment would add yet another chapter to Nagano’s rich history of figure skating. It is now remembered for never taking place. In March of this year, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami caused massive property damage and loss of life in Japan. To combat this unfortunate trait of the archipelago, the Japanese prepared diligently against the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis. Nuclear power plants shut off at moment’s notice. Construction

disaster. However, the hosting of a world championship implied the host nation was wealthy and secure. It cemented nation’s status as a first world nation. With the World Championship in limbo, the potential delay struck a blow to Japanese skating fans. Some of them feared the event would be cancelled outright. In the past, only World Wars and a plane crash in 1961 prevented the event from taking place. Many nations, fearing the aftereffects of the disaster, prevented their skaters from traveling to the ravaged nation. The few that had already arrived were told to immediately return home. Many of the Japanese skaters, with nowhere to escape, saw their country fall to pieces. Yuzuru Hanyu, the teenage Four Continents silver medalist, suffered greatly when his training rink closed down. He and several other Japanese skaters would later skate in shows to raise money for victims. The International Skating Union debated delaying the Championships to early autumn. However, such as drastic move would disrupt training schedules and skating tours. An autumn Worlds Championship would place the event among skating exhibitions and just before next season’s events. For many skaters, skating shows remain an important way for them to pay for coaches, choreographers, and equipment. Thoughts turned to hosting the event in late April. However, hosting the event on such short notice would be costly if it was even possible. These events usually take at least half a year of planning and preparation. Thankfully, Russia answered the call and assuaged concerns about hosting the competition so soon. With good infrastructure and low costs of operation, Moscow’s Megasport Arena won the hosting rights for the rescheduled tournament.

“The planning of World Figure Skating Championship is a complicated affair. They are assigned two years in advance to the host nation. They must pass strict requirements for infrastructure. Security, especially in the post 9/11 world, is also a major concern.” companies must follow strict guidelines in order to minimize the risk of structural collapse during earthquakes. Emergency flood gates activate at key locations to combat large influxes of sea water. Yet, the overwhelming power of the earthquake caused unparalleled destruction to the nation. With hundreds of thousands dead and billions of dollars of damages to property, a cancelled figure skating tournament doesn’t seem like a key concern. It’s doubly so for a skating competition venue that was virtually unharmed by the

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

In a move calling back to the Salt Lake City Olympics’ honoring of the victims of 9/11, a few minutes of silence were added to the event in order to honor the lives lost in the tragic cataclysm in Japan. The seemingly charitable gesture was not without ulterior motive. It seemed not too long ago that Russia dominated figure skating. In the 2006 Turin Olympics, the nation almost won the gold in each figure skating event. Evgeni Plushenko won the gold at the Men’s event with a record-breaking performance. Skating pair, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, continued Russia’s multi-decade long dominance of the Pairs event. Likewise, the ice dancing team, Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, won the event in a close race against the American team. However, the favorite to win Ladies, Irina Slutskaya, failed to win up to expectations and settled for bronze. Japanese skater, Shizuka Arakawa, won the gold in a surprise upset. Rather than be passed off as a mere fluke, Arakawa’s victory became the rule in the years that followed. Russia found itself no longer a major player in figure skating. Their 2010 Olympic silver medalist, Evgeni Plushenko, was temporarily suspended from competitive skating during his return to competition. Amongst the Moscow crowd in the skating rink, Evgeni watched a young, rising star break his world

record score. Asian nations, in particular, overtook Russian spots on the podium. In the backstage of the event, the Russian Skating Federation successfully negotiated with the International Skating Union to end Plushenko’s ban. The bid to host the impromptu tournament was a relaying call for the Russians that they must regain their supremacy in the sport before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. As if the tragedy in Japan still lingered, the World Championship was strewn with mishaps. Veteran French skater, Brian Joubert, cut his hand while performing a spin and left droplets of blood sprawled across the ice. Japanese hopeful, Daisuke Takahashi, missed his first jump when an ad-hoc screw in the heel of one of his figure skates came loose. He repaired it within the allotted time limit. Nevertheless, strict attitudes toward gaming accidents prevented him from performing again from the very beginning. At a severe disadvantage, Daisuke continued where he left off and finished with a solid performance. Canadian pair, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, had the most unusual accident in the entire event. During a routine twist, or a lift involving the woman rapidly rotating in the air, Duhamel was thrown up in the air and caught successfully. However, her elbow came in contact with Radford’s nose and dislocated it on the way down. Bleeding profusely from the nose,

Radford continued the rest of the program without interruption. The team’s physician successfully reset his nose. A variety of men and women stood on the podium. Patrick Chan, a child of Chinese immigrants, took the men’s gold in a recordbreaking performance. Having won the Grand Prix Final earlier, he was the clear favorite to win the World Championship. Armed with a new quadruple toeloop jump, he entered the free program with a cushion against two failed jumps. Twice the runner-up at the World Championship, Chan showed the technical prowess and consistency he lacked in his earlier attempts at world gold. The Japanese skaters were under extreme pressure to medal at the event. After his senior countrymen failed to medal, the youngest of the Japanese skaters, Takahiko Kozuka, rose to the challenge. Showing spectacular improvement in the season, Kozuka medaled at almost every competition with three gold finishes. Many doubted the young man, a victim to high stakes pressure, could go the distance. With the nerves of a grizzled veteran, he bounced back from a mediocre short program to a crowd pleasing free program. He earned silver for Japan and cemented himself as a potential medalist for Sochi. Russia found itself a hopeful in Artur Gachinski, the 18-year-old bronze medalist. In the Ladies event, the highlight was the return

Patrick Chan answereing questions at training camp 2011

ASIAN OUTLOOK

of the Queen. Olympic Champion, Yu-na Kim, returned to competition after a near season long absence. For months, Kim worked alongside the Korean government order to secure Pyeongchang as the host for the 2018 Olympics. During her hiatus, Japanese skater, Miki Ando, stole the spotlight with several gold medal wins in the Grand Prix of Staking and the Four Continents Championships. Ando entered the World Championships with a powerful psychological edge from her wins. In the short program, Kim won albeit with an atypical mistake in her opening jump combination. There was virtual tie between Kim and Ando as they entered the second half. In the long program, Japanese skater, Miki Ando, secured a podium finish for Japan with a near flawless long program. With months off competitive ice and skating to a new program under a new coach, Kim made several crucial mistakes and settled for silver. Overcoming immense media scrutiny, Ando gave Japan its first and only gold of the event. In pairs, German pair, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy won gold after defeating their Chinese rivals and reigning World Champions, Pang Qing and Tong Jian, in the long program. Qing and Jian settled for bronze after a disappointing long program. In a bizarre twist in ice dancing, no European nation medaled at the event. Olympics Champions and favorites, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, prepared to perform their programs in their entirety for the World Championships. The Canadian pair withdrew from most competitions to give time for Virtue to treat and recovery from surgery for compartment syndrome. Their American rivals, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, took the gold after a slight error in their rival’s free dance program. The biggest surprised was Maia and Alex Shibutani’s bronze finish for America during their World Championship debut. They took the bronze after French team, Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat, fell in the free dance. While a fall is a significant penalty in single skating and pairs skating, it is a death wish in ice dancing. This was the first time a North American sweep occurred in ice dancing for the World Championships. A commentary could be made about the diversity present on the podiums. Many Asians and Asian Americans took several spots on the podium. In particular, Maia and Alex Shibutani, a brother-sister ice dancing team, mark the first time skaters of Asian descent won a world medal in ice dancing. Robin Szolkowy, a visibly black man of half Tasmanian descent, stood aside the Barbieesque Aliona Savchenko as the World Champions of Pairs Skating. One thing is for certain, champions have emerged from a variety of nations and a variety of background. While the diversity of skaters may broaden, the number of successful

coaches and choreographers may become narrower. The North American sweep of ice dancing involved teams under the tutelage of Igor Sphilband and Marina Zueva. Certain coaches and choreographers, such as Lori Nichol, have an unmatched understanding of the current scoring system. Year after year, more and more skaters turn to the

coaches and choreographers with the Midas touch. Some skaters come to talented choreographers in order to milk the score system for all that its worth. Others want to learn the mindset of a champion from a veteran coach. One thing is for certain, skating has a lot of surprises left to offer next season.

Ice Skating Season

Skate America – October 21 Skate Canada – October 28 Cup of China – November 4 NHK Trophy (Japan) – November 11 Trophée Eric Bompard (France) – November 18 Cup of Russia – November 25 Grand Prix Final – December 8 European Championships – January 23 Four Continents Championships – February 7 World Figure Skating Championships – March 25

Takahiko Kozuka at World Figure Skating Championship 2011

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR YOU, PIPE DREAM COMMENTARIES TO PIPE DREAM’S OFFENSIVE CARTOON

editor’s note: As of

Thursday October 20th, Pipe Dream has chosen to remain nonresponsive.

The offending cartoon, drawn by Ari Fararooy and published by Pipe Dream on September 23, 2011.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

“The cartoon titled ‘Fortune Cookies’ illustrates a male dining inside a Chinese restaurant who is breaking open a fortune cookie; the fortune says “you will give your waiter a big tip”. In the background, there are two presumably Asian waiters with large grins, squinty eyes, and hair dating back to the Qing dynasty. As a college campus that boasts diversity, it’s hard to fathom that the largest source of campus news lacks the judgement when dealing with appropriate forms of humor. “The anti-Chinese agitation during the early 1800’s produced a large source of anti-Asian cartoons in newspapers, with many of the illustrations offensively similar to the one published in Pipe Dream on Friday, Sept 23. Despite the authors intent, the depictions in the cartoon are clearly based on negative racist stereotypes that the artist uses out of convenience as opposed to finding other measures for expression. “The premise of a cartoon section in any newspaper is to provoke a response, and so this is mine. And these are the responses collected from students, faculty, and organizations on campus who have been similarly offended by the distasteful cartoon published in Pipe Dream.” diane wong, asian outlook co-editor-in-chief Vol. XXV, Issue 1

“I am extremely disappointed that a publication with a strong campus presence such as the Pipe Dream would publish material as offending and narrow-minded as their “Fortune Cookies” cartoon in the September 23rd issue. The cartoon lacked both taste and humor and embodied the negative stereotypes and prejudice that I had thought would not be present on our campus.” leon lei; asian student union president “Not too long ago it was brought to my attention that Binghamton University’s Pipe Dream published a cartoon that overtly portrayed negative stereotypes of Asians. After viewing the cartoon, I was bothered by the fact that as students on what is supposed to be a diverse campus ,there still seems to be a lack of judgment pertaining to humor that is tasteful and unoffessive. In addition, there also appears to be a lack of accountability when it comes to addressing situations such as this which often get swept under the rug. I am urging whomever is responsible for publishing this cartoon to please do what is right and formally apologize to the student body. As a newspaper that caters to all Binghamton University students it is only fair that you address our concerns and ensure that similar situations do not reoccur. Thank you.” desiree yeboah, black student union president “Binghamton is a top university that draws in most of it’s freshmen and transfer students, not only by excellence in academics but more importantly it’s diversity. For the Pipedream to accept much less, publish such a blatantly racist cartoon is unfathomable. Minorities have enough intimidation being the lesser population on this campus to have to worry about racism and even possibly discrimination. These frequent attempts to poke fun and humiliate minorities is unacceptable and will not be taken lightly, especially in this day and age. A public apology is not an option at this point, its what needs to be done in order to prove this wrongdoing as well as let Asians and other minorities on this campus know that they are both welcomed and accepted.” chanee cameron, black student union political correspondent “The cartoon that was published on Pipe Dream on September 23, 2011 might have or have not been intended to insult a certain social group, be it specifically Chinese, or Asians in general. Nevertheless, as an educated, informed, and aware student body that emphasizes unity in diversity, we are disappointed that Pipe Dream, the biggest and socalled unbiased publication, was rather ignorant of the fact that the “artwork” they have published might result in some social discomfort. While we fully support the freedom of expression and creative thinking, we would like to see our biggest University publication to be clean from all sorts of stereotyping. We hope that the party involved will take our statement into consideration and apologize.” ponti carlofano, permias president “Thank you for printing this cartoon. How it slid through editing constantly boggles my mind. What did you find funny about this? This cartoon, this racist caricature is just a reminder to us that we are still being stereotyped and illustrated as perpetual foreigners, sneaky and conniving for tips, most importantly even by a fellow student at Binghamton University. When you order take-out or go to these restaurants, please consider that all waiters want tip and spans to all races. But by drawing this cartoon that highlights a seemingly Chinese restaurant and two waiters as the joke, what is the intended message? I know there’s a large Chinese immigrant community here at Binghamton, but what is humorous about them trying to make a living? Many more Chinese immigrants are exploited each and everyday with unfair wages and working conditions since coming to the United States. Have you ever thought about their struggle? Please apologize and don’t continue to reinforce ignorant stereotypes in your newspaper, because your publication represents a long-established literary voice on campus. By the way, fortune cookies aren’t even Chinese.” johnny thach, asian outlook copy-editor

ASIAN OUTLOOK

“I don’t mean ‘Asians-are-the-butt-of-this-joke-(again)-and-thereforethis-is-not-funny-to-me’ not funny. No, I mean it’s not funny. Period. It doesn’t even make any sense. Sure, Asians like money, but to get money, we’re not going to doctor your fortune cookie fortune for a bigger tip. That’s just not how we roll. Instead, we’ll nickel and dime you on the menu or scribble Chinese on your tab so you don’t notice that we’ve inflated your bill. Those are the Chinese restaurateur’s preferred schemes for getting one dollah one dollah. If you’re gonna be racist, do it with style. This racist cartoon? No style whatsoever.” 8asians.com blogger, binghamton university alum “As an alumni, I am disheartened and in disbelief that there was an offensive cartoon in the Pipe Dream. This is the 21st century, we have to be respectful and culturally sensitive to everyone around us. Racism should not be tolerated in any shape or form. I strongly urge you to write an apology to the Binghamton University community.” winnie ng, binghamton university alum “I strongly agree with the comments about the inappropriate cartoon released in the current issue. They definitely should pay more attention to what kind of material they publish.” munira pulodi, binghamton university student “As an Asian-American who has lived in New York for all his life, I understand how it feels to meet someone of different cultural values and quirks. At a distance, it’s too easy to dismiss someone as conforming to a stereotype. When I was downtown last semester, I was told to “Get out of my town, Asian” by someone who likely thought it was funny to his “bros.” Such a remark is the lowest common denominator; it’s the equivalent of saying “I hate Binghamton, there’s nothing to do here.” In reality, each individual has a rich, storied past that takes effort to recognize, just as the city of Binghamton can be a fun and heartwarming place if one keeps an open mind. For a publication that has praised the student body’s flood relief efforts, I’m sure that extending this respect and tolerance to your comix section is a simple matter.” jason tu, binghamton university student “From year one, our public schools begin drilling into us the evils of racism. However, this education is provided primarily through the lens of our nations long history of white-black racism. As a result, we end up with a kind of sliding scale of race where we have white on one end and black on the other. Other races, such as Hispanics, Asians, and Pacific Islanders are left to carve out their own niche on this barometer of race. However, the uniqueness of the experiences of Asian, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic Americans can not be denied, and the result of the sliding scale is that Asians are frequently characterized as “near white” or “more than white”. This characterization unfairly diminishes the public’s reaction to the brutality of our nation’s long history of oppression of Asian Americans. As a result, when racist incidents involving Asian Americans occur, there is a strong tendency to just “laugh it off”, and anyone unwilling to do so is ostracized as a radical. It’s important, however, that we not forget the challenges faced by all marginalized people in our imperfect society, and that we speak out when an influential campus publication perpetuates ignorant stereotypes of our brothers and sisters.” anonymous, binghamton university student “I am appalled that such well respected publication on campus would think of publishing such a distasteful cartoon. There needs to be more responsibility in how the review process for the fun page works.” anonymous, binghamton university student October 1 2011

CONS

CIENC

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Conscience cover: from the album “The Beauty of Dragon” by Susi Ngo

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Mongolia by Nathalie Choi

North of City By Victoria Chow

A whoosh as blue caps fly into the air, and the auditorium empties. The front doors open and the air is full of peaches and apricots and orange juice bursting on my waiting tongue. I am free. The warm breeze flies in with seagulls at its nose. Their wings sway with the rhythm of the waves. My eyes burn with salt water, and my small feet graze wet sand. They wiggle and plead, Don’t go. Sand lingers in between toes long after I leave. Time relaxes and slowly passes, any other summer. The subways speak at night. Orange and green numbers glare as they cross the tracks, whisper, Don’t leave, and I board the train. Time strains and pulls— the days are quicker, each one a goodbye. My tongue trembles as I savor the spices and sweets of Times Square and Broadway, my hands shake as I snap my sunglasses back in their case, my heartbeat thumps, thumps, thumps as my flip flops slip into the back of the closet. The seagulls fly north, as do I.

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Year of the Rat By Kublai Kwon Before America’s United States, America was united as one Under one Asian native yellow race

As gifts from Hun to Hun who whipped them fast. Two Asian civilizations, chinks linked By blood, were Turtle Island and the wrath

Who, lost, crossed the Bering frost, bearing sons, From volcano’s hot rage in age of ice; Wandered wide, then ice melted, homeland shunned.

Of Hun or Han Korean Empire (synched Asia and Europe), unified. Eons, The Turtle and Tiger peacefully eked

Asian migrants saw, in awe, giant wise Statues of African kings, toppled, broke, A ghost nation ancient throttled by ice.

Out a side by side existence beyond The heat line, there, where the inner circle Of Earth’s flat disc turns toward North Pole neon.

Vast new land, the nude man’s crude math evoked An empire huge of yellow burnt to red From sea to shining sea, peace piping smoke.

Slanteyed Turtle Island’s role reversal From franchise to homeless on one’s own land Began when white slaves, in royal purple

Turtle Island, this kingdom on corn fed. Priests debated taste in chaste pyramids While poets preached on streets to those born dead,

Grave, placed Mongol king’s bones, overthrow planned. Han on horse, forced to sands of Gobi and Korea, home, and Kushan, roving band,

To teach truth to youth: hasten hearing this. Cities teeming but countryside dreaming Of nomad days, omen raised, fearing risk.

Were banned from Europe, as Renaissance Man, The Son of Genghis and Caesar, moved in Castles and churches built by Asian hands.

Houses and markets and mansions gleaming, Spouses and artists and land expansion, Nature and civilized unite, teaming.

Scorned slaves no more, reborn Europe, shrewd sin, Rewrote 1000 years of slavery As a Dark Age of nothingness, too dim.

Passenger pigeon ruled skies in passion, Flocking so thick, blocking the Sun’s stunned width. Buffalo ruled plains, horizon ashen.

Caucasians, Europe’s new race neighbors heed, Wreaked vengeance against their former masters, Sending Columbus’ crew, naval fleet,

Bear ruled forest, roared at fools, blood done dripped. Gator was swamp’s lord; off shores, whale king romped. Eagle was pet, dog food, and one ton bricks

To seek by sea and bring sweet disaster To Huns in retreat in the east. Flat earth’s West route seemed stealthy and no doubt faster.

Were pulled by horse, the jewel of course, to vaunt. Memories, Asia’s steppe, hawks, centipedes, Merged, diverged, as epochs surged, fell to rot,

Columbus sailed the new path, blue rats birthed Disease, sailors wheezed, stale breeze. These slaves freed, Ignorant, trekked to Turtle Isle, cat’s curse.

Rose again, prose penned, forgot legacy. Asian sages were natives, Turtle Isle, Before vile cages of the enemy.

Ghosts chained their Asiatic hosts, crazed greed For conquest, gold, and land. “Indians” now, Asia’s hermit cousins reeked in graves deep,

Earth’s flat back, by sky dome trapped, fertile smiles Inspired, one empire, from Norse in the north And Inuit, to desert scorched, hurled miles

Slaughtered or slave, daughter raped, draped in shroud, Alone in peace too long, poems, songs, not war. Seed of genocide planted; Satan proud.

South, where red burnt brown with rude Sun’s brute force And mountains marked empire’s lower limit. Turtle Asia traded with true sons, truth coarse,

Tribes rise. War paint. Sun faint. Horsemen, hot, roar. 400 year fight of red, white, fought sore.

Persia, Korea, Africa livid. While scholars in teepees pondered the past, In Europe Roman slaves chained were given

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Interpretation of Reality By Elizabeth Reyn

Eating bananas will help prevent AIDS So my mother told me, Calming me as I scrubbed my hands Raw under near-boiling water To kill the germs swimming in my body Gone unnoticed for too long. Her mission is to protect her children From the dangers in the world, trying to Make our lives easier, Shielding us from Spoiled dreams and ticking time bombs That plagues the polluted air of our existence. But kissing boo-boos only sugarcoats Permanent scars running up and down bodies, Hurting those too ignorant to overlook Power and deceit parading across state lines, Subliminal messages squeezing into Brainwashed robots singing man-made anthems. “Proud to be an American” Is there nothing wrong with wearing pride In a grin as we invade Countries and cultures, democracy Sewn onto camouflage jackets As a sign of peace? “Land of the Free” But not for the abused in households, the homeless Hungry for welfare, stretching limits of their sanity To work towards touching an imaginary line Of fifteen thousand a year, all for a sliver of light, Clinging to the slippery ends of survival. “Home of the Brave” Depicts families cowering together at the kitchen table, Drinking coffee, treating news like reality shows Eyes glued to the colorful images, unwilling To step out of mundane eight hour workdays And dress in armor, onto front lines of truth. Students sit in classrooms soaking Information out of closed-in walls, Reading world issues like instruction manuals, still Seeking solutions floating in dream clouds, Singing patriotic tunes, hand always clasped to heart Sucked into our own interpretation of reality.

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Uncle Tony’s Tavern By Ignacio DelValle

Every one’s got that friend. The one you’re never surprised to hear a story about how they got thrown out of a bar and stumbled their way back home with no recollection of the incident. I happen to be the polar opposite of this guy. Well, not completely, but let’s just say I’m not really one to start trouble unless, like any other rational human being, I’m instigated, and even when I am, I try to keep my cool. Well, it took every ounce of my being to keep it a couple of Saturdays ago, when I was thrown out of a bar for the first time in my existence. It was a normal Friday night, hanging out with my friends, taking a trip downtown, getting a few drinks, the works. Everything was going smoothly, we were all having a great time when suddenly, we made the biggest mistake of the night: Going to Uncle Tony’s tavern. It was around 2:30 am when we decided to hop from Tom and Marty’s to the infamous Uncle Tony’s cavern. We got in and my friends made their way to the bar while I made my way to the bathroom. In my trajectory, I had the misfortune of accidentally bumping into someone, as it often happens in crowded places, who was clearly past his limits of alcohol consumption. To make matters worse, this person was an elderly man, who was an angry drunk. Before I could say anything, the man started verbally abusing me as I pretended not to hear him in order to not escalate the conflict. All I wanted to do was to peacefully wait in line for the bathroom, but this man clearly wanted to show he was the “alpha male” of the place by attempting to pick a fight with me, a 21 year old. “No thanks” , I said in my head as I looked over him trying to escape his rancid breath and his desire to start a brawl. The man continued for a few more minutes and then he gave up and left…or so I thought. Within minutes, he came back even angrier than before, this time resorting to pushing me along with the verbal abuse. Once again, I did nothing. This man was at least 3 times my age and probably 10 times more fragile. Again, I looked away in hopes that this man would get whatever he was truly angry about off his chest and move on with his life. Unfortunately for me, things weren’t going to be that easy. The man left again, and within minutes, he was back with the bouncer. The bouncer put his hand on my back and began pushing me towards the door. “But I didn’t do anything!” I repeatedly told the bouncer who was having none of it. “Why am I being kicked out?” I finally asked. “Because my boss said so” was his Nazi like answer. It turned out that I had picked the wrong person to accidentally bump into that night, as the inebriated old man was Uncle Tony himself! I was in shock and disbelief as I continued to argue with the bouncer over my right to stay by the bar entrance and wait for our third friend who was having a drink at the bar. Finally, my friend convinced me to leave as this guy obviously had no mind of his own, and would follow any command his boss gave him, no matter how stupid it was. And so I left. I was the bigger man of this story and saved myself from being attacked by guy who weighs twice as much me, but I could of easily ended up arrested with just a single spit second of poor decision making. But it got way better when my friend who was at the bar caught up with us outside of the bar. He had asked the owner why he kicked us out to which the simple minded fool replied “It’s just business”. Yup, kicking out paying customers is “just business” for Uncle Tony’s. Best business plan I’ve ever heard of… The sad thing is, after telling this story to all my friends, I realized this isn’t the first time something sketchy has gone down with the management of this place. Some 21 year olds have been denied entry in favor of girls who clearly have fake identifications. Others have even been followed by “Uncle Tony” himself outside of the bar after being harassed by this sad old man inside his premises. So I only think of the headache I will be saving myself, and more importantly, the safety issues that come to mind, when I say that for the rest of my time at Binghamton, I will be skipping my hop to this bar, and it is my sincerest hope that you do as well, because no one likes to have a crappy night, especially not when you can help it. And this place seems to have just the right ingredients to make a night the most memorable of your college career, in the worst way possible. So remember, if you like to fight and bad memories, there’s always Uncle Tony’s tavern for your drinking pleasures.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Binghamton Flood by Diane Wong

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Rape with Consent By Barjesh Barjesh

(The following lines are based on the life of one girl I know. I have been thinking about her miserable life for the last so many months. I got inspiration to write this poem when I listened to the song ‘Rape Me...’ by Nirvana.) On my delivery, my ma suffered a lot of pain, She was on seventh heaven on my gain. She raised me up like a touch-me-not, All my dresses were decorated with frills and picot. Golden times ended when I entered youth, With marriage dawned the uneasy truth. In-laws were too ravenous for dowry, It would have been uncustomary to ask judicatory. Initial fulfillment made them more avarice, My wale and welts are asking for poultice. My ma is standing at the death door, I am not allowed to meet her for one last encore. Everyday is lambaste and chide, Breath is on, but body is zombified. Paralyzed with family and social force, It’s impossible for me to opt for divorce. To hell with such a system and society, Where low priority is given to the individuality. Life is passing by without any excitement, Every night I serve my body for rape with consent.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Paradox of Emptiness By Michael Chung

A great king stares into his empty conquered land with great discontent Having such a large space without purpose was not his intent Angry and flustered, he contemplated its possible use But with greed and desire, giving it away was not a possible truce One day, a wise sage arrived at the kingdom Sensing the kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distress, the sage vowed to share his wisdom Delicate and smooth in the delivery of his message Yet competent and decisive in his gesture and image Protecting such a large plot of land was a great burden It was desolate and unable to bear any life or beautiful garden The hindrance the sage did not deny Instead he walked with the king and pointed to the night sky The wise sage calmly stated: Emptiness is the mother of all existence Labeling the tangible is a part of the human essence It is emptiness that gives rise to necessity And quenching necessity is the greatest survival tool of humanity What you imagine emptiness to be it will become Bent and shaped to solve any problem Look at the endless emptiness in the sky which has no boundary A source of infinite emptiness, a source of infinite possibility Clear the mind of all narrow views, and see the bigger picture And the seemingly impossible you can still capture The Great King observed the empty land the next day Clearing his mind and thinking in a new way Images of lush and tropical greenery came to him slowly No matter how impossible it seemed, he knew he could set his idea free For emptiness will become whatever you make it out to be

Vol. XXV, Issue 1

ASIAN OUTLOOK needs

artists, writers, journalists, photographers, graphic designers, articles, opinions, interviews, stories, photographs, recipes, poems, drawings, lyrics,

a computer, projector, disco ball, glow sticks, cultural revolution (maybe), Chinese New Year holiday, more rice, moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; money (moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; problems), power, respect, etc.

maybe you can help?

Thursday, 7:30pm, UUW329

ao.editor@gmail.com