Asian Outlook | Spring 2020 Issue #1

ALSO FEATURING

ASIAN OUTLOOK March 2020 Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1

FEATURING FEATURING

FEATURING

Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1

contents ASIAN OUTLOOK 2

ASIAN OUTLOOK

featured 4 | Coronavirus: Too Close to Home? | Linda Zheng

opinions 8 | Make America Think Harder | Sandra Deng 10 | The Melting Pot Myth | Michael Natrella 15 | Ensuring Culture Is Not Lost In Translation | Emma Shen

arts and entertainment 6 | Parasite Review | Shivani Tambi 12 | Valentine’s Day Survey | Asian Student Union & Asian Outlook

conscience 19 | “be bold.” | Allison Wu 20 | Photography (Model: Kyra Becker) | Zokirjon Ergashev 22 | “Cajun” Imitation Poem | Rina Weng 23 | “Winterest” | Ramen

Front & back cover designed by Emily Lin.

letter from the editor...

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great winter break! The calendar says that spring has come to Binghamton, even if it doesn’t feel like it yet. Our team at Asian Outlook has found the best way to spend the still-freezing months leading up to actual warm weather is to sit by the heater with a nice, crisp issue of our publication. Now that I think about it, though, you have to be holding a copy to be reading this letter. If you want bonus credit, though, turn on our Inside Outlook podcast for a great interview with David So, and keep tuning in for some awesome new interviews and other initiatives we’ll be hosting!

Back to the issue at hand, though, pun intentional, we’ve got a great lineup of articles and imagery for our beloved readers.

From a review on the hit new movie Parasite, the first foreign film to win Best Picture at the Oscars, to some more information on the coronavirus, my team and I hope you’ll be entertained and enthralled reading through what our contributors have got for you this time. We also hope that those contributors out there will continue to provoke thought and write about their experiences and passions; it is only with the community’s input and help that we’ve continued to grow and thrive of late.

I won’t take too much more ink giving thanks, but I just want to relate how proud I am of my e-board for coming together and rebuilding during my stint here with Asian Outlook, and how I hope that those successes continue long after I’m gone.

In Solidarity, Brandon Ng Editor-in-Chief

ASIAN OUTLOOK EXECUTIVE BOARD SPRING 2020 President Vice President Editor-in-Chief Conscience Editor Secretary Treasurer Copy Editors layout editors

Videographer Audiographer Publicity Chair Event Coordinator Podcast Interns

Michelle Pao Rina Weng Brandon Ng Emily Lin Lily Tang Isabella Weiner Michelle Tan Ashley Zhang Courtney Fu Celeste Pietrzak Anita Liu Samantha Wing Tao Yang Claire Choi Mike Natrella Sherry Dang Justin Roman Emma Shen Allie Wu Thomas Hur Sabrina Qiu Samuel Atkin Alison Cheung Jasmine Ku

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 beautiful 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.

All submissions may be submitted as e-mail attachments to ao.editor@gmail.com.

CONTACT POLICY Uninvited contact with writers and contributors is strictly prohibited. Please direct all questions, comments and complaints to ao.editor@gmail.com. ao.editor@GMAIL.com

FACEBOOK.com/asianoutlook/ ISSUU.com/asianoutlook SOUNDCLOUD.com/asianoutlook

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 3

Coronavirus: Too Close to Home?

I

“

WAS IN WUHAN WHEN THE LOCKDOWN HAPPENED, BECAUSE I WENT BACK FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR. The lockdown made this New Year feel so sad - we all cancelled our gatherings and big family dinners, and could only stay at home to celebrate. At the moment, my life in Wuhan is all about my phone, my laptop, and the TV. There’s no one on the street, all the shops are closed, and we all need to pass a temperature test when entering the neighborhood.”

Fai, a 24 year old who had visited Wuhan for Chinese New Year, got caught in the city after officials put Wuhan under lockdown on January 23 to contain the spread of a novel virus. “2019-nCoV or “2019 novel coronavirus” is a new strain of coronavirus that has spread from the epicenter of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China to 20 other countries including the US, Australia, Canada, France and many more.1 Coronaviruses are a family of virus that typically spread between animals such as camels, cats and bats, and there are at least three strains that have infected and spreads between humans: MERS, SARS and now 2019-nCoV.2 Healthcare professionals believe 2019-nCoV spread from an unknown animal species to humans at a live animal market in Wuhan.3 Since the outbreak in December 2019, there have been more than 71,000 confirmed cases worldwide and at least 1,700 reported deaths.

Chinese New Year is China’s most important public holiday and usually marks a time for celebrations, family reunions and eating delicious food across the nation. In Wuhan this year, however, the normally busy streets of this transport and industrial hub are empty as residents heed government advice to stay inside. As word of the virus spread, millions of Chinese people were forced to cancel their flights and call off large family gatherings.

Cities across China shut down their celebrations and tourist attractions to prevent further infections. Instead of buying lotus root and nian gao (sweet rice cake), many were rushing to stock up on surgical masks, hand sanitizers and thermometers for family and friends. Now, it is almost 1 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/01/24/798661901/wuhancoronavirus-101-what-we-do-and-dont-know-about-a-newly-identified-disease 2 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html 3 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/01/20/797926447/coronavirus-in-china-over-200-cases-human-to-human-transmission

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By Linda Zheng

impossible to find face masks in stores in Taipei, Hong Kong, or Manila.4

Although measures have been taken to contain 2019-nCoV, the spread of discrimination within China and racism abroad has been much harder to prevent.

An estimated five million people left Wuhan before the city was put under lockdown, and they are now facing abuse for fear of spreading the virus.5 As paranoia grows, Wuhan residents have been turned away from hotels and guesthouses, and targeted by local authorities in China.6 Some videos have surfaced online, reportedly showing the homes of Wuhan residents barricaded by wooden planks or metal bars and displaying notices such as: “This household has Wuhan returnees, please do not come into contact with them.”7 In a now deleted post on Weibo, one user lamented her circumstances as she was kicked out of her guesthouse and turned away from several hotels and guesthouses as well.8 With no train stations stopping in Wuhan, she was unable to find shelter inside or outside of Wuhan.

Existing prejudice and misinformation has stoked fear and paranoia around the world. It is common to see people wearing face masks in China or other East Asian countries in order to protect against germs or pollution but elsewhere, a face mask can be an indication of sickness or poor health. In the midst of 2019-nCoV, Asian-Americans have been the target of much abuse for wearing face masks as a precautionary measure. Yiheng Yu, a designer from New York City, was accosted by a woman outside of her office for wearing a face mask: “She started yelling, ‘Are you Crazy? Get the heck out of here,” said Yu, 34. “I realised it was because I was wearing a mask.”9 In some cases, a small cough can even trigger vitriol from bystanders as noted by 4 https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-07/asia-china-coronavirus-face-surgical-masks 5 https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/01/asia/coronavirus-wuhan-discrimination-intl-hnk/index.html 6 https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/01/asia/coronavirus-wuhan-discrimination-intl-hnk/index.html 7 https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/01/asia/coronavirus-wuhan-discrimination-intl-hnk/index.html 8 https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/01/asia/coronavirus-wuhan-discrimination-intl-hnk/index.html 9 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3050645/ coronavirus-concerns-take-hold-us-exposing-asian

Ron Kim, a New York State assembly member: “I had a staff member who was in the Albany train station and she was coughing a little bit and someone approached her asked if she had the virus.”10 Xenophobia is not just occurring in individual cases, but has also gained momentum through higher institutions and the media. In a now deleted infographic posted on an official UC Berkeley instagram page, ‘xenophobia’ or “fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia and guilt about these feelings” is considered “common” and “normal”.

Adreinne Shih, a Twitter user, posted this tweet in reaction to the UC Berkeley post: “Confused and very angry about this instagram post from an official (UC Berkeley) Instagram

Photo from @adrienneshih on Twitter

that have been circulating online. The new wave of memes to surface blame Chinese people for causing the virus. The claim is linked to a video that went viral of a Chinese woman by the name of Wang Menyun eating a bat.12 It has since been determined that Mengyun shot the video in 2016 and was actually eating a traditional dish from Palau, an island country in the Pacific Ocean.13 The video was not filmed in Wuhan, nor even in China, and has no direct connection to the outbreak of the virus. Though the virus likely spread from bats, calling out Chinese eating habits as the cause of the outbreak is both misinformed and racist. Since the spread of the virus, Chinese restaurants and businesses across the U.S. have taken a financial hit. According to Bianca Ng, secretary of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, when she leaves work she sees many restaurants with more staff than customers. The lack of patronage is attributed to fear of the virus being spread through food. This is a devastating turn of events for Flushing, a predominantly Chinese area in Queens, NY known for its great restaurants. Despite tremendous setbacks, many business owners are hopeful for the future and believe that the crowds will soon return.

The coronavirus has largely been contained in Wuhan and China, but the rest of the world must follow suit in stemming the tide of discrimination and racism that has crashed ashore in the wake of the outbreak. Only then can Chinese communities be supported and proactive measures be taken to help the people of Wuhan in their hour of need.

account. When is xenophobia ever a ‘normal reaction’?”

Because of backlash from users online, UC Berkeley later retracted the infographic and published an apology online.

Many newspapers have faced similar outrage for their racist headlines and coverage of the coronavirus. The front page of a French newspaper announced “Yellow Alert” alongside a picture of an Asian woman with a face mask on while another headline in the same paper suggested the threat of a “New Yellow Peril.”11 Racist rhetoric used in the news to describe the recent coronavirus outbreak mirrors the jokes and internet memes 10 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3050645/coronavirus-concerns-take-hold-us-exposing-asian 11 https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/31/asia/wuhan-coronavirus-racism-fear-intl-hnk/index.html

12 https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus-bat-soup 13 https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus-bat-soup

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 5

Parasite Review

I

By Jack Cardwell

THINK THE THING THAT SPEAKS THE most about the quality of Parasite is how little you can tell someone about it without spoiling it. This phenomenon extends even to what genre Parasite fits into; I usually mutter something about it being a thriller, before making some vague hand gesture and telling whoever asked to go see it. And they should, because it’s creepy and uncomfortable and heartfelt in a way most movies fail to be. Obviously the credit for this goes to Bong Joon-Ho, who deservedly took home the award for Best Director among others at the Oscars. His sense for pacing and delivery is immense, but more impressive is the atmosphere he creates throughout, a type of je nes se quoi.

Parasite has a certain quality that’s difficult to describe but easy to notice and nearly impossible to capture. The rhythm stays consistent, but everything feels fresh and new; every scene a completely natural continuation of the last,but the movie never feels predictable. It’s present in all of his work save Snowpiercer, but Joon-Ho

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ASIAN OUTLOOK

kicks it up a notch here. Parasite is crisp, slick, and flows together impossibly well - it represents the height of Joon-Ho’s creative style, at least up until this point. Joon-Ho builds the movie around his strengths and talents as a director and completely circumvents his weaknesses, arguably his biggest being his penchant for writing incredibly goofy looking flying kicks in all of his movies with extended fighting sequences. There are no dropkicks to take you out of the experience here; Parasite sucks you in completely with its absorbing story and characters. In particular, I would point to Ki-Jeong/Jessica, played by Park So-Dam, who absolutely steals every scene she’s in and was robbed of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Parasite’s themes aren’t particularly hard to decipher, but Joon-Ho doesn’t beat you over the head with them either. At its core, Parasite is a pretty obvious commentary on class conflict, but there’s still a lot to parse here. What does the stone represent, who was the Parasite, was it the poor

Photo from Indesignlive

family for lying for their own gain, was it the rich family for perpetuating and benefitting from a capitalist system that causes suffering for those less fortunate, or was it me for pirating the movie? Who’s to say really? In all seriousness, Parasite is the best kind of movie.

It gets under your skin and buries itself in your mind, then scratches. You replay scenes in your head laying in bed at night. Film, as Danish director Lars Von Trier says, should be “like a rock in the shoe.”

While it lacked some of the rawness of his earlier work, notably Memories of Murder, this was Bong Joon-Ho’s best movie so far. And while a film about class divide and out-of-touch rich people winning the highest award at an awards show where all individual nominees got gift bags valued at over 200 thousand dollars, which were assembled by a company that allegedly pays disabled workers as little as 13 cents an hour, might be a little on the nose, it’s hard to argue that Parasite deserved anything less than Best Picture.

Photo from The Playlist

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 7

MAKE AMERICA THINK HARDER

By Sandra Deng

A #YANGGANG FOREVER

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ASIAN OUTLOOK

NDREW YANG WAS A LAYWER BEFORE HE QUIT HIS JOB TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR. He founded the nonprofit “Venture for America” in order to help his fellow Americans start their own businesses. He’s a 2020 presidential candidate; or at least he was, an hour ago. After seeing a headline about it, I quickly went to Andrew Yang’s Twitter account where I confirmed the news. I was devastated, but not surprised.

I first heard about him from someone who described him as “the Asian guy running for president.” I immediately thought he would be kicked out of the race soon. Congress is made up of 535 people, with only 16 Asian-Americans and Pacific Islander Americans.

Outside of the small handful of states with a sizable Asian-American population, I felt that the country just wasn’t ready for an Asian-American president.

And so, you could imagine my surprise when I saw him on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

I listened to the entire podcast and immediately became part of the Yang Gang. Other than his very appealing plan of giving every American $1,000 a month, I liked that he constantly addressed the issues around the rise of giant technology companies, mental health, and the losses facing many midwestern states. Apparently many others did as well, because he continued to make appearances on popular television shows and qualified for several Democratic presidential debates. He was able to make himself known despite never catching up to his more popular opponents in the polls. Although I knew it was a longshot, watching his numbers climb slowly gave me some hope, until the Iowa caucuses.

Andrew Yang finished 6th place, with 1% of the votes.

Nonetheless, he continued his campaign and travelled to New Hampshire for their primary. Soon after the primaries ended, he officially dropped out of the race.

There may be many different reasons why he wasn’t able to garner the support he needed. Perhaps people thought that his universal basic income plan was ridiculous, or maybe they simply preferred other candidates. But after seeing the diversity of his supporters, I no longer think that it was simply because he’s Asian-American. His popularity among a wide array of college students proved that America may be ready for an Asian-American president soon. I am glad that he was able to make it this far, and I hope that he will be considered by the future Democratic nominee for a position in the White House that can help bolster his next campaign. #YangGangForever

“AMERICA MAY BE READY FOR AN

ASIAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT SOON”

Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 9

The Melting Pot Myth

By Michael Natrella

“

G

IVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO breathe free, Thewretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (Lazarus,1883) The United States has long claimed to be the world’s beacon of liberty and acceptance, with U.S citizens happily rallying behind the New Colossus by Emma Lazarus inscribed upon the Statue of Liberty. The reality is that this fundamental belief that the United States is a melting pot of cultural acceptance is and has always been a myth. In fact, in the incipient years of our nation, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were exclusive to white men. Although Trump and his supporters purport that recent racist and xenophobic policies are making America great again, they are merely escalating a long history of racism and exclusion in our country.

Beginning with the very first immigration law, the Naturalization Act of 1790, which restricted the right to apply for citizenship to free white people who had been in the country for two years, immigration policy has been racist and exclusive. Then, in response to the increase in Chinese immigrants entering the United States to join the Gold Rush, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. This act, similar to the Muslim ban, barred Chinese people from entering the United States.

In 1902, Chinese immigration was made permanently illegal. In direct opposition to the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, the Immigration Act of 1917 further restricted immigration by establishing a literacy requirement.

(History.com Editors, 2018) Then, ironically, despite establishing the Statue of Liberty as a national monument, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act

10 ASIAN OUTLOOK

of 1924, which completely excluded immigrants from Asia and Mexico and favored immigrants from Northern and Western European countries. (History.com Editors, 2018) In response to these drastic restrictions, illegal immigration increased, and the US Border Patrol was established. At this point, the vast majority of people illegally crossing the Mexican and Canadian borders into the United States were Asian, particularly Chinese.

Once the attack on Pearl Harbor took place, the United States Government quickly responded with enacting Executive Order 9066, forcing every person of Japanese descent to register with the government and report to an internment camp.

Once interned, the federal government seized all private possessions in which the families never saw again.

This displacement caused an abundance of issues when the families finally returned to their homes and found that other families were currently occupying them. These actions inflicted upon the Japanese community were severely understated at the time, with the government claiming, Japanese Americans were cheerfully filling out the abundance of paperwork and were quickly reporting to their designated facilities.

(Milton Eisenhower, 1942).

These tragic events were anything but cheerful. The exclusion of Asian immigrants was not formally ended until 1952, and in 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act overhauled the racist quota system.

Today, the government continues this legacy of racist and exclusive immigration policy with family separation and the detainment of immigrants at migrant detention centers at the border and throughout the United States.

The U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement report directly to the President of the United States without the oversight of Congress, making them very dangerous to our Cartoon by Barry Deutsch from Abagond

Photo by Ted Eytan

democratic process. President Trump authorized them to revamp old Japanese internment camps throughout the southern border and use them to detain men, women, and children in harsh and immoral conditions. Reports leaked by visiting dignitaries reveal the actual conditions in which they are living. These conditions include children and toddlers living in overpopulated cages with concrete floors, and nothing but a silver thermal blanket to keep them warm. . (Eustachewich, 2018) These recent immigration acts have caused the deportation of not only law-abiding residents of our country but also caused the removal of natural-born U.S citizens, including service members in the military.

Regarding these camps, George Takei tweeted, “I know what concentration camps are. I was inside two of them in America. And yes, we are operating such camps again.”

(O’Kane, 2019) He also compared the migrant detention centers to Japanese internment in an op-ed, arguing, “At least during the internment, when I was just five years old, I was not taken from my parents. At least during the internment, my parents were able to place themselves between the horror of what we were facing and my own childish understanding of our circumstances.” (Takei, 2018) While every rational human should recognize this situation as immoral, it is justified by the cover of national security. As with yellow peril and the red scare, Muslims and Latinx asylum seekers are portrayed and mischaracterized as the dangerous threat to American democracy.

As in 1893, when the Supreme Court upheld Chinese Exclusion in Fong Yue Ting v. the United States, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of President Donald Trump, forcing the reinstatement and expansion of the Muslim ban and limiting any action of reversing such law.

The United States’ expanded ban affects all immigrants from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Somalia, and Libya.

(Kanno-youngs, 2020) This has caused issues to United States military personnel returning home from tours overseas, international students returning to the U.S on a student visa, and foreign citizens traveling to the United States to visit family. (Meng, 2020) Being protected by the veil of national security and legitimized by the Protect America Act, USA Freedom Act, and The Patriot Act, the U.S government, has extended and untethered authority to protect the United States from acts of terror.

Now, Trump has set his sights on the Hmong and Lao populations in the United States. The funding of a reintegration program to help Laos accept nationals with final orders of removal will dramatically increase the deportation of Hmong and Lao immigrants in the United States. (Constante, 2020) According to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, there are 4,716 undetained Lao nationals with a final order of removal in the U.S. dating back to as early as 2001. With this reintegration program in place, these US residents who have been living in the United States and building lives and families for decades may find their lives uprooted.

(Constante, 2020) “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (Lazarus,1883) While the beliefs expressed in this poem may be a myth, they are undoubtedly aspirational. We cannot make America great again, but it is past time that we try living up to the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity.

With primary season in progress, make sure you are registered to vote and that you are doing your research and supporting the candidate that best represents the values you want to be inscribed upon our nation. The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 11

A V-Day Survey

On 02.14.20, we released a Valentine’s Day survey. Here are some of the answers.

What did you learn about love from your parents?

“Love is very much imperfect and filled with doubt, but it’s the only reliable thing in reality.”

-Imaginary Grandpa “Disrespectful, haughty, prideful, lazy people.”

-Michelle “Smoking and being unhealthy! My ex was a weird exception for a lot of things, but I HATED his smoking habits. I have moderate to severe asthma, and I’m not trying to have my lifespan decreased by another 5 years.”

-Rheo

“My parents had a secure love style, where although they would argue, they would never fight over night, because they know that they both only want the best for each other.”

-Elephante

“When someone’s just blatantly rude and also if they have noticeably bad grammar.”

-Celeste

“Love can come off as fun or it can come off as annoying but either way it means you always have the best intentions in mind for the one you love.”

-Justin

“I really don’t like guys who are super arrogant. I think confidence is a good thing, but being pretentious and arrogant is definitely a turn off.”

-Hanae

“I don’t think I’ve ever even seen them hug each other. If I learned anything it’s that sometimes love is about making compromises.”

-PandaxD

What is your opinion on PDA? “It’s kinda cute. . .until it isn’t.”

-Pie

“Keep things to a minimum. There are children watching you smash lips and Jesus definitely doesn’t approve.”

-PandaxD “Be aware of how other people around you react. Don’t make them feel uncomfortable.”

-Lily

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“I could add to the endless memes about my parents never saying “I love you,” but my parents are a little weird. They gave me unconditional love no matter what stupidity I’ve committed, and yes, while they do give into the typical stereotypical toxic first generation immigrant family mindset . . . I still learnt many ideals about love from them. You don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy; everyday . . .was always spent with them showering my brother and I with gifts, family meals or bonding time. Love comes in all forms: familial, friendship / platonic, romantic. However, how you give and receive love from others is all up to you.”

-Rheo “My mom told me that she married my dad because he was an honest person.

My dad is still yearning for puppy love.”

-Lily

Describe your first love.

“Haven’t dated/been in actual love.”

-Purple

“My second ever boyfriend. He came to my school in 9th grade, and his last name was the one next to mine so he had gotten placed at the locker between me and my friend whose name used to be next to mine. I didn’t like him from the beginning because of that. He never really came to his locker and we had none of the same classes so I never saw him. There was 100 kids in my grade and I still never really knew who he was. Fast forward to senior year, he was in 2 of my classes, I still didn’t really know him but we started to become friends. I was really close with his whole friend group (I even went to prom with one of his closest friends). I used to think he hated me so whenever I would go over to my friends’ lunch table and he was there, I would always kinda be a little scared to talk to him. Then graduation came, the rehearsal was the first time I actually started becoming friends with him. When we started talking I realized he was actually so sweet and so much nicer than everyone else had made him seem.

After the real graduation ceremony I invited him to my graduation party but he couldn’t make it because he was going on vacation. We started snapchatting just to keep in touch, I had no feelings for him and I truly thought I would never see him again. A couple weeks later, one of my other friends had a graduation party and he was there. I talked to him a little, but I was just having a fun time celebrating my friend. The next day I was starting work at the summer camp at my school, so I knew that I wasn’t going to see any of my friends or him for a while so after the party I said bye see you in a month or 2 and let them get on with their lives. I showed up to work the next day and I look around and he’s sitting right at the front with one of my favorite teachers. I was so surprised because I really thought I was never going to see him again. I was really excited because I was going to have a friend working with me! I then found out that my brother had to be at our school for baseball practice somedays at 6am, and I would have to go with them if I wanted to go to work. So I asked the boy if he would be able to drive me somedays in the morning so I didn’t have to be tired for work. He agreed. We began to get closer because of the car rides. Since all his friends were my friends we went to the beach one day after work and we had such a fun time. That day, he asked me if I wanted to hang out with him alone after work the next day, and I agreed. The whole night I couldn’t sleep I was so excited, throughout the entire day I was just so happy and excited to hangout with him. That’s when I realized I liked him. He asked me on a real date the next day and we then started dating.

We hung out almost every single day the rest of that summer. We both know how to get to each others houses without using maps. I was super close with his parents, especially his mom, we would talk about everything and

she would always care for me and make sure I was safe.

My parents felt the same way about him too. This summer we did so much together. He became my best friend, my favorite person to talk to, my favorite person to hang out with. But at the same time we made sure to always see our friends and not be with each other every second of the day.

He just made me happy. I had never felt anything like it.

He was the first person to make me feel comfortable with who I was. He was the first person I’ve truly ever felt comfortable around; I’ve never had anyone else who understood me like he did. He made sure I was okay with everything, and he cared about me so much. You could just tell how much he cared for me and loved me. I thought all our friends would think weird things from it because no one ever saw it happening, but all they were, was supportive and happy and that just made everything better. He has all my firsts, and I have most of his. He was truly one of the best things that had happened to me in a really long time. This summer held some of the best experiences of my life. Then we had to go off to college. I had to leave first, and the day before I left I had a little get together with my family and him, and out of all the people in the room he was the one who I didn’t want to leave the most. He stayed until 12 and we both cried in each others arms, it was a really sad day because I just didn’t want the summer to end, I didn’t want this to go away. We went to a Mets game with my parents a week before college, and after the car ride back when he was about to head home, he said to me: “That car ride made me realize how much I loved you, and I really want to stick with it and do this through college.” So we decided that we wanted to stay together for college. The first two months were great, we both had a rough start but he was there for me and I was there for him, he helped me through so many rough patches in my life that I’ve never even talked to anyone about. When I went home for a weekend in the middle of the semester, he came home too. He had a gaming tournament so we didn’t see each other the whole weekend but we made it work and it was the best weekend. That weekend kind of solidified that we wanted to stay together and make it work. The rest of the semester went by and super long story short, it didn’t work out.

I know I loved him because it hurt so bad when it was over.

We recently broke up, and it still hurts a lot, but at least I’ll always have him as the first boy I ever loved. But I will always be grateful for him and for everything that he gave to me.”

-Celeste

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 13

“My first love turned out to be unrequited.

I loved him for a long time and was ready to declare this on the peak of mountains and thought his actions said the same. He knew me, knew what made me happy and I loved how he was kind towards everyone

What is something you’ve learned about relationships through experience?

“It’s best not to be nit picky about things and keep scores.

It’s easier when both sides learn to be more lenient with each other and not expect dating to be their entire life focus.”

-Elephante “Don’t trust and over rely on the other part, you are still an individual part, you need to have your own opinion.”

-Cookie “I’ve learned not to rely on my significant other as my only source of happiness, though it can feel like that is the case sometimes. Whoever you are with is allowed to and should make you happy, but I think it’s important to find other ways to bring that light into your life. If you rely too heavily on the other person for that feeling, you could possibly end up hurt in the end.”

-Lovebug “Communication skills are pretty important. Towards the end of my last relationship, we were fighting and not communicating things properly, so it eventually led to some things and us breaking up. Also, relationships are a lot of time and commitment. Props to anyone who can manage a stressful life and a relationship at once.”

-Rheo “Take your time when getting into a relationship, even though it may be the best time of your life, I think it’s better to take it slow than to make everything happen right away. I also learned that just because if something seems a little bit off, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you and you shouldn’t get worried about. And at the same time, when you think there might be something going on, don’t hold it in and then explode one day because that won’t fix anything. Don’t tell people other people about the “bad things” or doubts you have about your significant other because in the end it’ll only make things worse, especially in your head.”

-Celeste

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around him. I thought we were both happy, but I was wrong. Secrets were kept and he revealed he did not know what love was.”

-Pusheen

What is the first quality you look for in a partner?

“I want someone to be sincere and genuine and be passionate about something. Having a drive or ambition is important.”

-Cat5 “Humor.”

-Lovebug

“I think it’d be the ability to be happy, right?”

-Egg Tart “I look for someone who is caring and assertive. Being that I am more on the passive and timid side, I would like someone to counteract that.”

-Yeoreum

Anything else about love you would like to share?

“I wish I found it easier to say “I love you” and meant it.”

-Sichuan Tea “There are always ups and downs, but it is true love if the sum of all experiences is positive.”

-10Toes “Happy Valentine’s day to everyone even you don’t have a valentine yet :)” -Luigirlxoxo

Ensuring Culture Is Not Lost In Translation

H

AVE YOU EVER QUESTIONED IF THE transference of culture from its original origin can be lost in translation at a museum? You step into a well-funded research institution that holds exhibits, telling the story of a culture that is extinct or still exists. I never challenged this thought, because I was raised going to museums through the Cool Culture Program, which focuses on providing low-income NYC families free access to educational opportunities about art and culture. For this reason, I was always excited to enter a museum and explore with awe. Should we be thankful for cultural preservation even though it has been transported from where it is originally from? Can we be cynical and think critically about an institution that is praised for allowing the whole world to be in one place through history and art? To answer these questions, let’s first define the official meaning of what a museum is supposed to be.

According to Hyperallergic, an online publication dedicated to rethinking art and culture, a new definition of “museum” was proposed in September of 2019 by the International Council of Museums, also known as ICOM. A more political definition was revised to include “human dignity and social justice,” as opposed to the previous 50 years deifnition of a “non-profit institution” that “acquires, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.” This new definition becomes controversial as it does not justifiably explain the wide diversity of museums specializing in art, history, culture, or science.

The Binghamton University Art Museum is no exception. Although it may not be as elaborate and fancy as the Met, it does a decent job of using the resources it has from funds, donations, faculty, and student research.

Furthermore, since the art pieces have scripture written in their original languages such as Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, accurate translations from experts are necessary.

In addition, accrediting the work properly to the original creator makes the exhibit ethical and legitimate. But what

By Emma Shen about authenticity in the interpretation of the artist’s work, which can get lost in translation literally and figuratively?

One student organization that took initiative was the Black Student Union in creating the Black Museum/ Poetry Jam as a political statement out of art for Black History Month. The art pieces came directly from young contemporary black artists who displayed their photography, paintings, and other forms of artistic expression, such as modeling, rapping, dancing and singing. This medium shows that the culture is still alive and thriving with lots of potential. When you see the art directly from the artist, there is an instant connection and authenticity portrayed; you feel the love and closeness that comes from a community and its people.

We don’t want to objectify a community by excluding their narrative from a piece of art obtained from their culture. When chosen as a subject to be displayed in an art museum, the history behind the piece must be told in such a way that respects and honors the community. This is accomplished by ascribing cultural significance to a piece and paying tribute to the community.

Pieces, thus, should not be purchased out of materialism for the type of style an art piece brings to a room visually as opposed to the historical and cultural meaning behind the piece. Pieces should certainly not be monetized and auctioned because that is when the original purpose of the artistic creation is mistranslated. A disconnect is formed in how the artwork should be appreciated for its authenticity rather than man-made monetary value.

One way the University Art Museum tried to honor a culture was by setting up a grand opening, one day before Lunar New Year, for the Winter Exhibit Snowflakes Between the Gauze: Rubbings from the Han Dynasty.

The exhibit is filled with orange and black ink rubbings on paper of ancient Chinese mythology from carved stones found from the Han Dynasty (207 BCE-220 CE) tombs in Nanyang City, Henan province, China. As pieces of memorandum by taking ancient stone carvings and replicating on modern rubbings, shows an unique

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technique to preserve culture. These were obtained through connections the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera at BU had with Hangzhou Normal University in China. By explaining how these artworks were acquired you can see that it is a lengthy process of first retrieving the stones from the Han Dynasty to the artist Bu Youchang and annotator Xia Yipeng at the university from China which is then transferred to Binghamton University.

Furthermore, the art pieces are translated from Chinese to English so via multiple transactions it is hard to ensure that 100% of the piece will be correctly interpreted. Thus, intricate research and expertise is needed to properly pay tribute to the original artist.

When you enter the art gallery, you are transported into the ancient Han dynasty as serene music is played, featuring traditional Chinese folk instruments such as the Guzheng (古箏) and Guqin (古琴). Both the first floor and the second level of the museum have new pieces, which include Chinese vases, a Korean panel, and Japanese paintings. The second floor’s exhibit is called The Surface and The Line: Alumni Gifts of Asian Art, which was curated by faculty and a graduate student at Binghamton.

Just by sitting through a history class, I understand that history is hard to represent through one display.

The portrayal and depiction of the people, culture, and time can be trying, as not every one is the same. There are minorities and majorities in a community, so some parts of the community would not be properly represented.

Moreover, history is based off of documentation, so if one part is undocumented, experts would have to deduce and make educated connections upon change and continuities.

Thus, it can be hard to curate an exhibition and represent pieces of artwork with justice. In art and preservation of history, there is no one right way to display a gallery.

Criticism will inevitably come to better execute an exhibit which is due to visual satisfaction and doing enough to present the culture appropriately. It is not only difficult because how someone represents a culture or identity is personal and rich with deep rooted traditions and customs, but also due to the importance of research, consent of the people from the culture, and justifiable obtainment of the artwork.

In an email, I was able to interview two undergraduate international Chinese seniors, Yiqing Wang and Xinyi Fang, who helped create the exhibit as interns for the University Art Museum under the University’s curator Claire Kovacs and director of Institute for Asia and Asian Diaspora and of the Asians and Asian American Studies department Professor John Chaffee. These interviews have been edited for clarity. The exhibit was held from Jan. 24th to March 4th. Interviews were conducted around Feb. 14.

Emma Shen: How long were you involved with researching the exhibit?

Yiqing Wang: We began to learn about the exhibition

16 ASIAN OUTLOOK

since the winter break, and began to plan the tour two weeks ago (in late January).

ES: Do you feel like this exhibit accurately represents Chinese culture?

YW: Yes, it has a lot of Chinese history and classical legend behind it.

Xinyi Fang: I think so. Because all the works are made from Han tombs, they are pretty authentic.

ES: What is your favorite piece from the exhibit?

YW: Personally, my favorite one is Nüwa, [because] the rubbing overall is beautiful and mysterious. Nüwa is the Chinese mythological mother, and she has a human head and a dragon-like body in the rubbing. This can be understood as totem worship, which represents a divine power.

XF: I like the centerpieces about Nüwa and Fu Xi because I like how they are represented with snake/dragon tails. The long tails mark their identities as deities, and represent a longstanding, mythical origin of Chinese people“descendants of Chinese dragon.” They look mysterious, sacred, and solemn. Great choice for centerpieces.

ES: What inspired the name for the exhibition? How did this exhibition start?

YW: The name of the exhibition is the name of a type of rubbing. The specific styles of wet rubbings range from wujin ta (black-gold) to chanyi ta (cicada wing), sometimes known as xuehua jiasha (snowflakes between gauze). (cr: John Chaffee).

ES: Why do you think Binghamton University needs an Asian art exhibit?

YW: I think an Asian exhibition provides a good opportunity for Asian students themselves to feel a sense of belonging to their culture. It also helps the Asian American students to find relevance in themselves and explore another culture. In addition, it promotes cultural exchanges through artistic means, which I think is valuable to everyone with different cultural backgrounds.

XF: I think it’s important because it promotes the multicultural environment in our campus. I also like how the Art Museum has been trying to be more and

more inclusive, as I know the fall exhibition last semester featured African American art.

ES: If you had the chance to create your dream exhibit, what would it be? Doesn’t have to be Chinese inspired- it can be anything that is meaningful to you!

YW: I think this is a very interesting question, and I haven’t thought about the answer. I think that preparing a tour for an exhibition is an intriguing learning process, and the idea to share interesting information I have discovered with others makes me more than excited. In this sense, the theme of the exhibition seems not that important to me.

XF: I guess maybe an exhibition about environmental protection? I actually went to one in Beijing during the summer break and I think it’s inspiring. I care about our environment and I think a lot of people are just not conscious about this issue. Artworks can really visualize this issue and create some impact.

Through another set of emails, I was also able to interview Jason Joonsoo Park, a PhD candidate for Art History and co-curator of the exhibit Surface and the Line with Professor Nancy Um. Drawing form their expertise in Art History research behind each piece was collected: Emma Shen: When did you first start developing the exhibit The Surface and the Line?

Jason Joonsoo Park: I started working on this exhibition last August with professor Nancy Um, the co-curator of this exhibition. Since then, we did research, organizing, selecting, and installing the artworks.

ES: Do you feel like the art pieces provided are an accurate representation of art history throughout East Asia?

JP: Yes. With this exhibition, we tried to provide a different approach of East Asian artists than those of Western artists. It is relatively rare to have this kind of experience in Binghamton. Thanks to our two great alumni collectors, we were able to give the visitors the sense of the ways in which Asian artists, ranging from the archaic ceramic works to the contemporary calligraphies, achieved their particular visualities in East Asia. We didn’t want to present the simple chronological listing, nor categorical arrangement. Rather, we wanted to provide

the sense of approaches that the Asian artists made to the surfaces, lines, and colors which are the fundamental elements in all kinds of artwork.

ES: How long did it take for you to be satisfied with the end result of the exhibition?

JP: After we completed our introduction panels and labels, we were quite sure that our exhibition would be successful. It was around mid-December when we realized that our jobs were almost done. After that, the actual installation did not take that long, because we already organized the layout of the exhibition in our mind. The actual realization was relatively a simple process.

ES: What inspired you to create this exhibition?

JP: Actually I didn’t get any inspiration from the outside.

I was given the donated works, and I was just diving into the curation.

ES: If you had the opportunity to create an art exhibition of your dreams, what would it be?

JP: My focus of interest is environmental art in the 1960s-1980s in the United States, which is totally different from the exhibition I just curated. If I could have a chance, I would create an exhibition delivering the message like this, “Earth is at risk. Art must do something for our planet Earth.”

ES: What year are you in graduate school? Are you an international student? Did you do this for an internship?

JP: I’m a Ph.D. Candidate in Art History and this is my 5th year in this graduate program. And I came from South Korea, so yes, I’m an international student… I participated in it as a curator, which is a great and very rare opportunity for a graduate student. The exhibition on the first floor and the one at the mezzanine are totally separate exhibitions…

Our exhibition is curated by a professor Nancy Um and I in the Art History Department.

After interviewing all the students involved in creating the two exhibitions I gained a better understanding of the research put behind each artwork. The historical significance and and cultural understanding of the specific time periods is essential to deciphering the purpose and meaning of the artwork. Additionally, by experiencing the tours led by each student humanized the curatorial process in museums. All the students involved had a cultural connection and understood the history behind the art. So I trust that the right people are chosen to create exhibits in one way or another. Through people who have a cultural and historical understanding of art pieces, I believe that little as possible would be lost in translation and transference of the artwork from its original origin.

Sources: https://bsu1968.wixsite.com/mysite-1 https://www.binghamton.edu/art-museum/read-more.html https://hyperallergic.com/513858/icom-museum-definition/

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 17

CONSCIENCE

CONSC IENCE 18 ASIAN OUTLOOK

By Allison Wu

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 19

Kyra Becker 20 ASIAN OUTLOOK

By Zokirjon Ergashev

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 21

Mother

ByRina RinaWeng Weng By

Animitation imitationpoem poem after afterreading reading“Cajun” “Cajun”by bySheryl SherylSt. St.Germain.

Germain.

An

wantto totake takethe theword wordback backinto intomy mybody, body,back back IIwant fromthe thefamily familymovies moviesfeaturing featuringparent parentsacrifices sacrifices from announcingititso soproud. proud.IIwant wantititto tobe bethe thereverse, reverse, announcing wantto tosee seemy mymother motherminding mindingher herown ownjoy joy IIwant likeher herchildren childrencan cannever neverbe beher herburden, burden,not notbothering bothering like herself with with housework, housework, lunch lunch box, box, or or toilet toilet paper. paper. IIwant want to to see see my my herself mother mother alldolled dolledup upagain, again,hands handsall allpale paleand andsmooth, smooth, all shinynail nailpolish polishthat thatbrightens brightensmy myday, day,best bestperfume perfume shiny stainingher hershirt, shirt,comforting comfortingmy myheart, heart,IIwant wantto toremember rememberthe thepride pride staining shetook took she workingand andbeing beingself-assured; self-assured;ititwas wasnothing nothing working likeher hernow nowwith withscarred scarredhands, hands,wrinkles wrinkles like betweenher herbrows, brows,jailed jailedin inthe thecramped crampedspace space between thatshe shecalled calledhome. home. that Andwhat whatmy mymother motherused usedto toknow: know: And howto tomake makeher herown self happy, howhow to keep how self happy, to keep not money, but a smile, or perhaps a laughter, not money, be a smile, or perhaps a laugher, maintainitittill tillshe shewas wasoverjoyed, overjoyed,needing needingsome somefresh freshair. air.And And when when maintain seethe thefrowning frowningface face IIsee onmy mymother, mother,stamping stampingwith withanger angerand andtiredness, tiredness, on it’slike likeswallowing swallowingstrong strongacid aciddown downmy mysoul, soul,and andwhen whenIIhear hear it’s hersighs sighsin inthe thedark darknights, nights,IIfeel feelitit her again,her herfreedom’s freedom’sbeen beenstolen, stolen,like likeme, me, again, corroded. corroded.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

22 ASIAN OUTLOOK

Winterest

by Ramen

Vol. XXXVIII, Issue 1 23

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