Asian Outlook Spring 2015 Issue #3 by Asian Outlook

ASIAN OUTLOOK volume XXVIII, issue 5

Exclusive Interview with DAVID

Volume XXVIII, Issue 5

contents ASIAN OUTLOOK 2

featured 4 | Dr. Feng Shan Ho | Tammy Cheng 13 | The Parallel Dating Politics of Asian Males & Black Females | Tyron D Brown

ASIAN OUTLOOK

18 | Beautiful Boxer | Michelle Yom 28 | The Mental Illness: Holistic Approach | Ian Chiu

arts & entertainment 20 | Chatting with David So | Dale Gao 27 | A Plea From a Native New York | Alex Ching

letter from the editor...

ASIAN OUTLOOK EXECUTIVE BOARD SPRING 2015 editors-in-chief

he final issue of the academic year is finally here!

As we’re approaching the end of the semester, I have to say, it has been an honor and pleasure serving as your Editor-in-Chief of Asian Outlook Magazine. Through AO, I met many interesting people, garnered new experiences and made new memories. I didn’t know what to expect when I became EIC; I had no experience in leading a publication or creating a magazine. When I first heard about activism, I thought of picketing, protesting and rioting. After joining Asian Outlook, you can say that my outlook changed because I realized that activism was more than just that – it’s also teaching ideas, sharing knowledge and raising awareness among our community and the world. Similar to how my predecessors inspired me, I wanted AO to inspire its general body members and readers. Despite the ups and downs, I’m glad that we were able to serve our purpose and mission to the best of our abilities. Apathy has always been a problem around the world and I wanted to diminish that by increasing awareness among our members. There will be people who are underrepresented, and I hope that they will use AO as an outlet to express their voices. I am extremely thankful for my executive board members, the staff writers, contributors, readers, friends, family, colleagues, alumni, professors, etc. for taking the time to submit content to our magazine, attending and participating in our weekly general body meetings, and hoping for the best in AO. These magazine issues wouldn’t have come to fruition without all of you. It’s hard to incite a sense of activism within people, but I know next year’s e-board will do well. I expect great things when I come back to Binghamton. Before this letter comes to an end, here’s a pearl of wisdom: Always expand your comfort zone. While holding onto your principles and beliefs is important, take the time to understand other people’s perspectives. Also, take the time to do something you would never expect to do, like learn a new language, take up a new hobby or meet new people. For my case, I will be studying abroad next semester to a country that I have never been before. By expanding your comfort zone, you grow as a person and make the most out of your college years. I hope everyone does well on their exams, projects, assignments, etc. Good luck! Study hard, have fun, make the most out of your situation and always strive for greatness! Enjoy your summer break! P.S. The inspiration of this issue’s cover came from Tammy’s article which briefly mentioned Dr. Feng Shan Ho. You can learn more about him through her article. Dale Gao Editor-in-Chief, Spring 2015

conscience editor copy editors

layout editors

secretary business manager publicity manager historian blogger staff writers

Dale Gao Anna Lin Alex Ching Angela Wu Eric Liang Siu Lam Koo Amanda Lau Ashley Lau Rudy Kuang Sophia Kim Ting Lin Calvin Chan Sungwon Kim Sharon Lau Shelley Shin Kahlil Stultz Russell Tobias

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. 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 Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Why Do We Learn About Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., But Not Dr. Feng Shan Ho? By Tammy Cheng

If schools around the nation allow students to observe cultural holidays such as Yom Kippur and St. Patrick’s Day, or even devote February as Black History Month, why not encourage students to also learn about Asian and Asian American culture?

ASIAN OUTLOOK

e’ve all heard others complain about what schools lack or what

teachers can do better during their lectures. In fact, as students ourselves, we’ve grumbled, fussed, and whined our way through each class hour every day. Criticism about the U.S. schooling system today often revolve around the “gaps” in education – achievement gaps, funding gaps, financial gaps, etc. However, an issue that often goes overlooked and unexamined is the cultural gap between students and the curriculum they learn from. The United States is often described as a nation that prides itself as a cultural “melting pot.” It is a metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous with various separate elements “melting” together into a harmonious whole with a common culture. However, this implies assimilation and lack of individualism. Jane Elliot, a social activist who fights against racial ignorance, describes the United States more as a salad bowl: “We need a salad bowl. In a salad bowl, you put in the different things. You want the vegetables – the lettuce, the cucumbers, the onions, the green peppers – to maintain their identity. You appreciate the differences.” This suggested alternative describes a more current United States in which different cultures mix but remain distinct in their respective traditions and functions. So if the United States is known for its acceptance of diversity, why does it not reflect it in the country’s school curriculum? We all grew up learning English language arts, science, mathematics, and social studies. Consider this: what exactly is “social studies”? The American National Council for Social Studies defines this subject as “the integrated study of social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence.” In other words, it seeks to equip students with knowledge about the world along with their nation and society around them, through the use of other disciplines such as history, economics, religion, geography, and anthropology. One issue about the social studies curriculum is that although it holds a framework for the history of the world, it is often taught in a one-sided

Dr. Feng San Ho was a Chinese General Consul in Vienna who single-handedly saved thousands of Austrian Jews during the Holocaust. He accepted and rescued Jewish refugees at a time when most nations refused them. Consul Ho’s daughter, Manli Ho (center) receives the Righteous award in honor of her late father at Yad Vashem.

nationalistic perspective – we learn about the world in the outdated eyes of an American historian. We learn about various topics that range from historical tragedies such as wars, famines, and depressions to applicable knowledge such as government and economics. Although it is considered important to provide students an idea and appreciation of how the country essentially “came to be,” it is more relevant and crucial to provide students an opportunity to learn about various cultures. As a second-generation Chinese American coming from an immigrant family background, I had personally experienced a lack of knowledge and active learning regarding Asian American communities, cultures, and histories throughout my school career even though I grew up in Queens – the most diverse place in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The classrooms in my school were often decorated in green clovers and cartoon leprechauns or nine-branch menorahs or colorful eggs in a basket. Rarely did I see red lanterns, envelope pockets, or festive dragons roaming the halls to celebrate Chinese American culture. If schools around the nation allow students to observe cultural holidays such as Yom Kippur and St. Patrick’s Day, or even devote February as Black History Month, why not encourage students to also learn about Asian and Asian American culture? In part, this is an issue based on the racial representation of the student body in the United States. According to the Migration Policy Institute, second generation children under the age of 18, who come from immigrant families, account for approximately 88 percent of the students in the United States. With the gradual increase in school

populations of students from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, there should also be an active tailoring of lesson plans and curriculums in order to engage students to consider what it means to really be an American in a “salad bowl” United States. Think about this: Why does a society that prides itself in diversity, especially in the student body, remains stagnant in areas like school curriculums? It is more about teaching students awareness, understanding, and acceptance of these differing and diverse cultures that surround them. Many colleges have in fact recently begun to offer and implement multi-ethnic studies for interested students; although it is offered in higher level education, it is increasingly necessary and more effective if culture was taught at an early age. Why not, for example, teach a third grade class the different holidays that Asian Americans observe – whether it be Chinese Lunar New Year, Korean New Year, or Filipino Christmas? Through learning and celebrating the holidays of a certain culture, students begin to understand, welcome, and celebrate difference. By observing distinctions in race, ethnicity, gender, language, religion, sexuality, class, and more importantly, different aspects of culture, we can begin to encourage awareness, appreciation, and acceptance. Sources: http://www.socialstudies.org/ http://www.migrationpolicy.org/ Asian American Holidays by Chunjian Liu, Hyo Jung Choi, Rebecca Li, Hannah Lugtu (CEP Spring 2013) Asian American Storybook by Tammy Cheng, Hannah Lugtu (Spring 2015)

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Weaponized Drones

Tested By Police For Anti-Protest Purposes By Russell Tobias

“[The drones] have been very successful and will be used by the Lucknow police whenever there are violent protests or mob attacks.”

ou may have noticed those cool

little

quadcopter

buzzing around the ITC Rotunda during Engineers Week. Perhaps you’ve even seen a camera-equipped one snapping aerial photos, operated by some tech-savvy wedding photographer this past summer. Awesome little toy for your teenage sibling, or potential senior design project idea, right? To the 2 million citizens of Lucknow, the densely-populated capital of northern Uttar Pradesh state, India, these nifty vehicles are a rapidly growing source of concern. The Lucknow police force has begun amassing a fleet of drones equipped with pepper spray, intended as a new form of crowd control. Yashasvi Yadav, Senior Superintendent of the city police, reported to CNN in a recent interview, “The drones drones

ASIAN OUTLOOK

have been tested in controlled conditions. They have been very successful and will be used by the Lucknow police whenever there are violent protests or mob attacks.” Each drone may cost anywhere between $9,600 and $20,000 depending on the desired add-on features. The four currently in possession by police in Lucknow are equipped with cameras and are each prepped for storage and fastrelease of at least 4.4 pounds of bulk pepper spray. Drones have been proven useful for a wide variety of applications, ranging from rescue and surveillance in mining projects to large-scale pesticide application in agriculture. Desert Wolf, a South-Africa based military and commercial equipment solutions supplier and manufacturer, has begun

marketing a line of merchandise designated as “riot control copters.” It has reportedly secured a transaction of 25 units with an undisclosed company after unveiling the prototype at a trade show. The drone, wittily referred to as “The Skunk” by its vendor, comes fully equipped with a fullcolor video camera, FLIR thermal camera, on-board recording system and speakers for audio warnings, full telemetry data and long-range control links, as well as optional blinding lasers. But arguably the most menacing feature? Four high-capacity ball-launching barrels, capable of holding 4,000 total balls (either pepper, dye-marker, or solid plastic), that can each fire up to 20 balls per second from an aerial vantage point. That’s 80 distressing projectiles per second, nonstop

A camera-equipped drone deployed by Delhi police for surveillance.

for nearly a full minute! The International Trade Union Confederation is horrified by this notion. "This is a deeply disturbing and repugnant development and we are convinced that any reasonable government will move quickly to stop the deployment of advanced battlefield technology on workers or indeed the public involved in legitimate protests and demonstrations," stated ITUC spokesman Tim Noonan. Noonan added that the Confederation would make an active effort to identify specifically which company has ordered the drones. Reviews of this potential method, largely on social media, are decidedly mixed. Many view the proposition as a dangerous step toward further suppression of public demonstration and free speech, which are already vehement issues in India, not

to mention fully relevant to the U.S. in light of the currently sociopolitical climate. Supporters of the new drone application advocate the urgency and necessity in protecting law enforcement officials from their often becoming unfair targets of crowd frustration. Another point commonly put forth is that the use of pepper spray is more humane than previous crowd-control tactics in Lucknow, which have included water cannons and baton charges on masses of protesters. Others simply question the ability of the drones to effectively target protesters without also severely affecting innocent bystanders or random passers-by. From that high of a vantage point, the release of such high a volume of unregulated matter is at the sole mercy of wind currents and other atmospheric fluctuations. In any event, the concept is still in an early stage and, like any new

policy, requires detailed planning before implementation. Perhaps the ultimate question government officials should first ponder is this: Will new gizmos and increased automation of crowd-control be more effective in the long run than directly confronting the societal issues responsible for the protests? Sources: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-fromelsewhere-32202466 http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27902634 http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/09/asia/indiapolice-drones/ http://www.desert-wolf.com/dw/products/ unmanned-aerial-systems/skunk-riot-controlcopter.html http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/08/policeturn-to-pepper-spraying-drones-in-congestedindian-city/ http://gizmodo.com/police-in-india-will-useweaponized-pepper-spray-drones-1696511132 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/ jun/02/india-police-gang-rape-protest-lucknowuttar-pradesh http://www.wired.co.uk/news/ archive/2015-04/09/pepper-spraying-drones

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

The Kenyan Univ e

Almost 150 students were killed and many more injured after a small group

Some of the victims and and their families recovering from the Garissa University Shooting.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

ersity

Shooting

By Brian Kang

of Al Shabab militants stormed the school and opened fire on the students.

pril

2, 2015. Garissa University, Kenya. Glossy-eyed

lifeless bodies lay across the

grounds of the university, lying in pools of crimson. Their now soulless eyes that once

saw potential now reflect death. This is the scene that greeted the first responders as they scrambled to find survivors amongst the bodies. Almost 150 students were killed and many more injured after a small group of Al Shabab militants stormed the school and opened fire on the students. Traveling throughout the grounds, the terrorists singled out Christian students and executed them in an orderly fashion. Students awoke to the sounds of gunfire as live rounds were fired. As the bodies of the slain arrived at the morgue, parents were lined up in front mourning, desperate to see their children. Yet even through this tragedy, controversy emerged. Where had the troops been to protect the students? What had taken them so long to respond? Such were the thoughts that filled the mind of the nation as they went into their three-day mourning period, declared by Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya. Though this was a tragedy in it of itself, it is only a smaller part of the larger struggle between the two religions. Officials are now worried that existing tensions between the Muslims and Christians will be even further strained through this unjustifiable murder. According to a statement made by the Al Shabab, the militants targeted Christians because they were uncomfortable with people of Christian faith pursuing their studies, which differs from their Islamic teachings. Taking matters into their own hands, they conducted a religious persecution that saw the death of so many innocent youths. Many individuals around the world expressed their outrage on social media networks, but on a decidedly smaller scale. One Facebook user, Nana Yaw Buobu, asked why the African leaders in the Muslim community as well as the rest of the world were so quiet regarding the matter. Some users commented that the upcoming holidays had overshadowed the shootings, while many others said that the silence was a form a racial discrimination towards the African community. This could and should have been the main topic of interest for several days, but instead, it was quietly put to rest. Whatever the reason, the death of the innocent lives of those Kenyan students certainly deserves more attention. So why should we care? Why should we care about something that happened halfway across the world? We are a community of minorities, a community of diverse religions, and a community of students; as scholars, it should be our responsibility to be aware of the persecutions of those within our community. While the rest of the world may turn its back in blatant ignorance, we as students should take action and stand in solidarity to respect the dead because these people could have been our friends, our fellow students or our family. To those whom these students were friends, family, and colleagues, to them, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely heartbreaking to see innocent lives being taken away. Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/03/world/africa/garissa-university-college-shooting-in-kenya.html?_r=0 http://www.dawn.com/news/1173905/147-dead-students-in-kenya-and-our-deafening-silence

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Asian Americans

face HEALTH

DISPARITY in America By Cindy Zhang

ristotle once said,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;He

who is unable

to live in a society, or who has no need

because he is sufficient for himself, must

God.â&#x20AC;? I believe he meant that regardless of our shallow classification, we are all a part of one community, and vulnerable to the same implications. Thus, we must build a society where we can rely on each other to live, grow, and create a better future. Yet what kind of future are we asking for if research reveals that minorities like Asians receive a lower quality of healthcare compared to non-minorities. How are we progressing if this gap has not decreased over the years? The health disparity in America that Asian Americans face is a serious issue be either a beast or a

ASIAN OUTLOOK

that is fueled by a lack of health literacy, high linguistic barrier, and general lack of awareness. Health literacy is the ability to comprehend basic health information. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, only 12% of adults have proficient health literacy. This percentage results in 9 out of every 10 adults with inadequate health understanding. Research reveals that low literacy has been linked to poor health results including higher rates of hospitalization. The populations most at risk are the minorities because in addition to low health literacy, they face a language and cultural barrier when receiving treatment. Asian Americans are a prime

example because they lack the linguistic skills needed to communicate and connect with their healthcare providers. This lack of understanding discourages them to seek help when they are sick. Some believe that their health care providers fail to be effective in providing help. This causes them to not seek help until their conditions have gotten much worse. Sometimes when they do reach out for help, their conditions have evolved into an untreatable stage. For example, according to The National Center for Reducing Asian American Cancer Health Disparities, Asians are the first ethnic group to have cancer as the leading cause of death. Specifically, Asian

American women have the highest death rate caused by cancer, yet the lowest cancer screening rate across all ethnicities. In addition to low cancer screenings, these women do not reach out for help until the cancer has evolved into a later and more severe stage, putting a strain on potential solutions. As for the Asians who do seek help, many struggle in understanding their own conditions and connecting with their doctors. This miscommunication can result in inaccurate diagnosis, and can cause patients to feel confused about their healthcare providerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advice. This confusion can lead to patients not following the proper medical solution necessary for

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

recovery. An example of this revolves around my grandpa, who was admitted to the hospital this year due to his serious health conditions. Being an Asian American with no education, and unable to speak both Mandarin and English, he had several difficulties from asking for a simple cup of warm water to understanding his current condition. Often times, he would tell my grandma that he was relocated to another room again, but he didn’t know why the

doctors relocated him. He didn’t understand why certain days he would receive an injection, while on other days he wouldn’t. Did they forget about him? Should he ask for his injection? Yet the latter is never a solution because he couldn’t ask; he didn’t know how to. Thus, he began to jump to conclusions thinking that they relocated him because he was untreatable which was why they stopped giving him injections. He began to think that there was no hope. Later, he began to not take his medication. Worst of

all, he thought that death was a simpler and faster option. When I went to visit him, the doctor told me that she tried to get him off the injection to see if he could go without it since she saw improvement in his health. She had relocated him because she wanted a closer supervision of his situation. Yet at the moment, my grandpa didn’t know any of this. All he had was his own false conclusions and the ongoing frustrations of people not being able to understand him. As for those few weeks where

The health disparity in America that Asian Americans face is a serious issue that is fueled by a lack of health literacy, high linguistic barrier, and general lack of awareness. he stopped complying with the medical solutions and began to possess a negative mindset, he was reversing all the progress he had made. Thus, there is a certain danger that arises when patients don’t understand their doctors. We need to bring that to society’s attention! When dealing with people’s health, language barriers and health disparities are not just issues facing society, but rather serious issues that reside within the heads of the patients. It becomes an internal conflict over trying to understand their own conditions as well as an external conflict of being able to verbally

communicate with their doctors. As Aristotle said, we are made to rely on each other because we can’t survive on our own. When patients can’t understand their own symptoms or their medical procedures, they begin to feel alienated and helpless. This emotion causes many of them to not receive the proper health care treatment and makes it difficult for them to have a fast recovery. Many people would argue and say that there are plenty of translators that can help fix this linguistic barrier. However, many of the Chinese translators tend to speak only Mandarin. Hospital staff should reflect

Sources: http://www.aahiinfo.org/english/asianAmericans.php#disparities https://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2015/webprogram/Paper23835.html http://www.aancart.org/cancer-research/publications/asian-american-cancer-health-disparities http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_society2.html http://www.news-medical.net/health/Disparities-in-Quality-of-Health-Care.aspx http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm

ASIAN OUTLOOK

the diversity in their patients if they want to provide the utmost care. Thus, the term “Chinese,” in regards to language, should not be –an automatic synonym for Mandarin. Hospitals need to hire translators who speak not only Mandarin but also popular dialects including Cantonese and Fuzhounese. The diversity in language will also bring a cultural connection between the hospital staff and their patients. The ultimate goal is for the patients to be able to understand their conditions and eliminate any feeling of alienation due to low health literacy.

America's Most Unwanted: The Parallel Dating Politics of Asian Males and Black Females in America By Tyron D. Brown

want you to do a favor and ask your friends: would they date an Asian male or a black female? Whatever

the answer is, I promise it will fall along the lines of “I don’t know what to think about Asian men because they never crossed my mind,” or “Well, I’ve never really been attracted to black females.” When you receive these responses — and I say “when” because that’s what I usually hear from people I ask — I want you to think about why Asian men aren’t given a thought, or why black females aren’t seen as attractive. The reality of the situation is that we, as humans, do not have a visual reality, because Hollywood has become so HD and accessible that we rely on television to create our every thought and perception about life for us. You may think that what I’m about to say is crazy, but there is a secret formula that is used to control the minds of people today, forcing them to believe that Asian males and black females aren’t desirable. Here’s the America’s Most Unwanted (A.M.U.) Formula: (Stereotype-History)(Media) = Stigma. Math wasn’t my greatest strength in academic study, but being an English major, I’ve come up with a simple way of understanding this formula: stereotypes exist, but we don’t acknowledge the history behind these stereotypes. Instead, the media perpetuates the stereotype alone, and that creates a stigma. My curiosity to know more about people led me to research many sociological issues such as interracial dating, racial hostility, gender roles and many other topics that correlated into our lives on a daily basis. As I researched a bunch of movies and documentaries, I began to notice some trends in the things I

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Jackie Chan stars in Rush Hour 3, a classic example of stereotyped Asian male in movies.

watched. For example, despite the comedy in the movie “Rush Hour,” I always found myself wondering why the Asians couldn’t speak English very well when I watched it. I also found parts of the movie uneventful because I could predict a lot of how Jackie Chan was going to act or what he would say. I expected kung fu and bad English with terrible interpretations of Westernized idioms, and that’s exactly what I got. As for black women, I’d always seen them in movies in which they struggle with romantic relationships and experience enough strife to last two lifetimes – whether it is movies bashing men like “Waiting to Exhale” or depressing Tyler Perry movies, they always left a bad taste in my mouth. If I were a man of another race, then I too would probably avoid all the drama that these movies seemed to imply about the lives of black women. However, the most recurring issue involving these two groups boiled down to this: why did women find Asian men unattractive, and why did men find black women unattractive? The answer was simply based on the Asian male lacking masculinity and the black female lacking femininity. If you permit a little rearranging, the media feminizes Asian men and masculinizes black women. I want you to recall any Asian man who was featured in a movie. Keep that image in your head. Now think about

ASIAN OUTLOOK

any black woman that was featured in a movie. Keep that image in your head. So you don’t know what image I’m referring to? Well, how about “Rush Hour,” “Rush Hour 2” and “Rush Hour 3”? Now what about “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Enter the Dragon,” “Romeo Must Die” and “The Joy Luck Club”? And remember that kung fu and bad English that I mentioned earlier? Here it is for the world to play, pause and rewind. Now it’s time for us to reflect on this stigmatized image of the Asian man. Asian men who we see on a screen can’t escape the generic path of being a martial artist and wife-beater who find English to be difficult (despite their superior academic achievement). Asian men have also been stripped of their male dominance or simply male role in many movies. Kip Fulbeck, an artist, filmmaker and investigator of identity politics, discusses this in a documentary entitled “Some Questions for 28 Kisses of Death and Enter the Dragon.” This film focuses a lot on Asian male roles in movies and the fact that they’ve been removed from the center of romance with Asian women – instead they are replaced by men of other races, particularly the white male. David Henry Hwang, author of the play “M. Butterfly,” a romance between a white man and Asian woman, also touches upon the issue of Asian male removal from romance. In the afterword of this play, Hwang questions why a white male protagonist is put in place of the Asian male. I find that their arguments have great validity, especially when you put into perspective what women desire in men and compare them to the stereotypical image of an Asian male. I wish I could say things are different for black

I want you to think about why Asian men aren’t given a thought, or why black females aren't seen as attractive.

Taraji P. Henson portrays April in I Can Do Bad All By Myself.

females, but they are very parallel to that of an Asian male. Today we see plenty of movies that are distributed to the masses that try to capture the everyday life of a black woman, such as “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” “Why Did I Get Married?,” “Why Did I Get Married Too?,” “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” and “For Colored Girls.” While I don’t agree that black women are all highly emotional and drama-seeking individuals, American films suggest they are. Erica Chito Childs, an associate professor of sociology at Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, also discusses the images of black women in media with her book “Fade to Black and White.” She mentions how interracial sex scenes and interracial couples on television shows don’t really sympathize with black women. My inspiration to find a solution to the problem of Asian male and black female stereotyping came when I read an article entitled “The Unmarriables: Why Black Women and Asian Men Should Date.” The article discusses the statistics of Asian men and black women between the ages of 25 and 29 who seem to not have found a partner to settle down with for marriage. Now, while this is an unfortunate reality, I feel that there is some validity to these statistics and articles that are concerned about Asian men and black

women because even at Binghamton University, students tend to define these two groups the same way the media defines them. I’m glad to say that people of all races, including Asian females and black males, believe that some of these stereotypes are common but not necessarily true. However, some still out there want to believe that all Asian men have small penises and can’t lift a 10-pound weight. Other students believe that all black women are aggressive and come from a broken home. But hold up! There is still hope out there with the solution that I have discovered for this problem. It’s clear that the media favors Asian women over men. For example, take Priscilla Chen (wife of Mark Zuckerberg), Kimora Lee Simmons (co-creator of Baby Phat and former wife of Russell Simmons) and Jhene Aiko (singer and performed with Drake, Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar). The media also celebrates the black male’s image with Kobe Bryant, Drake and John Legend (who married an Asian supermodel). While the media is a machine that helps promote the Asian female and black male’s image, they are simultaneously responsible for the defamation of the Asian male’s image. The media also does this with every rap video and reality TV show or Vine video that shows black women shaking their money maker and fighting over anyone who crosses their path. It’s clear that the media doesn’t have a wide enough beauty range in their eyes — but we definitely do. It is your eyes that determine what are the standards of beauty. It is your ears that determine what you take for truth. Lastly, it is your mind that culminates all of what you see, hear, feel and touch to allow you to think. It is your perception and your perception only that will allow the stereotypes of Asian males and black females to become true. I’m not saying you have to drop your current boyfriend or girlfriend to pursue an Asian male or a black female. However, if you are hesitant about approaching an Asian male or black female, just remember that this person can possibly change your life forever with their love, partnership or even just their friendship. You will never know, unless, of course, you try. Sources: Hwang, David. M. Butterfly. New York: Penguin Group, 1989. 94-100. Print. Chito Childs, Erica. Fade to Black and White: Interracial Images in Popular Culture. United States: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009. Print. Boone, Sherle. Meanings Beneath the Skin . Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Group, 2012. Print. Fulbeck, Kip, dir. Some Questions for 28 Kisses & Game of Death . National Asian American Telecommunications Association, 1994. Film. 11 Mar 2014. Espiritu, Yen Le. Asian American Men and Women: Labor, Laws, and Love. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1997. Print. Charlton, Lauretta. “The Unmarriables: Why Black Women and Asian Men Should Date.”Complex.com. Complex Magazine, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

GoldieBlox

Increasing Interest In Female Engineering

“engineers,” they usually come up with an image of a middle-aged man in a hard hat with a blueprint in front of him or a young male in a fitted hoodie typing proposals on his computer. Rarely is the word associated with the image of a female doing the same activities. This is probably due to the fact that, according to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, in the U.S. , “only 14% of engineers are women.” One of these female engineers includes Debbie Sterling. Despite a plethora of obstacles in her way, ranging from the disproportional ratio of boys to girls in her classes to difficulties in her 3D Drawing in Perspective course, Debbie was able to graduate with a mechanical engineering degree from Stanford University in 2005. As an engineer, she was motivated to invent and design a new product that would encourage young girls to explore the math and science fields at an earlier age. This led to the birth of the toy company, GoldieBlox, which Sterling founded in 2012. hen people think of

Debbie Sterling playing with a GoldieBlox toy set.

ASIAN OUTLOOK

By Angela Wu

In US society, it is very easy to differentiate a girl’s toys from a boy’s toys. If you look through aisles of any toy store, the girl’s aisles are covered in blotches of bright pink, pretty dolls with long hair and kitchen sets while the boy’s aisles are covered in blotches of bold blue, packaged action figures and Lego model kits. This segregation of aisles screams out “Girls Only!” or “Boys only!” and reinforces gender stereotypes at a very young age. For this reason, as well as the narrow focus on nurturing, many girls lack the spatial skills needed that would facilitate how well they understand concepts in engineering courses. Girls should not let society limit their mindset, and GoldieBlox expresses this exact message. Young girls should not only strive to become pretty princesses, but also live up to becoming strong independent princesses that can solve problems on their own. The GoldieBlox Company produces modern-day toys that combine a book with a construction set. Young children, around the ages of four to nine, can

A set of GoldieBlox toys, consisting of a book and a construction set.

read along to stories about the female protagonist, GoldieBlox, who goes on adventures with her friends and solves problems by building using a construction set included in the toy set. Ideally, children would read the story first and then follow along with the story by manipulating the pieces given in the construction set. By the end of the whole process, they should see in front of them, a functioning tool that performs actions like spinning or other general operations depending on the specific toy set a parent chooses to buy their child. This toy really works on developing the spatial abilities of young girls because by manipulating objects to work together to produce an operation and understanding concepts in the book, they are working on aspects like mental rotation and different ways of perceiving space. In Sterling’s TED Talk she said, “I don’t fit in, but I believe that our little girls will” and “It’s not about being a born genius…it’s about how hard you work.” With GoldieBlox’s new creations, Sterling would definitely help young girls garner an interest in math and science at an earlier age. Females should never succumb to others telling them that their nature is set in stone, like with the stigma that girls are not as good as boys in math and science. A few years ago, back in 2011, there was a video that went viral on YouTube surrounding the same subject matter of gender stereotypes. In the video, four-year-old Riley Maida, who is now close to age eight, discussed how unfair it was that society limited girls to playing with dolls and wanting to be princesses. She also discussed how boys were also stereotyped as only wanting to play with superheroes and buying toys that were blue. The major point Riley brought up in the video was

that girls and boys should be able to play with toys of both genders and not be limited to one gender. If a young girl like Riley can grasp the concept of gender equality with a world where boys can play with princess dolls and girls can play with superheroes, I think we can all learn a lesson from her. Parents and teachers can also have a huge influence on extinguishing gender roles. For example, parents could help by being more openminded to encouraging their children to play with different toys in a stereotype-free environment. Also, teachers could promote gender equality by having guest speakers where a male or female has an occupation that is non-traditional according to our society. This idea represents the mission of the GoldieBlox Company and clearly, parents and children have started to recognize the benefits of this new open-minded environment to push girls further. This is supported by the high demand of Sterling’s toy product and how she was able to generate 40,000 units of her product during her first run due to the overwhelming demand by parents and other toy companies. Sterling’s toys are now being sold in over 6,000 stores across the US. Hopefully, Sterling and the GoldieBlox toy company will continue to empower young girls and increase their interest in different fields in math and science. Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEeTLopLkEo https://www.asme.org/career-education/articles/undergraduatestudents/engineering-still-needs-more-women https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OrMT8Wv9mI http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/riley-four-year-oldfeminist-111229.htm http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/news/a9145/debbie-sterlinggoldieblox-founder/

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Beautiful Boxer By Michelle Yom

He fights like a man so he can become a woman.

o matter how accepting our culture has become,

people are still uncomfortable by things that are out of the “ordinary.” Being a transgender is something so unfathomable to some people that it scares them or makes them cringe. The idea of gender stemming from a person’s biology has been the only way of thinking for so long that the idea of straying from one’s perceived sex is something so foreign. The process of gender identification is a challenge for those who don’t fit into the social constructs, and they must fight every day to survive life as a transgender. Life as a transgender boxer is shown in the biopic, “Beautiful Boxer,” showing their journey in going from male to female and their fight for acceptance. Discrimination toward transgender people shows the lack of tolerance in today’s culture, which is why the acceptance of transgender individuals is so important – to open up our eyes to a better society. Nong Toom, the protagonist, knew from an early age that she didn’t feel comfortable living life as a boy. She believed that she was to suffer in her present life by living in the wrong body. Her mother was the only one accepting of her choice to wear makeup and to act differently. Her father clearly disapproved of her feminine tendencies at first, and friends found it extremely strange to see Toom wear lipstick. Even though Toom was born with the mind of a woman, she also made the choice of being a boxer, which is stereotypically a male activity. To make her dream of becoming a woman a reality, she had to box as a male, which is very ironic. It seemed like Toom was overcompensating to prove her manhood and avoid bullying from her peers. After choosing to wear makeup in the ring, Toom became the “Beautiful boxer,” facing a lot more ridicule and opposition from her opponents and fellow trainees. She noted that the more makeup she wore, the harder her opponents hit her, making Toom feel the need to hit even harder and act even more masculine. Her fellow boxing trainees would feel uncomfortable showering with Nong Toom because they felt as though they would get raped by her even though Toom obviously had no intention to. It’s weird that rape seems to always get linked to gay or transgendered people, and the prejudiced inhabitants of this world tend to treat them as a contagious and horrible disease. In my opinion, the general public tends to think that if you expose gay or transgender people to children, they will also become gay or transgender. This is the reason why children don’t get exposure to a variety of individuals, and some never learn to be accepting of everyone. They don’t understand that not everybody can fit into their culture’s constructs or know how to be accepting of those that are different from them. When people are born, they are born as a specific sex, but the environment around them ingrains their ideology of gender – however, some may feel that they don’t fit into the gender given by society. For those who are “straight” gendered, life comes easier because they are considered “normal.” For others, who aren’t sure or stray from society’s norms, they have to fight harder to prove themselves or hide their true selves to prevent bullying or ridicule. While “Beautiful Boxer” portrayed the life struggles of a transwoman, a transman would also have to go through daily life challenges. People might not ever consider them masculine because they were once female, and finding a life partner for both situations would be difficult because of the lack of truly open-minded people in this world. Our society doesn’t require people to prove their femininity; ironically, men must prove their masculinity because being a true man in our culture comes with power and that power must be earned. While Nong Toom had to overcompensate for her femininity by boxing, I feel like a transman would have to prove his masculinity rather than mask it or overcompensate with more femininity. Gender identification is definitely more difficult if you happen to stray from the norm and “Beautiful Boxer” helped me to see how tough it really is. “Beautiful Boxer” shows us the challenges of being a transgender but also the rewards. Because of the hard life Nong Toom had to live, she grew up knowing exactly what she wanted and gained a sturdy interior and exterior. Though she had to live with ridicule and a lack of acceptance, Nong Toom has helped generate favorable responses for all transgender people.

Twitter: @DavidSo Comedy

youtube. com/user/ DavidSo Comedy

DAV CHATTING WITH

Interview/

I D

Instagram @DavidSo Comedy

SO Interviewed & transcribed by Dale Gao

our years ago, know who

I really didn’t David So was – until

my friends showed me one of

YouTube regarding Alexandra Wallace. I was laughing so hard when I first saw his video – a 6-foot-1 Korean dude ranting about a UCLA girl ranting about Asians in the library. Ever since that vlog, I’ve been watching his shorts, sketches, vlogs, series and collaborations. Raised in Sacramento, CA, David knew he wanted to do his videos on

ASIAN OUTLOOK

comedy during his mid-teens. On Jan. 28, 2011, his passion led him to the creation of his YouTube channel, DavidSoComedy. From then on, he has garnered over a million subscribers and viewers on his channel, spreading laughter and inspiration everywhere. On April 18, 2015, I had the chance to interview the esteemed YouTube comedian before Korean Night, which was hosted by the Korean American Student Association (KASA). When I talked

to him, David was extremely open and down to earth. He was very funny and engaging. At one point of our conversation, we even talked about anime and gave each other recommendations for what to watch in the future. Breaking news: He watches anime! After talking to him, I can really see how passionate David is about his work in comedy because all he wants to do is make people laugh. It was such a joy having him here in Binghamton.

David So and Paul Kim singing together on Youtube.

Dale: You have over 1 million subscribers, 1.5 million views on your Youtube channel, and you’ve traveled across the nation entertaining huge amounts of people. How do you feel about your success and what do you attribute it to? David: I wouldn’t really call this success. It’s really just a stepping stone. I think that YouTube is a format for you to kind of start off, well, for me anyways – I don’t want to say for anybody. I say for me, a stepping stone, to take this and do something greater with it. I think a lot of people use YouTube as an end goal – it’s not my end goal. In terms of me considering myself a star celebrity, I don’t think I’m there yet – I’ve got a long way to go. A lot of my YouTube stuff is based off me and my opinions, my upbringing and what I grew up with – even in the sketches you see, it’s all based upon my standup and what I’ve experienced as a person. Dale: Were your parents supportive of your career path?` David: Not in the first place. They got supportive a little bit after they started being generally, I guess, financially stable for me. I think mainly because as an Asian parent, they don’t see your career being something monetarily

lucrative. It’s hard for them to be supportive because for them, their hard work is to make sure you don’t have to live a life that you lived growing up, in terms of struggles. Whether you were poor or not, I believe that a lot of very Asian parents do this thing where they try to make sure you always believe that you’re more than enough to survive and my parents did a really great job of that. It’s just that when I tell them that I was going to be a comedian, they don’t see a game plan for it. For me, it’s like, “If you’re going to be a comedian, what are you going to do with it and how can you make sure that you can make a living off of this.” So, at first they weren’t supportive but once I fought for what I wanted and it took a few years to do it, they completely support me now. Dale: What’s a day-to-day life like for a YouTuber and comedian? David: It’s really boring to be honest. It’s pretty boring, in the sense of, a lot of my stuff is based on thoughts and ideas. So you have to realize, that’s writing – it’s all writing. I haven’t done sketches in a while because I’ve been traveling so much, but it’s boring in the sense that it’s not popping bottles, me drinking and getting drunk, and then smoking

and doing drugs and stuff like that. I don’t even do that. I rarely even drink – very occasionally – usually on these shows but I don’t do drugs, I don’t party, I don’t go out. I like spending time with friends and family. Other than that, I’m in my office and I’m writing. It’s not as exciting as most people think. If I did a day-to-day thing, it would be just me in a room, writing, thinking of ideas, trying to get life experiences and moving forward like that, which is something I don’t like showing a lot. Not because there’s not something that’s really popping that’s happened, but there’s also people in my life that you guys will never meet because that’s my personal life. I don’t feel comfortable enough bringing [my] people into the scrutiny of the public. That’s my job – it’s my job to be criticized, it’s my job to be looked at – and have viewers do all that stuff. I don’t like bringing my personal, personal level into that light. It’s not something they signed up for. Dale: For your sketches, shorts, collaborations, comedy, etc. – what’s the thought process like when you come up with material? David: For sketches, it’s all based on personal thoughts and experiences. A lot of the stuff

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

you see is older standup. I’ve been doing standup since I was 16-yearold so there’s a lot of old material that I have that I use to turn that into sketches. One of my favorite ones was – actually, this one was a stupid idea. I think I was really drunk, but it was “Ball Handles” – it’s a stupid Nike commercial. Dale: Oh, yeah, yeah! I saw that. David: And the reason why I did

Dale poses with David So at Korean Night.

that Nike commercial was because I always see, quote-unquote, “funny commercials.” I was like, I could ‘em better. And so I thought of this idea a couple years ago – I never shot it [then], but I didn’t even know if it was going to do well or if people found it funny. Dale: It was hilarious. David: It’s one of my favorite ones that I’ve ever done. Yep, it was just so hilarious but yeah, I did that sketch. It comes from an idea and then you build off that. Dale: Just do it, right?

ASIAN OUTLOOK

David: Yeah, just do it. Dale: You had a lot of collaborations with YouTubers like JustKiddingFilms, Arden Cho, Julie Zhan from shutupanddance – and your “Heart2Heart” series with stars like Clara C and Joseph Vincent. What was that experience like? David: I don’t really consider them collabs. They’re just friends – so before I work with somebody, I have to like them as a person. Even Julie Zhan, she was never a YouTuber. She was just an actress. I think a lot of us kind of like edged [her] to like “Yo, if you want to create material, why don’t put it in your own channel” and she became her own little entity because she was doing so many sketches. But I have to like you first as a person if I want to work with you and usually I’m geared towards people’s skills and abilities. I generally don’t like using too many YouTubers because they’re not actors – so a lot of my stuff is heavy on acting. If you’re not an actor, it’s hard to have them write out a vision. I don’t want to cater my writing to somebody else’s abilities. I want to be able to write something with my own vision and them be able to play it out – that’s why I like using actors. My friend, Khalif Boyd, is a dope actor. He’s just starting out and I love using him because he can take my piece and make it into something else. I love using Julie because she was an actress first and she always took the characters and did an excellent job with them. Ally Maki, I love using her in my sketches – she’s absolutely amazing. Dale: Cool! Do you have any upcoming projects in the future? David: There are a couple of short films that I am working on right now. It’s kind of like on the down low. I have a short film that I’m working

on – it was originally a three-part web series but I’m thinking about putting it into a full feature. As of right now, it’s all written in Korean, so it’s my first project that I wrote completely in Korean which is beyond me – I’m Korean American first and foremost. I’m super excited about it. I actually already shot it once and it f*cking bombed. It absolutely bombed. I lost a lot of money on that a long time ago and I’ve been working on that for five months and then it was supposed to be out this past December but I actually took that five month project and I scrapped it because if it doesn’t come out to the way I want it to, then I’d rather not put it out. I’d rather lose the money, lose the time than for me to put up a product that I hate so I’m reshooting it again with a bigger budget and I’m thinking about putting it to a feature instead. Dale: Any advice for aspiring YouTubers, comedians, and musicians? [Note: David So was previously a musician before becoming a comedian.] David: There’s really no advice to give. I mean, in all honesty, I don’t think it’s hard to be [a YouTuber]. It’s difficult keeping up with social media. So let’s say you become a YouTuber and you have to put out a video every week – that’s tiring. It’s really difficult. In terms of the methodology of becoming a YouTuber, it’s really not that difficult anymore is it? You see new YouTubers pop up all the time. What do they do? They take other people’s ideas and they redo other people’s stuff and they become famous. It’s not that difficult – it’s not like an acting audition where it’s based off your skill level. There are other people who are professionals that are scrutinizing their amount of acting and singing. YouTube is a platform – where other people get to

David So’s Favorites: Cuisine: Japanese and Korean Smell: Candles Genre: R&B – Brian McKnight

David So with the members of Asian Outlook.

decide whether you’re good or not – which is a pretty amazing platform. My point is, how easy has it been for somebody to get a million views lately? It’s easy. I mean, before, it was a little more difficult because it took more than just BuzzFeed to blow you up or Reddit or something like that. You had to let yourself decide it out and let other people watch your content and decide it out. Now you just take an already used concept, put in your own style to it and see if it pops off. Like “15 ways to do something,” “10 ways to do something” – you see it all the time. It’s not that difficult anymore. Dale: With YouTube as your stepping stone, where do you see yourself five years into your career? David: Definitely directing or acting in films. I’m not a big spotlight person so I don’t actually like being in front of the camera. I just like making people laugh. If it takes for me to be in front of a camera, for me to create something

where I can just write content for other people to play in – as soon as I become a writer and I write a script for a sketch for somebody else and they kill it, it becomes a feature, people are laughing all across the world, then that’s all that matters. Either way, somebody is laughing. My face does not have to be on it. As long as what I create helps people laugh and makes them feel better, then that’s it.

Anime: Attack on Titans One Piece Fooly Cooly Abenobashi TV Show: Cosby Show

Thriller: Old Boy I saw the Devil Skeleton Twins Dale: That sounds awesome! Any last words you’d like to say to your Comedy: White Chicks Bridesmaid fans? Drama: Whiplash David: Thanks for continually watching. It’s not easy doing what I do but I think getting to do shows and meeting people and watching their appreciation gives motivation for me to continue what I’m doing. Even though it’s not the most popular content but as long as my content reaches the people that it needs to reach, then it’s perfectly fine which is why I’m so glad in doing these shows for you guys.

Animal: Dog Disney Movie: Sword and the Stone Aladdin Superhero: Superman Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Now’s Our Time By Kahlil Stultz

According to the report, blacks in Ferguson make up only 67% of the population, but account for 93% of its arrests and 88% of cases involving force.

n the last year I’ve written about race more often than I’d like to. I can’t help it – race and racism is an issue which has been at the forefront of our national subconscious. Recent events involving police brutality threatens to undermine our multiracial society. In early 2015, the Department of Justice published a thorough report that held scathing evidence, confirming fears of state-subjugation of the local black community within Ferguson. According to the report, blacks in Ferguson make up only 67% of the population, but account for 93% of its arrests and 88% of cases involving force. Employing routine pullovers regarding traffic violations, officers often used these as a bait to further escalate the situation, allowing them to use force to assert power. Considering the influx of mine-resistant vehicles and assault rifles from the US government to local police departments, the findings of the DOJ report are especially concerning. One must ask, “What use an average police officer has for combat equipment?” Furthermore, we must ask ourselves how we feel about local police forces ready to do their patrols with military-grade armories at their disposal, especially in a tense environment such as in Ferguson. Regardless of whether we wish to admit it or not, minority communities which have suffered at the hands of the police in the past, are likely to face new burdens from the militarization of their resident police departments. This has not gone unnoticed. Thousands of students, concerned citizens and political activists have spoken out after the Eric Garner and Michael Brown protests. As the last few months have shown, our own campus has hosted demonstrations against racial inequality. With all this action and dialogue, we must ask ourselves whether our tactics for change have been completely successful. The protests in some respects raised awareness but activism can only go so far in advancing racial relations in a post-civil rights era. The protests demonstrated that a subsection of America was unsatisfied with the status quo – there are still many Americans who are apprehensive and inexperienced in regards to an open dialogue. I’ve too often written about the problem and now it seems only fitting that I give solutions. Our solution must be

ASIAN OUTLOOK

a peaceful and inclusive one. This answer should be one in which we as Americans all play a salient role as individuals while actively fighting to right the legacies of past injustices that drive the inequality in our country. Fifty years ago, former Attorney General and then U.S. Senator from New York, Robert F. Kennedy, galvanized America by decrying what he saw as the “mindless menace of violence in America” following the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. With American society disintegrating in the wake of Dr. King’s murder, Kennedy faced a reality, which if we are not careful, we may be regressing back toward. Kennedy’s answer to the American racial crisis was not one of increased internal security measures, violent revolution, or the exclusion of one group or race of people. It was one of looking beyond rhetoric or passions, and uniting every citizen of America. Kennedy, bringing all factions of the struggle together explained that the victims of racial violence were “black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown.” He made his most important meaningful observation, however, that they were “human beings whom other human beings loved and needed.” I’ve been reading, re-reading and listening to Robert F. Kennedy’s words in the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict, the Eric Garner Verdict, the Tamir Rice killing, and now following the slaying of Walter Scott in South Carolina. His eloquence is comforting as it is poignant, and his message and his road map towards American unity are ones which are not only feasible but empowering. The fatal encounters of young black men with police may be mitigated and diminished by new policies and by the introduction of body cameras. However, until we confront the root causes – histories, communities and cultures of racial mistrust, and complacency with inequality – then we are merely swiping at the bitter fruits of a deep rooted tree. Drawing on the doctrine of nonviolence, championed by Martin Luther King, Kennedy implored the America of his troubled age to “admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men” and “find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of all.” He warned

People protesting in the streets for justice - Michael Brown and Ferguson

both his audience and future generations “we must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others.” For Kennedy, violence was not merely a physical act but the very phenomena of inequality itself – the individual and collective allowance of “the slow destruction of a child” due to poverty, lack of opportunity and societal apathy. Kennedy wisdom was born from the painful truth learned in the aftermath of King’s assassination and the bitter remembrance of his brother President John F. Kennedy’s own murder that “life can neither be ennobled nor enriched by hatred or revenge.” Those words haunt us today as they did forty-seven years ago. In our modern day, we cannot dismiss those who decry a history of bigotry, inequality and deferred American dreams as “liberals” or whiners playing “the race card.” We as well cannot diminish our fellow citizens because of the color of their skin – regardless of whether it infers “privilege” or not. Like it or not, America is at a crossroads, and we cannot move forward without a united front of Americans from all races, backgrounds and political affiliations standing together. The murder of Walter Scott in South Carolina shows us that all of our interests – for a democratic, fair, equal and prosperous

“Surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen.” - Robert Kennedy Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

America under the rule of law that can only be safeguarded when we all play our individual roles in the protection of the rights of each and every single American. This means that we must start with those surrounding us if we desire to walk into a post-racial society. Our mission towards a post-racial society must be accomplished through education, reconciliation and compromise. If we desire to destroy the beliefs that caused these preventable deaths, then we must discard stereotypes and shift judgment from names, hair, skin color and race to an analysis of character. This goal challenges us to make friends and connections with people who are different from us, allowing us to challenge who we are and what we stand for. It also means volunteering in communities which don’t necessarily look like the ones we may have grown up in or currently live in, and look at those who suffer indignities as not merely being weak or lazy but as neighbors in distress. It also means venturing into new cultures and learning to take pride in the shared struggles and histories of people who are unlike us in religion, skin color, sexual orientation, and gender. The race conversation that needs to happen must come when we don’t make people of other races honorary “whites” or “blacks.” It must be an American conversation that acknowledges that we are all Americans and that all of us play a positive role in making the American experiment a successful one. I did not want to end my career with Asian Outlook writing about race or racism. However, it will take many small drops from all Americans, including myself, for meaningful societal change in our time to extinguish the racial crisis that has plagued America since its birth. If there be any words of courage worthy to rouse us to our mission then it should Robert Kennedy‘s final words from that speech in Cleveland in 1968, words which linger long after his own assassination: “Surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen.”

Sources: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ ferguson_police_department_report.pdf http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/RFK-Speeches/ Remarks-of-Senator-Robert-F-Kennedy-to-the-Cleveland-City-Club-Cleveland-OhioApril-5-1968.aspx

ASIAN OUTLOOK

A Plea From a Native

New Yorker I

’m going to start off by saying something that is as close to heresy anybody with Cantonese roots can say: I used to hate dim sum. Fortunately, I have learned the errors of my ways since my naïve youth, but for a while, between the ages of 5 and 16, I always avoided eating dim sum. Part of that was because I never liked most dim sum dishes. I liked sticky rice, but that was about it. Spare ribs? Nope. Shumai? Pass. Looking back, I think what turned me off was that I hated seafood, and dim sum was notorious for its abundant seafood dishes. When I walked into a dim sum parlor, the giant tanks filled with assortments of fish and other sea cretins creeped me out.

Change is what prevents us from being complacent and lazy, and the willingness to try and get out of your comfort zone will prove rewarding, I guarantee it. What finally changed my opinions in dim sum was my constant hunt for good food. Close friends know that I keep a full list of restaurant recommendations. Going Midtown? Try Phoenix Garden. Looking for a delicious burger, but want to avoid Shake Shack’s line? Burger Joint is your answer. I am not claiming to know the ins and outs of the entire New York City, but I am always willing to explore. And part of the key to exploration is the desire to try new things and listen to recommendations to people who know more. What kind of explorer would I be if I was unwilling to try a whole style of food?

By Alex Ching

It was only when I was introduced to a place on Queens Boulevard known as Ping’s did I really break my dislike for dim sum. Ever since then, I go there more often than any other place when I eat out. That part of the story actually doesn’t really matter, what matters is this: For many Asian Americans or just students from New York City in general, we live in perhaps the most metropolitan city in the world. I know this is getting redundant, but New York is truly more diverse than London, Tokyo, or any large cities you can think of. According to the New York Times, more than 800 languages and dialects can be found in Queens alone. The 7 train that navigates through large swaths of ethnic neighborhoods in Queens is known as the “International Express.” As this semester comes to a close, think Ping’s, located in Queens Boulevard about exploring the city when you have some spare time. I know there is a rush to work, either for money, or for internship experience, but exploring is part of personal growth. You can explore like I did: trying new foods and getting over fears. Take the subway out to the corners of Bronx, Brooklyn, and/ or Queens and see where that takes you. Change is what prevents us from being complacent and lazy, and the willingness to try and get out of your comfort zone will prove rewarding, I guarantee it. And hey, you might find something that will stay with you forever.

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

THE MENTAL ILLNESS:

Holistic Approach

By Ian Chiu

sychiatric disorders have always been a taboo topic

to bring up, especially during gatherings where all your cousins, aunts, and uncles are present. “She’s physically sick and can’t be here today” was the story my aunt and uncle would tell everyone when someone asked where my younger cousin was, but I knew the truth. She was in the psychiatric hospital for manicdepressive disorder. But why, why did they tell everyone she was physically sick instead of telling them the truth, that she was diagnosed with manic-depressive disorder and needed to be observed overnight? This question has and still plagues me. Only recently, after doing extensive research, did I crack the surface: there is a difference in eastern and western culture. In western culture, it is more widely accepted to be mentally ill than it is in eastern culture. In America, 18.6% of adults aged 18 or older self-report that they are mentally ill and in Asia, only 450 million of the 3.5 billion people self-report that they are mentally ill. Comparing the mental health budget as a proportion to the general health budget in America and South Korea, America specifically budgets 6.0% while South Korea budgets only 3.0%. When the statistics of the mentally ill population and the financial budgeting for mental health treatments in Asia and America are compared, a clear distinction of acceptance is shown. There is a social stigma within the Asian American community, which Ting Lin did a phenomenal job highlighting in her Asian Outlook article titled “The Stigma of Mental Illness on Asian Americans.” The

stigmatization is created and perpetuated through the flawed self-view of shame being brought to the family. “CAN,” a documentary featuring a manicdepressive Vietnamese male named Can, talks about how difficult it is to be an Asian American with a mental disability. Because Can’s parents do not understand western cultural philosophy, they are both at a misunderstanding. His parents attribute his mental illness to his weakness by showing emotion, his wrongdoing in his past life, and an imbalance in his body. In Asian cultures, the body and mind are closely linked to each other. Asian Americans are more likely to associate mental illness with physical symptoms than emotional symptoms, and this is evident in the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine. In Chinese medicine, vital organs are associated with different emotions. For example, joy is associated with the heart. Sorrow is associated with the lungs, anger with the liver, and fear with the kidneys. Emotional problems are then frequently explained through various physical abnormalities as opposed to viewing emotions as a separate entity of the mind. Asians believe that the emotions stem from physical abnormalities and thus, they see emotional individuals as weak. Not only are the emotions stemmed from physical abnormalities, but Asians also believe that the symptoms of certain mental illnesses are too. For example, the Chinese believe that exhaustion and weakness experienced when one is depressed stems from an inadequate

“Emotional problems are then frequently explained through various physical abnormalities as opposed to viewing emotions as a separate entity of the mind. Asians believe that the emotions stem from physical abnormalities and thus, they see emotional individuals as weak.” 28

ASIAN OUTLOOK

physical energy in the central nervous system, which is an official diagnosis in China. Religion also plays a big part in what many traditional Asian Americans believe. According to Dr. Venus Tsui, an assistant director in Asian American Family Services, she said, “Some Asian cultures associate mental illness with something bad a person did in a past life, like Karma.” This is a belief held by many traditional Asians such as Can’s mother. She attributes her belief to her religion by saying that she believes her child is living with his illness because of his wrongdoing in his previous life. The only way Can could be cured from In America, 18.6% of adults aged his mental 18 or older self-report that they are illness is to do mentally ill and in Asia, only 450 selfless work million of the 3.5 billion people selfthis lifetime, report that they are mentally ill. this way he can have a good life in the next life. Not only do traditional Asians believe in past lives and karma, but also some believe that mental disorders are caused by the will of dead ancestors, a weakness of spirit, and God’s punishment for the loss of one’s soul. Imbalance of the mind and body has also contributed to the traditional Asian belief of mental illnesses. Asian cultures believe that imbalances of qi as well as a disharmony of “hot” and “cold” are the causes for mental illnesses. Qi, perceived by traditional Chinese medicine, is the energy flow throughout the body. Mental illnesses

and other physical abnormalities are believed to be caused by the disruption of qi, which may seem skeptical to the foreign ear. However, tai chi, a Chinese low-impact mindbody exercise which is believed to help regulate the flow of qi, has been shown to improve motor and cognitive skills in the mentally ill. Whether tai chi’s regulation of qi actually improves these skills in the mentally ill still remains unclear; however, tai chi ultimately helps individuals. Aside from qi, harmony of “hot” and “cold” natures is important to traditional Chinese medicine. “Hot” and “cold” natures are a common attribute that are given to specific foods within the Asian community, especially to those of Chinese descent. I, for one, have been told countless times to not eat too much fried food in fear that it will disrupt the harmony in my body. My parents would make “cold” tea or “cold” jelly to help harmonize my nature, if it was too “hot.” But how does this belief extend to mental illnesses? Similar to the movement of qi, a balance of “hot” and “cold” needs to be maintained within the vital organs. This balance represents the harmony between the human body and natural forces. Eating too much of one type of food would upset the balance in certain organs and thus, cause illness. One of the most interesting things about Asian culture is the philosophy behind it. Although the philosophies are mostly heterogeneous within the Asian population, it is fascinating to see how the eastern part of the world views illnesses, especially since the view is typically more holistic. To this day and age, research is still being done on mental disorders, proving that there has yet to be a conclusive reason for each disorder. Although Asian beliefs may seem far-fetched to western culture, research has yet to be done to confidently rule out eastern approaches to mental illnesses. So remember to always be kind to one another, do tai chi once in a while, and drink lots of “cold” natured food to balance out the “hot” on a hot summer day!

Sources •http://www.namisf.org/files/news/AAPIListeningSession.pdf •http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Experts-Asians-mental-illness-growing-problem-1687340.php •Kramer, E. J., Kwong, K., Lee, E., & Chung, H. (2002). Cultural factors influencing the mental health of Asian Americans. Western Journal of Medicine, 176(4), 227–231. •http://www2.nami.org/content/contentgroups/mio/fact_sheets1/aapi_facts_about_mh_04.pdf •Clinical Manual of Cultural Psychiatry (Oct 25, 2014) written by Russell Lim [Got online by googling] •http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/05/24/tai-chi-for-mental-health/14015.html •Ng, BY. (1999). Qigong-induced mental disorders: a review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 33:197-206. •https://www2.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Fact_Sheets1&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=129323 •http://www2.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Multicultural_Support1/AAPIManual.pdf

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Submitted by John-Raymond D De Bard

AO CONSCIENCE

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Photo by John Paul M. Randrup

“Mad House”

By Vivian Wong

mber left. I’m on my own. There wasn’t a breeze and the summer heat hit us hard. And then, Dave moved out. He said something about being allergic to feelings and I shouted, “stop talking nonsense,” over the hard rock music as his leather baggage disappeared behind the door. But it wasn’t nonsense and I knew because I wanted to escape too. Lowana never ate lunch; she’s dead now. At her funeral, no one cried. Her mother stood by the grave with her lips pressed together like she had expected that to happen but during the car ride home, I saw her tears fall and soak the black fabric. Barry, a blue parrot we had, never learned to fly. He leaned against the metal bars

ASIAN OUTLOOK

of the cage, a few centimeters from the cage door with a broken latch. He would never get away. Lesley, a twenty-something year old, was married with some old guy diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She wanted the money once he dies. Don complained about my PB&J sandwiches. “So much peanut butter; too little jelly,” he said to me. His sister, Julia, didn’t need this type of food. Sophia didn’t need food at all. Her body rejected all types and the last time we saw her was in our moldy bathtub, with her wrist slit and blood dripping over the edge. I, along with the world, pretended to take afternoon naps. I couldn’t sleep and everyone else is lost in reality.

“Kenshin” Drawing by Ying Xu

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

“Surreal”

Drawing by Star Gould

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Photo by John Paul M. Randrup

POEMS BY MM623

幸福像风一样吹来吹去到时候就会吹到你面前

translation: happiness is like the wind it goes here and there and then when time comes it goes right in front of you

朋友，对不起可是我不懂到现在我还是不懂

translation: My friend, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand I still don’t understand

朋友， My friend, 对不起可是你误会了我 I’m sorry, but you misunderstood me 到现在你还是不懂 You still don’t understand me 陌生人，再见了。

Stranger, Goodbye

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

Photos by Anastasia Zander

ASIAN OUTLOOK

South Korea May 2014

April 2013 - Flowers in South Korea

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

View of Florence,Italy from Piazzale Michelangelot Photo by Shelley Shin

ASIAN OUTLOOK

Photo shot at the Acropolis overlooking the entire city.

Photo by Sharon Lau

Vol. XXVIII, Issue 5

ASIAN OUTLOOK needs

artists, writers, journalists, photographers,

graphic designers, articles, opinions, interviews, stories, photographs, recipes, poems, drawings, comics,

glow sticks, a projector, bubble tea, mad caffeine, a secret base, Chinese New Year holiday, a time machine, a disco ball, power, respect, etc.

maybe you can help?

Wednesday, 8:00pm, UUW 329

ao.editor@gmail.com