Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

A month of cultural identity pride and continued education

By SYDNI ZIDAREVICH Justice, Equity and Diversity Beat Reporter

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is known as a time to cele brate the ways AAPIs have contributed to history, but at Oregon State University, the month of May is also a time to learn about the numer ous communities held within the identity.

“Everyone has a different process of what education looks like to them, be cause everyone's iden tity is so different,” said Geoffrey Engel, Asian and Pa cific Cultural Center community relations representative.

Engel described how the experience of learning history within one culture can look very different from another, espe cially between cultures or countries that have more documented history. An ex ample being learning about Japanese his tory versus history of events within Laos which Dylan Luong, APCC leadership li aison, mentioned are learned about from speaking with elders in the community.

“A lot of it is about pride,” Engel said. “A lot of people growing up in a pre dominantly white area aren’t taught to that it is something to be proud of… in constructs your understanding of yourself and I think it can also help validate your lived experiences when you have that academic literature and terminology to put a name to your experiences it can be empowering in that sense.”

While the APCC plans to host a variety of events highlighting different cultures included in AAPI community, not one person holds all of the knowledge of contributions that the community as a whole have made at OSU or even nationwide.

AAPI HERITAGE

FOUNDATIONAL

According to the National of these workers who laid the tracks were more progressively alien - ated. So if you have a heritage month that promotes a time of learning and it tells you to embrace that and

The NEH claims that the term “Asian American” was coined in 1968 by student activists Emma Gee and Yuji Ichioka as a unifying political identity for people of Asian descent, in order to push back on the previous EuroThose that identify themselves in this community claim that how words used to describe them were in direct correlation to being empowered to continue supporting civil rights efforts in the 1960s.

It was during the Civil Rights Movement that the community began to speak out on issues that were prominent and significant to their communities, which was previously unheard of before.

According to the NEH, “1960s Asian American civil rights activism… signaled a shift from Asian Americans fighting for the right to be Americans, to fighting for their rights as Americans.”

Malcolm X’s ideologies influenced many Asian Americans through the movement and on May 19, 1972, Yuri Kochiyama did an interview with a radio station, KPFK in Los Angeles, where Kochiyama acknowledged Malcolm’s stress on needing to know one’s heritage and history to know which direction to go in.

With this, Asian American students in California challenged the curriculum of higher education, arguing that research and teaching had propagated stereotypes about AAPI education history and culture.

In 1968, at San Francisco State University, and in 1969 at the University of California, Berkeley, Asian Americans joined the Third World Liberation Front student strikes alongside the Black Students Union and other student groups.

The strikes were used to demand that the universities hire more faculty of color, enroll more students of color and create departments devoted to ethnic studies. It was during this time that the Asian American Political Alliance was established at the UC Berkeley campus.

Soon, AAPA branches were on college campuses nationwide.

The AAPA was disbanded in 1969, however, the intention had been met–Asian American identity was declared.

“I think that there's probably a really significant amount of history that's not documented,” Engel said. Although the AAPA is no longer a running organization, across the country, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities have been able to create safe spaces where anyone who identifies as API can find a source of connection.

OSU AAPI HISTORY AND TODAY:

Here at Oregon State University, according to Alexis “Alex” Dinges, communications representative, the initiative for an Asian Cultural Center started as early as the 1980s, but was officially established in 1991.

Originally just the Asian Cultural Center, in 2003, it was re-established as the Asian and Pacific Cultural Center to be more inclusive of the API identity.

Previously, all cultural centers were located on Jackson St. It was in 2014 that the building the APCC currently

| continued on PAGE 2 |

Sports

Senior Zach Lame achieves childhood dream of playing division-one soccer at Oregon State

From California, to Oregon, to Spain, Zach Lame's journey has landed him a spot on the OSU men's soccer roster. 10

MILITARY MILESTONE

From rare to expected: OSU celebrates 50 years of women in AROTC program

By SUKHJOT SAL News Reporter

Following Oregon State University’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps 150th anniversary last year, the university will soon celebrate for another reason: 50 years of women in the AROTC program.

Hosted in the McAlexander Fieldhouse and open to all, the celebration will begin at noon on May 5. Valerie Ranum, a senior AROTC cadet planning the event, said the afternoon will feature lunch, cake and mingling.

“It’s a very special thing to be a part of, definitely shows you how far women have come,” said Makayla Steele, firstyear creative writing student and first-year AROTC cadet. “We’re all equal and we all have strength, that mental strength to do anything we put our minds to.”

OSU’s Army ROTC program is one of the top 50 programs in the nation, out of 273 total programs.

“This year, the number five cadet in the entire nation is a Beaver,” said David McRae, lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and department chair and professor of military science at OSU AROTC. “Sophia Schmiedt is a double major in civil engineering and economics.”

AROTC is a leadership development program at OSU that develops Commissioned Officers for the U.S. Army.

“Our students, referred to as cadets, study military history, tactics, ethics and applied leadership,” McRae said. “The program takes as little as two years to complete, but many take all four years.”

ROTC is different from enlisting in the army, McRae explained, as enlisted soldiers are specialists in their craft, while officers are expected to know much of the same skills as their soldiers, but they are expected to plan, resource and lead training and combat operations.

From 1970-1972, the army conducted a pilot program at select universities, but it was only in 1973 that they opened ROTC fully to women.

“Since 1949, women could serve in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps and affiliated branches such as the Army Nurse Corps as Officers,” McRae said. “Unfortunately, I don’t fully have the history of how it came to be at OSU.”

Women were quickly incorporated into OSU’s ROTC program, and many have seen great success.

“Two of our most distinguished alumni are women,” McRae said. “Major General (Retired) Julie Bentz is a 1986 OSU graduate who culminated her career serving on the National Security Council as an advisor to the President on Nuclear Weapons. She was inducted into the OSU College of Engineering Hall of Fame and holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering. Major General (Retired) Marti Bissell recently retired after serving as the Deputy Commanding General of Army Training and Doctrine Command, responsible for the training of all Army Soldiers from Basic Training through the Army War College.”

Bentz will be the guest speaker at the 50 years of women in AROTC celebration.

“In recent years, the army has opened all

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Riley Le Cocq baro.editor@oregonstate.edu

ASSISTANT EDITOR Lara Rivera baro.ed.asst@oregonstate.edu

CAMPUS EDITOR Katie Livermore baro.news@oregonstate.edu

CITY EDITOR Sam Misa baro.city@oregonstate.edu

COPY EDITOR Wes Flow copy.news@oregonstate.edu

SPORTS CHIEF Benjamin Rabbino omn.sports@oregonstate.edu

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Georgina Paez baro.sports.asst@oregonstate.edu

PHOTO LEAD Ashton Bisner omn.photo@oregonstate.edu

CREATIVE LEAD Alan Nguyen omn.creative@oregonstate.edu

MARKETING LEAD Vanessa Lopez omn.marketing.lead@oregonstate.edu

SALES TEAM: omn.ads3@oregonstate.edu

NEWS TIPS:

541-737-2231

TO PLACE AN AD CALL:

541-737-6373

BUSINESS: 541-737-2233

ON CAMPUS:

SEC Fourth Floor Oregon State University

The Barometer is published in the begining of every month during the academic school year, and publishes weekly news coverage and other content such as columns and videos on The Baro website at http://www. orangemedianetwork.com/daily_barometer/.

The Barometer, published for use by OSU students, faculty and staff, is private property. A single copy of The Barometer is free from newsstands. Unauthorized removal of multiple copies will be considered theft and is prosecutable.

Responsibility: The University Student Media Committee is charged with the general supervision of all student publications and broadcast media operated under its authority for the students and staff of Oregon State University on behalf of the Associated Students of OSU.

Formal written complaints about The Barometer may be referred to the committee for investigation and disposition. After hearing all elements involved in a complaint, the committee will report its decision to all parties concerned.

Submit A Letter To The Editor

We encourage our readers to share their views by submitting a letter to the editor on our website, under the "about" tab. Letters should be limited to 300 words and include contact information of the writer. The Barometer editorial team retains the right to choose what letters are run based on relevance and appropriateness.

Calendar

ALL UNIVERSITY SING 2023 May 5, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Gill Coliseum

Come enjoy a performance to the theme

“Who’s on aux?” as Oregon State University greek life organizations represent a U.S. state in the musical performance.

NORTHWEST SPRING FEST

May 6, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Memorial Union Quad

Enjoy an art fair featuring student and community vendors, food, live musicians and outdoor games. Come spend time at the event for spring family weekend. Event is free and open to the public.

SALMON BAKE

May 19, noon - 3:00 p.m.

Kaku-lxt Mana Ina Haws

Celebrate the salmon run and pacific northwest salmon culture. Salmon, side dishes and drinks will be provided branches to women, including the combat specialties,” McRae said. “Our women have embraced this challenge and we have had women branch into the Field Artillery for the last four years, including one of our Cadet Battalion Commanders (the cadet leader of program), Mia McAdams. Last year, Bailey Breving was the first woman to branch Armor in the history of the state of Oregon.” both ROTC Cadet Battalion Commanders were women. OSU ROTC has consisted of as much as 40% women in recent years, McRae said, although the national average for ROTC is around 20%.

One of these female cadets is Gabrielle Sanchez-Hernandez, a third-year construction engineering management student who is helping to organize the 50 years of women in AROTC celebration.

“Just being together and working on something besides school brings so much more meaning; the fact that we have a goal and purpose to become officers afterwards,” said Sanchez–Hernandez of her experience at AROTC. “What I was doing today was creating this event … it just brings more meaning to my life because I’m creating something and it’ll last for a long time — first event ever, and I’ll be a part of that. That’s something not a lot of people get to say.”

For Steele ROTC has allowed her to push past her comfort zone to her fullest potential, which she thinks is important, even if people feel afraid.

“It’s scary but if you don’t do it, then you’ll never know what you’re capable of,” Steele said.

Sanchez-Hernandez said being a part of AROTC gives her confidence, not just for army life, but also for her civilian life and career outside of the army, adding that “it just makes life easier.”

Use a QR code scanner or Snapchat to view Oregon State University’s Events Calendar in full

AAPI Heritage Month

Continued from PAGE 1 resides in was built and in 2015, the area was opened to the public.

“That was really important, because a lot of the centers were built around the same time, like the BCC, Centro…it took [the centers] from being kind of like cast out to the outskirts to being really central on campus,” Dinges said.

According to Luong and Engel, having a heritage month promotes a time of learning and teaches individuals how to embrace heritage.

“It’s a point to be proud of,” Engel said.

The AAPI community represents over 60+ countries and ethnic groups that speak over 100 different languages. Geographically, AAPI encompasses all of the Asian continent and Pacific Islands of a multitude of nations.

With so many ethnicities, that doesn't mean alienation isn’t possible.

“It's a very conscious process,” Engel said.

According to Dylan Luong, APCC leadership liaison, the center is aware of their limitations, especially with only 10 student representatives at the center.

“...Our staff definitely isn't shy of reaching out to other communities if we feel like we're past our knowledge,” Dinges said.

“I think it is remarkable to see how routinely women lead our program,” McRae said. “We have grown from where they were rare, to where it is expected. I was once asked by a high school student if she would feel uncomfortable here as a woman in a maledominated profession, and I told her I don’t think so. We have women in all of our key student leadership positions.”

He said he thinks this will continue to grow.

“As women become more common in the very male-dominated infantry field, we will have female cadets who choose to go this route as well,” McRae said. “We have not had one yet, but it will come soon. I think our program will continue to stay above the national average for representation and potentially approach a 50/50 mix.”

As interested high school students or current college students read about the successes of female cadets at OSU, McRae said he hopes women will come to OSU ROTC knowing they will have equal opportunities to excel.

“A common misconception is that you have to join the army to take army ROTC classes,” McRae said. “Any OSU student can take ROTC classes without any obligation and see if they like it before committing to a future career… Ninety-five percent (55 out of 58) of our contracted students are on a fulltuition scholarship.”

For Sanchez-Hernandez, it is “astonishing” that it’s only been 50 years since women have been a part of ROTC.

“While it is special, and we should celebrate it, I think we should normalize it more,” she said.

This 50-year milestone is something Sanchez-Hernandez wishes she didn’t have to think about, though.

“But the fact that I do, and the fact that I get the opportunity to do it here, it just makes it that much more special,” SanchezHernandez said. “I try not to think about it too much because we’re all equal leaders, and should be thinking more of how we should be taking care of our future soldiers, (in) which (it) shouldn’t matter their gender.”

She encouraged women interested in joining AROTC, for a physical activity class or the program itself, to reach out.

“Don’t be afraid, definitely try it out,” Sanchez-Hernandez said. “There are people here to help you as well as to welcome you.”

Pacific Island Countries

MELANESIA

Papua New Guinea

New Caledonia

Vanuatu

Fiji

Solomon Islands

MICRONESIA

Northern Mariana Islands

Guam

Wake Island

Palau

Marshall Islands

Through community, the APCC has been able to widen the scope of their inclusivity, as they also stay in communication and work in collaboration with the API Council. This council is made up of the numerous cultural clubs that help those who are looking to see representation while here at OSU.

Through various events put on by the center in honor of celebrating heritage month, individuals in the community are hosting different events to showcase the different cultures at OSU.

Some events are currently ongoing, such as “Fashioning API Identity,” which was set up in the APCC by Engel as a project for the center. The rotating fashion display is a partnership with the Apparel Textile Collection at OSU. Beginning with Korea, which displayed from April 5 to May 1, India will be displayed for two weeks, concluding the year with China.

This is an in-house display that individuals can come in and explore whenever, as the garments are permanently at the center, to talk about the significance in the original culture contexts.

To honor AAPI heritage month the center will also be hosting a number of informational events, such as The Secret Wars, Nishihara Classroom Naming Reception, Roots of Resilience: A Hiroshima Peace Tree Documentary and APASU Culture Shock.

Kiribati

Nauru

Federated States of Micronesia

POLYNESIA

New Zealand

Hawaiian Islands

Midway Islands

Samoa

American Samoa

Tonga

Tuvalu

Cook Islands

French Polynesia

Easter Island

Scan the QR code to find the events and various opportunities put on by the APCC during May!

LILY MIDDLETON | ORANGE MEDIA NETWORK members included are: Top row: Dylan Luong, Stanley Luu, Karthik Vijay, Lipo Sinapati; Middle row: Eric Kong, Lei Bugarin, Geoffrey Engel; Bottom row: Bekah Rocak, Alex Dinges, Kayla Kurahashi, Katelyn Nguyen

SAFETY

OSU pushes personal initiative to prepare for an active shooter

By LARA RIVERA

Contributor

News

Trigger Warning - story contains mention of gun violence.

Amidst the current mass-shooting epidemic, your personal engagement and preparedness may save a life.

Oregon State University’s administration and the Department of Public Safety hold an active role in preparing for worst case scenarios via staff trainings and engaging in trainings for the community.

The DPS does a variety of preparedness exercises for the OSU community that can be as simple as reading policies and procedures about tactics for enhanced safety.

After an active shooter incident, DPS reviews their own tactics, procedures, what the responding agencies did and how the institutions where the shooting occurred handled the situation.

After reviewing these, DPS officers get together and practice these t actics physically.

In the case of an active shooter on campus there is an emergency action plan - Appendix F - present in each building and on OSU’s emergency management website. There is a review process for updating the emergency action plans of buildings. The department of emergency management falls under DPS, and they keep track of which buildings need to update and register their emergency action plans.

OSU Police Chief Shanon Anderson also reminds the administration of each OSU building to review the emergency action plan with staff and faculty within the building so they each know what their role is in the event of an emergency.

The DPS conducts in-person training for staff for the buildings that request training.

“Everybody’s role is being familiar with their surroundings, being familiar with what they would do in case this does happen,” Anderson said.

Anderson suggests becoming familiar with your environment each term as each building is slightly different.

“We need every student, every faculty member to understand what they need to do in an active shooter situation,” said Paul Odenthal, administration senior associate vice president. “That is equally if not more important than what Shannon and our team is going to do in response.”

| continued on PAGE 4 |

Mental health resources for all… well, not for you OPINION

Following this year’s Student Fee Committee allocations, athletics will gain a designated sports psychologist, leaving all students to pay. This decision creates an unfair accessibility issue between students and athletes as all students struggle to access mental health resources on campus. 5

Research

OSU researchers are studying better ways to treat LGBTQ+ cancer survivors

By GABRIEL BRAUKMAN News Contributor

With the hope of shining a light on often overlooked cancer survivors, researchers from Oregon State University are conducting the Thriving Together study, an after-cancer project focusing on gender diverse communities.

Thriving Together is a follow-up research project on the Mindfulness After Cancer pilot study, which was conducted from 2019 to 2020.

The pilot study focused on female cancer survivors, examining the potential use of mindfulness-based interventions: meditations, group discussions and focusing exercises. The study overall was deemed successful enough to warrant a larger study–Thriving Together.

Thriving Together focuses on cancer survivors who are part of transgender and gender diverse communities. While still focusing on the initial topic of mindfulness-based interventions–in regards to sexual health and access to cancer treatment–this adds the intersectional interpretation of gender affirming care.

“This is a population where there’s just very little research,” said Jessica Gorman, the principal investigator for the study. “I do intervention research with cancer survivors and co-survivors to help them navigate various aspects of life after cancer. I wanted to expand one of my studies to include transgender and gender diverse folks.”

According to an article published in Translational Andrology and Urology, a scientific journal, cancer screening has decreased cancer mortality by a significant amount, like a 14% reduction in lung cancer deaths. However, all currently published studies on cancer mortalities and guidelines for screening are targeted for cis-gender patients.

There are many reasons for this, including the variability of stages of transition from patient to patient, alongside widespread discrimination from medical providers.

According to the article, 19% of transgender individuals have been refused care, 28% experienced harassment and 50% were discouraged due to nonexistence of gender nonconforming providers.

Thriving Together was conducted using primarily digital seminars, where the researchers collected testimonies from participants about their experience in the study. As the study is currently still ongoing, results from the survey are being kept private.

“I’ve been working with Jessica on the sexual and reproductive health equity consortium,” said Jonathan Garcia, the co-investigator on the study. “So when she was talking about having a study on trans and gender nonconforming folks focused on cancer support it really aligned with my work in LGBTQ+ health.”

While the study is still in progress, the intention is to increase the equity of health for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.

Gorman hopes this study will identify aspects of need in the under researched area, whether that’s a new research question, action step or strategy.

“With the research that we do, we don’t want it to just be research, we want it to be able to go out into the world ultimately, with our goal of improving health equity in the end,” Gorman said.