The PublicAsian
December 2011 | A Voice
for
Inside Newsfeed
Be green, use your own chopsticks Use of disposable chopsticks contributes to deforestation | Page 5 Arts & Entertainment
Miyazaki’s at it again Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki shares his magic with the U.S. through his newest movie | Page 6 Zoomed In
the
Asian Pacific American Community
Moksha’s Got Talent By Chelsea Jordan Staff writer
at
the
University
of
Maryland, College Park | Volume 18, Issue III
Targeted APAs are most bullied among teens
The idea of gaining instant stardom and having your talent recognized on a national scale is something many people only dream of. “America’s Got Talent” is just one in a string of recent reality shows that give anybody the chance to make that dream a reality. One Asian Pacific American dance team from this university received a special opportunity in early November to see if they have what it takes to showcase their talents to people across the nation. The members of Moksha, a classical Indian dance team, choreograph dances that integrate contemporary music with different styles of Indian dance and storylines to create a unique piece of performance art, said Moksha co-captain Ramya Tallapragada. In September, Moksha was selected to perform at Kollaboration DC’s 2011 show at the University of the District of Columbia, organized by a non-profit organization that aims at inspiring and showcasing young APAs who exhibit talent or interest in the arts with “empowerment through entertainment.” It was after participating in Kollaboration DC that the team was contacted by a representative from NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” who had seen a video of their performance. On Nov. 5, the team auditioned in front of the show’s representatives in Washington, D.C. “We were very happy with our performance,” said Tallapragada, adding that all the dancers were in form. “I think it had to do with the amount of energy and excitement we all had going into the audition.”
By Claire Yan Staff writer Asian Pacific American teenagers are bullied far more in the classroom and online than any other ethnic group in the U.S., according to data from a study released in an AAPI Nexus Journal. The study’s findings, which were released in October this year, revealed that APA teenagers are approximately 20 percent more likely to be bullied than white teenagers in the classroom. Around 6,500 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18 were interviewed for the study, and 54 percent of APA teenagers reported being bullied in comparison to 31.3 percent of white teenagers. Other ethnic groups reported lower percentages as well; 38.4 percent of African American teenagers and 34.3 percent of Hispanic Americans reported being bullied. The data showed even more shocking differences in percentages regarding cyber-bullying. Around 62 percent of APA teenagers reported that they had been harassed online, compared to only 18.1 percent of white teenagers. The surprising data was released at a Bullying Prevention Summit in New York City organized by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Hundreds of youth, community leaders and government officials met at the summit to discuss school bullying within the nation’s communities, according to Amardeep Singh, who serves on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Government and private resources to combat bullying and other solutions were also discussed at this summit.
BULLIES, Page 2 GRAPHIC BY MARIEL BARTOLOME / IMAGE CREDIT: VECTORSONFIRE.COM
TALENT, Page 7
Muslim student groups fight to end hate speech By Mike Gasper Staff writer
Feast meets diversity Multiracial Biracial Student Association’s Diversity Feast & Film serves more than food | Page 12 Online Exclusive
“Check out our photo coverage of the F.U.E.L. Conference!”
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Multiple student groups have come together to form an “End Hate Speech at UMD” coalition to eliminate hate speech from campus. And on Dec. 1, students were invited to their “Maryland Speaks: Flame Ad” event to voice their opinions about the issue of hate speech in advertisements. One of the students in attendance was Mai Salem, the secretary of the Muslim Women of Maryland. “We had a very thought-provoking discussion where we engaged people and recruited leaders,” said Salem, a junior romance languages major. “I believe we really did begin the process of changing attitudes and behaviors — we all took ownership of the issue and left feeling very empowered.” Salem said that the student organizations are “very committed to hosting more dialogues that will ...
provide an opportunity for thoughtful discussion and an exchange of ideas.” The coalition was created after The Diamondback ran an advertisement on Oct. 19 provided by FLAME (Facts & Logic About the Middle East), an organization that researches and publishes what they
claim as facts regarding various developments in the Middle East. The advertisement made such statements as “Holocaust denial is a favorite topic in the Muslim world” and “Anti-Semitism is integral to Muslim culture.” These claims were met with severe criticism from many members
PHOTO BY JAMES LEVIN
Students and faculty members attended “Maryland Speaks: Flame Ad” on Dec. 1 to voice their opinion of use of hate speech in advertisements.
of the university community. According to a staff editorial, The Diamondback received multiple letters from various readers questioning the inclusion of the advertisement. “I just want to speak plainly and say that I was a bit shocked at the FLAME advertisement about antiSemitism,” one reader posted in The Diamondback’s staff editorial page. “I agree that anti-Semitism is one of the oldest forms of racism, but the entire advertisement basically lashed out at, criticized and demonized Muslim people — especially in the Arab world and Middle East.” The heads of the various student groups that started the coalition felt that the staff editorial did not adequately address what would be done in the future regarding inflammatory advertisements. “The Diamondback’s response to the criticism of the ad attempted to be neutral, but I think the staff editor
FLAME, Page 4
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The PublicAsian | December 2011
newsfeed
Fukushima radiation raises health debate in the US By Chad Sinclair Staff writer
We cannot always agree to disagree. Not in an argument of this nature. Not when the truth is hidden behind smoke and mirrors. In the wake of the historic meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in March, experts have debated whether radiation poisoning could be a potential hazard to Americans living on the West Coast. More often than not, those debates have left Americans under a cloud of ambiguity. In November, Dr. Marco Kaltofen, a civil and environmental engineer at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said radiation does in fact pose a health risk to Americans living near the Pacific Ocean. “The Fukushima nuclear accident dispersed airborne dusts that are contaminated with radioactive particles,” Kaltofen said during a presentation at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. “When inhaled or ingested, these particles can have negative effects on human health that are different from those caused by exposure to external or
BULLIES Those attending the summit had the opportunity to hear directly from bullied APA students and parents whose children had been bullied. Policy makers and government officials cited several reasons for the shocking number of bullied APA students. Some attributed it to the language barrier between some APA teenagers and their peers. It also seemed as if the amount of diversity within a school had a strong influence on the number of bullied APA students. “I was never bullied in high school,” said Linus Park, a junior biology major. “I think it’s because around a third of my school was comprised of Asians, and most of the community was comprised of Chinese and Korean families. No one was really bullied for being a stereotypical Asian.” According to Larry Shinagawa, an associate professor and director of the Asian American Studies program at this university, bullies often act upon racial stereotypes. “They never think of APAs as true Americans; they think that they’re geeks, or gooks, or ‘fresh off the boat’. There’s this kind of imagery
uniform radiation fields.” Jeffrey Stehr, an assistant research scientist at this university, and several of his colleagues in the university’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science designed a weather model to map the possible trajectory of radiation after the disaster and interpreted a different analysis.
“
collected were clear. “We were able to calculate how much [radiation] would disperse with time,” Stehr said. “We said, ‘What if none of it got rained out? What if all it did was spread out?’ Our conclusion was that it wasn’t all that big of a deal even if it came straight across [the ocean].”
People are frightened because it’s just kind of like an unknown.” – Pete Volk
Junior journalism major
“The amounts of radiation that I’ve seen have all been either well below or comparable to natural background radiation,” Stehr said. The team, unfunded and working entirely in their spare time, set up worst case scenario models and used public resources to predict the radiation’s impact – where it would go and what could possibly be coming behind it. According to Stehr, the results he
Portland, Ore. native Connor Letourneau said much of the back and forth rhetoric has led to a lack of fear in those who are potentially facing the highest risk. “I know now it’s not even a topic of conversation [back home], especially since some people believe it won’t be as bad as they originally thought,” Letourneau, a junior journalism major said. Tyson Slocum, director of the
of what Asians are, and they tend to be stereotypes that are very racial,” Shinagawa said. Shinagawa has never witnessed bullying of any APA students in his own classrooms, but he does have much personal experience with being bullied as a child growing up in the ‘70s. “The amount of bullying was a daily and incessant kind of thing,” Shinagawa said. “I’m sure it continues today among immigrant communities.” Other experts said children who are perceived as Muslim are being bullied more as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks. At the summit, a Muslim mother from New Jersey, Shehnaz Abdeljaber, talked about how students and even a teacher wrote comments in her son’s yearbook that referenced “bombing” the school and suggested that he was a terrorist. Shinagawa said that the causes of bullying go beyond just diversity and race. He believes that the lack of an alliance to stand up for bullied APA students makes them easy targets. “We don’t have a strong number of APA parents or students speaking up on these kinds of issues or pres-
suring school administrators to do something about it, so the students will keep getting picked upon,” he said. Shinagawa also said the failure of APAs to stand up for themselves goes along with the impression that they are less likely to be strong or assertive. “The bullies think they can get away with it; they attack those that they perceive as weak,” he said. Along with pushing administrators to curb bullying in the schools, APA parents can also take steps to protect their children from being bullied over the internet as technology has now made it easier for bullies to remain anonymous. Cyberbullying can lead to tragic consequences such as emotional scarring and even suicide, as seen in the case of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi in 2010. “Parents must monitor their child’s online activity,” said Ali von Paris, a senior finance and supply chain management major who has worked closely with “A Thin Line,” MTV’s campaign to stop the spread of digital abuse and cyberbullying. “They should also be informed of the technology their kids are using,” von Paris said.
The PublicAsian A Voice for the Asian Pacific American Community at the University of Maryland, College Park Co-Editor-in-Chief ................................................................................ Linda Poon Co-Editor-in-Chief ..............................................................................Nancy Pham News Editor ............................................................................................Kate Yoon Features Editor..................................................................................Mary Tablante Copy Editors........................................................... Jonathan Reyes | Summer Son Web Editor .......................................................................................Tintin Nguyen Graphics Editor ...........................................................................Mariel Bartolome Advertisement Manager .................................................................... Jennifer Lien Photographers...........................................Ryan Alphonso | James Levin | Tess Yeh
Public Citizen’s Energy Program, believes deficiencies in communication have led to the quagmire. “I think the lack of forthright information from U.S. and Japanese authorities has been persistent,” Slocum said. “It is clear that officials prioritized emphasizing public calm rather than giving people full information.” Stehr echoed Slocum’s sentiments, but stopped short of calling out American officials as the lone culprit. “I don’t know that anything coming out of Washington is anything more than what is coming out of Japan,” Stehr said. “We are in a position where you really don’t know. You are relatively close by and there is an impression in Japan that people are not necessarily telling you the truth; it’s a pretty sticky situation.” Junior journalism major Pete Volk, a native of North Hollywood, Calif., is worried that the fear created may be causing more harm than the actual mystery. “People are frightened because it’s just kind of like an unknown,” Volk said. “It could cause a lot of harm, not only to people individually, but just on a larger scale with the wildlife.”
Volk added that a lot of California’s economy, specifically near the San Francisco Bay, thrives on the environment. Perhaps the most effective way to settle the argument and create a sense of clarity among all parties is to focus less on what officials are saying and invest more resources into an unregulated examination that could put an end the “he saidshe said” narrative. “I think we need a thorough independent scientific analysis of radiation exposure both around the Fukushima facilities and the potential permeation into the West Coast – particularly into food supplies and other agriculture commodities,” Slocum said. Although Letourneau attends college in Maryland, he is aware of the potential dangers back home, if indeed radiation penetrates into the atmosphere. “When [this debate] first started, it sounded like doomsday and even WWII all over again,” Letourneau said. “We heard that the people who were left would die extremely young or that babies would be deformed. Right now, I don’t know what to think.”
About: The PublicAsian is a student-run monthly newspaper sponsored by the Asian American Student Union (AASU) of the University of Maryland, College Park.
Printing Schedule: The PublicAsian is published the first Wednesday of each month,
with a circulation of 1,500. It is distributed at the University of Maryland, College Park and at the Library of Congress Asian American Reading Room.
Involvement: If you are interested in becoming a reporter, photographer, copy editor or layout editor with The PublicAsian, please contact publicasian@gmail.com.
Published with support from Campus Progress, a division of the Center for American Progress. Online at CampusProgress.org.
The PublicAsian | December 2011
News | 3
FCA lights up homes in Philippines with bottles By Brian Jones Staff writer The Filipino Cultural Association is supporting the Isang Litrong Liwanag (Liter of Light) charity by collecting empty aluminum cans and trading them in for money to donate to the charity. Liter of Light, a project of the MyShelter Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to creating sustainable projects and jobs, seeks to create sustainable lighting around the world, especially in places where people cannot afford electricity, using the “Solar Bottle Bulb”. The Solar Bottle Bulb is a plastic one liter soda bottle filled with water and bleach installed in the roof of a house, bringing light to a room from the sun. The project first caught the attention of FCA member Matthew Magnaye who was shown a video about the project by a former high school teacher. The video detailed people in the Philippines who had no light in their houses because they could not afford electricity. Liter of Light installed the Solar Bottle Bulbs and changed that. “I was so moved and intrigued by the simplicity of the concept, I felt
PHOTO CREDIT: SIDNEY SNOECK OF MYSHELTER FOUNDATION
Isang Litrong Liwanag (Liter of Light) aims to provide those who do not have access to electricity with solar powered bulbs made from one liter soda bottles. The charity hopes to light up one million homes in the Philippines by 2012.
that FCA could do something to help out,” Magnaye, a senior criminology and criminal justice major, said. “Growing up in America ... we are all given so much and have much to be thankful for, so it’s important that we help those who aren’t as fortunate as we are.” The video shows how many of the houses are made with corrugated metal sheets. Residents avoid being indoors because it is dark, even during the day, as their houses have no windows and are closely built together.
The light bulb works by cutting a circle in the metal and installing a Solar Bottle Bulb in it. The bleach and water mix reflects light into the house, and the bleach prevents mold from forming in the bulb. Tyler Babich, the community service chair of FCA and person in charge of the fundraiser, decided to help after Magnaye showed him the video. Babich felt that because of the serious need and simplicity of the solution to the problem, trading in recycled cans was a good way to raise money.
VSAs unite to help children affected by Agent Orange By Brian Jones Staff writer The university’s Vietnamese Student Association teamed up with other VSAs across the country to support Children of Vietnam’s Hope System of Care project, which helps victims with birth defects caused by Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange and herbicide, used to kill forests and crops in the Vietnam War for strategic purposes, continue to affect not only those who were originally exposed but also children born today because some areas where Agent Orange was stored and used remain toxic “hot spots” in the environment. The Hope System of Care seeks to assess the affected child’s needs and meet them with services such as handicapped accessible housing, vocational training, surgery and counseling, as well as integrating the child into society. “The project will help provide medicine and housing to impoverished children, who are the future of Vietnam. If we offer them opportunities now, they will be able to lead and educate other children in the future, hopefully pulling the country out of poverty,” Melinda Nguyen, public relations officer of VSA, said. The Vietnamese Red Cross estimates that 150,000 children have been born with birth defects due to their parent’s exposure to Agent Orange. Twenty-nine percent of the Vietnamese population lives under the international poverty line, and children have trouble getting proper education and medical care, an issue Children of Vietnam seeks to remedy. Affected children can have birth defects such as missing or extra limbs, deafness and other impairments. Adults can have digestive ailments, skin diseases and cancer, and women exposed have high rates of stillbirths, premature births and spontaneous abortions. Crysta Tran, the Asian American Student Union representative of VSA, said that VSA has a bake sale and a fundraiser at a local pho restaurant planned for the project fundraiser. Next semester, they will also host a banquet and the Family Night Show, a culture show, that will include presentations of the project and ways to donate. “[In the past] we will get 60 to 70 people at the fundraisers,” Tran said, also noting that the banquet often has more participants.
The VSA’s involvement in the project is a part of the larger Collective Philanthropy Project (CCP) by the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA), a non-profit organization that has chosen similar projects every year since 2005. UNAVSA works with affiliated VSAs across the U.S. and Canada to collectively contribute to the project. The project was selected at a UNAVSA conference, after being voted for by regional VSA representatives. My-Phuong Ly, director of the campaign for CPP, said the goal of the project is to raise awareness and “educate [people about] what the possibilities are, what Agent Orange is and how it is really affecting the children.” “Because of these deformities, they’re not truly adapted into society,” she said. “They become ostracized, and their parents aren’t able to help them either [due to economic circumstances]. We want to reiterate that … we can give them hope for a future where they are not ostracized.” To that end, Ly said the CPP has branched out further into social media, sharing links on Facebook on how to donate and learn more, as well as links to the Children of Vietnam website. Children of Vietnam also launched the Hold on to Hope campaign, which allows people to upload pictures of what gives them hope to increase awareness onto the campaign Facebook page. Ly said UNAVSA is also working on producing a newsletter to take the campaign beyond Facebook and aims to create more personal connections by relying more heavily on phone calls and email. “Hopefully [we’ll] start sending [the newsletter] through Twitter and global websites and charities focused on helping other people … because Facebook can only do so much in terms of awareness,” Ly said. The campaign is only part of the relationship, however. After UNAVSA spends this year campaigning for the Hope System of Care, they will spend the following year looking into how the money they raised is spent. UNAVSA has auditors who work with the organization to track where the money is going and ensure that it is used to help children. Ly said this is also part of UNAVSA’s efforts to become more transparent. The CPP website outlines a budget the project follows, as well as provides further information on choosing the projects, the execution of each one and follow ups after campaigning.
“Our cans will be traded in for money to donate to the charity so they can purchase supplies and fund other costs. I had a lot more success finding recycling centers that would take cans, and it still fit the theme of recycling for more than environmental change,” the sophomore government and politics major said. The MyShelter Foundation seeks to use the solar bulbs to provide lighting to one million homes in the Philippines by 2012. According to the Liter of Light project website, millions of homes
outside Manila, the capitol of the Philippines, remain without power. Many cannot afford the electricity, and often fires are caused by faulty electrical connections for those who have them. In 2005, nearly half of the 10,728 fires reported were caused by electrical connections and open flame, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board, a policymaking and coordinating agency on statistical matters in the Philippines. Carl Alejandro, a freshman mechanical engineering major and member of the FCA, said he wanted to help out because he was “fascinated by the clever idea of using bottles and cans to give light to … the community in the Philippines.” Babich had originally only envisioned receiving “a couple of large trash bags,” but he said he has received “more like eight” in the four weeks the collection was held. No definite amount of money has been determined, as the cans have not been traded in yet, Babich said, also noting that they had received many donations in addition to the cans. “As a kid, I would visit family members in the Philippines who live in the same, if not worst, living conditions,” Magnaye said. “One can’t help but want to do something.”
4 | News FLAME tries to absolve the newspaper of blame as much as possible without giving any indication on changes that could be made in the subjective selection of ads to be run in the paper,” said the president of the Indian Students Association Kishore Radhakrishnan. The ISA is one of the 10 student organizations listed in the “End Hate Speech at UMD” Facebook page, which has currently received over 250 “likes” and is constantly being updated. Other organizations include the Muslim Women of Maryland and the Muslim Students Association. One segment of the page description reads, “We promote the idea that hate speech is not acceptable on this campus and that The Diamondback should not be used as a platform for the spread of inherently
The PublicAsian | December 2011 hateful messages under the guise of free speech.” Radhakrishnan said that the Facebook page is an essential start to the goal of preventing further hate speech on campus similar to the advertisement. “We hope to ensure that future derogatory statements about certain cultures or religions or communities are not advertised on campus whether it may be a newspaper, a lecture or event,” he said. “We want neutrality and accurate information that does not generalize entire populations.” On Nov. 9, the Student Government Association joined the other student organizations by condemning The Diamondback’s advertising department for running the FLAME advertisement. The SGA voted unanimously, by a vote of 24-0, to call on the advertising department to make a formal
apology for the publication of the advertisement. But Dan Ryan, an advertising representative for The Diamondback has written on the Facebook page that while he agreed that the group was right to condemn the contents of the FLAME advertisement, he will not issue an apology for running it. “FLAME has the right to publish whatever they want in an ad as long as they pay for their space and it doesn’t involve sex, using drugs or other illegal behavior,” Ryan wrote. “They also have to say it is their opinion, which it is.” The Diamondback’s staff editorial pointed out that the opinions held in the advertisement were not the ones held by the newspaper itself. “For the record, this editorial board does not buy the FLAME argument either. We believe the advertisement is intentionally inflam-
PHOTO BY JAMES LEVIN
Alejandro Beutel of Muslim Public Affairs Council and students Rachel Mayer and Osama Eshera discuss hate speech at “Maryland Speaks: Flame Ad”.
matory,” said the editorial. “But we also believe it is FLAME’s right to publicize its subjective opinion, just
as it would be a pro-Muslim organization’s right to publicize an alternate viewpoint.”
Census Bureau offers Asian languages on ballots By Annika McGinnis Staff writer It’s hard to vote if you can’t read the words on the ballot. There are over 17.3 million Asian Pacific Americans in the U.S., according to the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. For the past decade, APAs have been the fastest-growing minority in the nation. Despite this, only 55 percent of APAs eligible to vote actually voted in past elections. In many places, it’s simply an issue of the language barrier. “My dad [lives] in Vietnam, and my mom doesn’t vote,” said senior public health major Hoang Nguyen. To address the lack of voter participation, the U.S. Census Bureau announced a new list of areas required to provide APA language assistance in the voting process in October. This amendment to the federal Voting Rights Act includes 17 new language groups, including Asian Indian and Bangladeshi. According to the Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, selected areas must provide “translations of written materials, such as, but not limited to, ballots, referenda, petitions, and informational materials concerning the opportunity to register, the deadline for voter registration, upcoming elections, and absentee voting.” They must also provide interpreters at polling sites and distribute information about the bilingual assistance. The law also requires 248 counties, boroughs, census areas and cities to provide bilingual assistance, including areas in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York. De-
spite the large APA population in Maryland, its counties were not included on the list. “I know there are a lot of Asians in Howard County and Montgomery County, especially,” said freshman government and politics major Jonathan Lee. “The fact that we have Spanish [ballots] is because people acknowledge that there’s a really big minority in the nation now. So especially where there’s a lot of Asians in the county, even if they can speak English, maybe it could be a form of acknowledgment of how important we are to a community.” Lee described the perceived bias, compared with other minorities, felt by some APAs in Maryland. “We get off for Jewish holidays but not Asian holidays,” he said. “A few years ago, Howard County finally recognized Chinese New Year, because they have a large Asian population. I feel like we are a large enough minority that we should be recognized. In voting, they have Spanish versions of things, so I don’t see what would be so bad about including Asian versions too.” According to the Voting Rights Act, counties must provide bilingual assistance if “the number of voting-age citizens in the language minority is more than 10,000, or is more than 5 percent of all voting-age citizens.” The illiteracy rate of these citizens must also be higher than the national rate. Maryland counties, however, do not meet either of these requirements. However, many students believe that adding Maryland counties to the list could make a major difference in the outcome of elections.
“My parents don’t vote because they feel a sense of disillusionment when it comes to politics, so they just choose not to participate in the voting process at all,” said freshman sociology major Christopher Quach. “But if they did [vote], they would definitely prefer ballots in their native language, [Vietnamese].” “If you come here not knowing how to speak the language, you’re not going to vote,” said freshman Japanese major Amelia Guerriero. “And once you become acclimated to the language, so much time has passed that you no longer desire to get involved. But if ballots were available in an Asian language, it would allow more Asians to vote.” She also brought up the increasing push for Americans to learn Asian languages, stating that this could be accomplished easily with an increasingly bilingual presence in elections. “We’re promoting all these Asian languages saying that everyone needs to learn Asian languages, so [printing voter materials in Asian languages] could be a better way to embrace Asian culture,” she said. “You want to encourage people to learn an Asian tongue, why not expose them to it?” Others believe that in Maryland, as well as other areas where the APA populations do not meet the criteria for implementation of the law, establishing bilingual assistance would not be worth the money. “Most of the Asians [in Maryland] are educated and know English,” Lee said. “Printing all those extra ballots in different languages - people could see that as a waste of resources. I can see both sides.”
Fashion accessory turns into a fashion faux pas By Rachel Rosenthal Staff writer Striving for innovation, Forever 21 is no stranger to controversy when it comes to their apparel and now, their accessories. In September, the Korean-owned company received complaints for a t-shirt that read, “I’m Allergic to Algebra,” reinforcing the stereotype that young women are not fond of math. Last month, the popular retailer was back on the hot seat when it revealed a new product donned the “Oriental Girl Necklace.” With a price tag of $1.50, the piece of jewelry features a charm of a light-faced girl with two black hairbuns over her ears, revealing a stereotypical image of an Asian girl. “Stereotypes are quite pervasive in the fashion industry,” said Rashawn Ray, assistant professor of sociology at this university. “Most companies are all about making profit. So some companies choose to prey upon these stereotypes to sell products and services.” Shortly after receiving complaints, Forever 21 pulled the product off its website. “It’s sad because I see this happening a lot. They either sell them on sale or pull them from the shelves altogether like it never existed,” said junior communications major Marisa Braverman. “Last year, there was a shirt with
the confederate flag on it, and when I asked an employee about it, she gave me the whole story. I guess it happens all the time.” This is not the first store to stir controversy with its humorously intended products. Popular hipster chain Urban Outfitters came under fire early October for featuring such items called the “Navajo Print Fabric Wrapped Flask” and the “Navajo Hipster Panty.” After a battle with Navajo Nation, the company revoked the word “Navajo” from over 20 products, and replaced it with “Printed,” according to the Los Angeles Times. “Some consumers choose to play into these stereotypes by partaking in the experience of living out the stereotype for a day, or for an outfit,” Ray said. At Ohio University, cultural caricatures drove students to campaign against “racist” Halloween costumes through poster campaigns. “We’re a culture, not a costume,” read the signs of students who were protesting Asian geisha costumes, Mexican sombreros with colorful ponchos and fringed Native American outfits. “Stereotypes can be remedied by informing consumers about the stereotypes, and then consumers choosing to boycott the product or company,” Ray said. Tiffany Chang, a frequent patron of Forever
PHOTO CREDIT: FASHIONISTA.COM
A Forever 21 necklace of a pale “oriental girl” with her hair in buns was taken off the company’s website after receiving criticism for stereotypically portraying Asians.
21, said that shoppers should know better and that the store should not be considered a fashion hub of good taste. She was not surprised that the company exhibited this lack of refinement. “They sell cheap, mass-produced products. Everyone is quick to yell ‘racism’ with every product they see, but if you just ignore it and move on, it will be gone in a day or so,” said Chang, a junior business major. “I’ve never
seen a product last in [Forever 21] for more than a week.” “I love [Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters], but when they do gimmicky stuff like this, it just turns me off,” Braverman said. “I go there to get a cool pair of jeans that aren’t that expensive, not a necklace with a cartoon stereotype. I don’t even know who would buy that stuff.”
The PublicAsian | December 2011
News | 5
Asian countries curb use of wooden chopsticks By May Wildman Staff writer Although disposable chopsticks are a common sight at eateries at Maryland and Asian food restaurants around the world, they have recently come under scrutiny for contributing to deforestation in Asia, especially in China. According to The New York Times Green Blog, 3.8 million trees produce 57 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks per year in China. That requires over 1.18 million square meters of forest, according to the Forest Ministry’s statistics from 2004 to 2009. Of the chopsticks made in China, about half are sold domestically, while much of the remainder are sold to Japan. Deforestation in China leads to soil erosion, animal extinction, dust storms and flooding. There have been many efforts to hamper consumption of the eating utensils over the years. In 2006, Chinese citizens started a “Bring Your Own Chopsticks” campaign and Greenpeace China also started a “Say No to Disposable Chopsticks” movement. In 2010, Greenpeace teamed up with a public relations agency to sponsor an art project that used disposable chopsticks to make tree sculptures designed by artist Xu Yinhai, making a statement about wood waste. Over 200 students from 20 universities in Beijing collected 80,000 pairs of chopsticks to make four life-size trees for the project. Senior agricultural economics major Zhiwei Zheng, who transferred to this university from a university in China, said he noticed disposable chopsticks disappearing from restaurants in China after their effects on the environment
PHOTO CREDIT: GREENPEACE
Chinese artist Xu Yinhai and college-aged volunteers used around 80,000 disposable chopsticks to make trees that were displayed in Beijing to help raise awareness about deforestation.
became known. “Since people realized [disposable] chopsticks were bad for the environment … restaurants kept chopsticks for a long time,” he said. Japan uses 25 billion of pairs of chopsticks each year, all of which are imported. There, the “My-Hashi” or “My-Chopstick” movement that began around 2006 urges people to bring their own chopsticks to restaurants. Chopsticks have become somewhat of an ecofashion statement, coming in all sorts of colors and styles. As for government action, China has taken steps to decrease the amount of trees cut down by imposing a 5 percent sales tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in 2006. To compen-
--Taiwan-Taiwan will be the first Asian country to ban the practice of shark finning, beginning in 2012. The law will not prevent fishermen from hunting sharks, but it will make it illegal to harvest only the fin while still at sea, according to Time Magazine. Shark fin is used to make a soup, well-known in many Asian cultures, that can cost up to $100 per bowl, according to Time Magazine. Many shark species are now endangered because so many have been caught, their fins cut off and the bodies thrown back into the water. Taiwan has one of the largest shark fin industries in the world, according to the Taipei Times. Hong Kong-based Peninsula Hotels group has committed to taking the soup off its menus starting in January, but some major Taiwanese hotels have refused to do the same because it is considered a delicacy, according to the Tapei Times.
--Myanmar-Hillary Clinton became the first U.S. secretary of state in over half a century to visit Myanmar on Dec. 1, revealing the Asian government’s recent steps toward reform. Clinton sent a letter to new president Thein Sein from U.S. President Obama, offering incentive to continue with democratization of Myanmar, and discussed loosening current sanctions between the two nations, according to The Washington Post. Clinton later met with Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who had been a political prisoner until last year. Sein has lifted the long-standing ban on the National League for Democracy, according to The New York Times, but the U.S. government said Myanmar still had a long way to go in terms of democratization, said The Washington Post.
--Kyrgyzstan-For the first time, in 20 years, Kyrgyzstan peacefully inaugurated a new president on Dec. 1. New president Almazbek Atambayev has pledged to make “stability” between ethnic and political factions one of his top priorities, according to the Telegraph. The former Soviet Union nation in Central Asia has been plagued with political uprisings after elections and ethnic fighting between the ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks, according to The Washington Post. In June 2010, over 400 people died, and thousands were forced to flee the city of Osh because of violent tension between the two ethnic groups.
sate for the tax increase, Chinese chopstick makers put a 30 percent price increase on their chopsticks exported to Japan. China’s Ministry of Commerce also issued warnings to chopsticks makers in 2010. China’s increased restrictions on disposable chopsticks production have been a boon to one American company, Georgia Chopsticks. The company buys Georgia lumber from outside companies and makes disposable chopsticks at its factory in Americus, Georgia. It then ships them overseas to China, Japan and Korea. Owner Jae Lee said the disposable chopstick market is a good business to be in right now because of their shortage overseas. “[The buyers] see product and they buy. Be-
cause of shortage of products, I don’t have to put a lot of effort to sell,” he said. According to Lee, the company is growing steadily. It made two million pairs of disposable chopsticks per day last month, in contrast to four million per day currently, he said. Despite the troubling environmental concerns, restaurants may require an extra push to switch to reusable chopsticks because they are significantly more expensive. Disposable chopsticks cost about a penny per pair, but sterilization of reusable chopsticks costs anywhere from 15 to 70 cents, according to a Los Angeles Times article. At this university, disposable chopsticks are found all over campus in dining halls and convenience stores. According to Joe Mullineaux, dining services senior associate director, Dining Services will use a total of 23,000 pairs of chopsticks this semester in total. Dining Services uses chopsticks made of bamboo, Mullineaux said, because it is a rapidly renewable resource. Junior Spanish and environmental science and policy double-major Sarah Woolsey compared China’s 5 percent tax on chopsticks to Washington, D.C’s tax on plastic bags, which was implemented in 2010, charging people five cents per bag in an effort to get people to become more environmental friendly. “I think the problem is not just with chopsticks, but for take-out containers and things like that, ... disposable products may give a little more convenience [to] the consumer. But in the long run, the resources and the burden on the environment is much higher than the benefit that the consumer is receiving,” Woolsey said.
$400M F1 racetrack in India constructed despite poverty By Casey Leins Staff writer Avid racecar fans filled the stateof-the-art $400 million Buddh International Circuit racetrack for the 2011 Airtel Grand Prix of India in October. This year’s victory went to Red Bull Racing-Renault team member Sebastian Vettel, giving him an 11th win for the season. Metal band Metallica and pop artist Lady Gaga added to the hype of the event by performing at both the race and an exclusive after-party, which included some of India’s most well-known Bollywood stars. Despite its positive turnout and success, some people are questioning why such an expensive event would take place in a country where malnutrition and poor living conditions are so prevalent, while others believe that India’s government has the right to dictate the focuses of its growing economy. The event has put a spotlight on India, which could influence people to aid the poor in the country, but it has also negatively affected slum residents by blocking off their access to main roads. Among those who oppose the Formula One race taking place in India is freshman business major Rachel Buniski. “I think they should have been more selective in where they held the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix committee should have been more concerned with the poverty in India.” Within a country that has a gross domestic product (PPP) per capita of an estimated $3,500, according to the International Monetary Fund,
the track cost $400 million to construct, The Washington Post reported. Race tickets sold for anywhere between $50 and $700, which is an unaffordable expense for many people in the region, although a large amount of people still attended. However, Reeve Vanneman, chair of the sociology department at this university and researcher for the India Human Development Survey, said that India’s economy is actually growing. “If America were doing as well as them we would be in much better shape. [India has] a lot of reasons to be very optimistic about their future,” he said. He added that the U.S.’s portrayal of India is “outdated.”
“
[S]lum residents should have been employed to help build the racetrack stadium...” – Ashmi Sheth
Indian Students Association freshman executive
He explained that Americans view India as being extremely poor because poverty is dispersed differently in India than it is in the U.S. In India, the lower class is integrated with the middle-class, so slums can be seen around every corner. This makes the overall economy seem less prosperous than it actually is. “There are legitimate questions
about spending money for stadiums in general, no matter where you are in the world, no matter if we’re talking about the Redskins stadium or in Delhi,” Vanneman said, adding that the track was not a good purchase but that these decisions are for the local government to make. However, Ashmi Sheth, a finance major and the Indian Students Association’s freshman executive, said that, while the economy is growing, the majority of India is still in poverty. The disparity in class is so large that there is virtually no middle class, which increases the percentage of the population living in the slums, she said. “The government is not keen on improving the problems of the economy as much as they want to just hide these problems,” Sheth said. “The class divisions are only worsening.” Sheth added that the event is justifiable from a global economic standpoint because the global attention that it received could lead to increased tourism. However, she also believes that it is unfair that the building of the track inconvenienced the slum residents. “If anything, slum residents should have been employed to help build the racetrack stadium to improve their drive and integrate them into society more,” Sheth said. Whether good or bad, the event has captured America’s attention. “Hopefully, people will notice the poverty that surrounded the race track and will be inspired to help people in India living with a bare amount of resources,” Sheth said.
6
The PublicAsian | December 2011
arts& entertainment
Another Miyazaki masterpiece to premiere this winter By Ethan Rosenberg Staff writer If Rotten Tomatoes is the unifying rulebook for whether or not a movie is worth watching, Japanese animation filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is the almighty master of the “tomatometer.” Of Miyazaki’s 10 films that have been released in the U.S. and rated by Rotten Tomatoes, eight have scored 90 percent or above. His newest film, set to be released next year, has added yet another “fresh” film onto his belt. “The Secret World of Arrietty” was released in Japan last summer and the United Kingdom this past July, but audiences here will finally get a taste of Miyazaki’s latest project on Feb. 17. “Arrietty,” which is based on Mary Norton’s Carnegie Medal winning children’s novel “The Borrowers,” follows a family of “tiny people,” who are no taller than the average can of soda and who live under the floorboards of a typical human household. They make their living by “borrowing” items humans are least likely to miss, like cubes of sugar and soap. The novel has been adapted for the screen before as a well received film in 1997 starring John Goodman and Jim Broadbent, as a BBC television series in 1992 starring Ian Holm and as a Hallmark Hall of
PHOTO CREDIT: FILMOFILIA.COM
Miyazaki’s latest film, “The Secret World of Arrietty,” promises to be yet another masterpiece from Studo Ghibli.
Fame TV special in 1973 for NBC. Though “Arrietty” certainly has big shoes to fill, it has, so far, received the standard Miyazaki universal acclaim. David Gritten of Daily Telegraph called Arrietty “simply gorgeous,” while Charlie Lyne of Ultra Culture called it, “effortlessly charming and exquisitely beautiful.”
“Arrietty” currently holds a 100 percent on the tomatometer and has garnered over $120 million in revenue worldwide without the aid of a U.S. release. It was also awarded Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Academy Prize award ceremony. Miyazaki is no stranger to success. His 1997 film “Princess
Mononoke” became the highest grossing film of all time in Japan (until broken by “Titanic”) and took home Best Picture at the Japanese Academy Awards. “Spirited Away” (2001) won the same award and also became the first anime film to win an American Academy Award. “[Miyazaki] is in a medium, animation, that does not tend to be very
sophisticated, but his films are,” said Joseph Byrne, who teaches Film Art in a Global Society at the university. Byrne said the realness of the relationships in Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) are nuanced and more captivating than the stock figures seen in the run-of-themill Disney release. “His attention to detail and his artistic style impress me,” said senior ecology and wildlife management major Jade Murphy. “His movies are long, but they are captivating and beautiful throughout.” Unlike the majority of his other films, Miyazaki did not direct “Arrietty.” While he did write the script and supervised the production as a developing planner, the film was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who has done key animation for the last three Miyazaki-helmed films. Art history professor Greg Metcalf, who has lectured on Miyazaki in Byrne’s class, believes that even though Miyazaki did not direct “Arrietty,” audiences should not expect anything less of the film. “[Aside from] maybe a bit less rounding of the female characters, most of his films have actual or essential ‘magic’ in them, where this one will play with the tiny people getting by using no magic, just creativity,” Metcalf said. “From the previews, this one seems very much in line, without the overt use of supernatural elements.”
New reality show highlights Muslim American families By Emily Marshall Staff writer By Linda Poon Co-Editor-in-Chief Nearly 1.7 million viewers across the nation tuned in on Nov. 13 to the premiere of TLC’s new reality show, “All-American Muslim,” after months of anticipation, according to CNN. The eight-part unscripted series focuses on the daily lives of five Muslim American families living in Dearborn, Mich., home to the largest mosque in the U.S.
“
...this is a great way for the public to get a realistic sense of who Muslims are...” – Diana Elbasha
Senior journalism major
Each episode will take a look at the customs, misconceptions and conflicts these families face within and outside their community. Though they practice the same religion, each of the five families could not be more different. President Muneer Zuhurudeen of the Muslim Students Association said that he would like to see the show highlight the pluralism that exists in the U.S. “Often times people say America is a melting pot,” Zuhurudeen said. “However, I don’t believe that is a correct metaphor because it implies that we all simmer together and eventually all become the same.” “I think a better representation is a mosaic because we all have differences whether it be
race, creed, etc. but we embrace those differences in order to come together,” he added. The first episode, entitled “How to Marry a Muslim,” gave insight into each family, dispelling Muslim myths and explaining Muslim customs. The episode is named for the wedding between Shadia Amen and Jeff McDermott, who were spiritually married in an intimate ceremony at Amen’s home after McDermott converted to Islam. Since marrying outside Islam is usually against the religion, the Amen family deemed McDermott’s conversion necessary. In another episode, businesswoman Nina Bazzy-Aliahmad, whom her community believes is not “Muslim enough” due to her fashion style and career, will discuss her untraditional goal to be the first woman to open a club in Dearborn. The show also follows Mike Jaafar, the only Muslim American deputy chief in the area, and Fouad Zaban, the coach of the football team at Fordson High School, where the student body is 95 percent Muslim American. The team faces challenge due to the traditional fasting practice during Ramadan, as well as discrimination. “When we play teams away from Dearborn, they start calling us names,” one player said on the show. Another player added that the name calling only makes them play harder. “I appreciate TLC’s efforts and support their intentions for the show,” said senior journalism major Diana Elbasha, who is Muslim American. “I thought, this is a great way for the public to get a realistic sense of who Muslims are—normal, average Americans, and not hate-mongering terrorists as we’ve been so inaccurately labeled.” Sheeva Norooz, a freshman undecided major and member of MSA, felt that the show needed more balance. “I think they focus more
PHOTO CREDIT: FACEBOOK
Jeff McDermott and Shadia Amen were married during the first episode of TLC’s “All AmericanMuslim.” The show first aired on Nov. 13 and follows the lives of five Muslim American families.
on the non-religious Muslims,” she said. “It would’ve been more appropriate if they had another more religious family.” Elbasha added that while the show has potential to be pivotal, it does not represent the greater Muslim American community because all of the families are from Dearborn, are majority Lebanese and are of the Shia sect. She says only a small percentage of the world’s Muslims are Arab, and that the Sunni population is left out of the show. The show, however, did do well in showing the blend between the traditional practices of the Muslim American culture and the American lifestyle, Norooz said. For Elbasha, the show served as an educational look into the culture. “It’s a nice look into one part of it, and the fact that this show is available to millions of viewers is a great step in itself,” Elbasha said. “It facilitates conversation and opens people’s
eyes to things they may not have known otherwise.” Despite the overall positive feedback, some are calling for the show to be banned. One Facebook group called “Boycott TLC for New Program ‘All-American Muslim’” believes the show is blanketing the international violence associated with Islam culture and misrepresents Muslims. The group itself ‘likes’ pages including ‘Conservative’ and ‘Stop Islamization of the world’. Zuhurudeen recognized this as a misconception that the show may have potential to clear up. “One of the biggest problems we face with some of the Islamophobic discourse… is that sentiments being spread dehumanize Muslims,” Zuhurudeen said. “By showing the daily life of Muslims in America, hopefully that will allow people to realize the commonalities between us.”
The PublicAsian | December 2011
Arts & Entertainment | 7
S. Korean artist transforms everyday items into art By Sarah Hogue Staff writer “How many leftovers could you wrap up with all this aluminum foil?” said a student who was looking at the larger than life foil sculpture at the back of the exhibit. That was just one of the many questions gallery-goers had about the strange and exciting works from Hong Seon Jang’s debut in the Stamp Gallery with his exhibition “Sugar High,” which opened on Nov. 3 and will remain open until Dec. 16. Finished just hours before the opening, Jang’s five installation pieces were captivating and sometimes confusing to those who stopped by for a visit. Jang, a sculptor from South Korea who currently lives in New York City, found inspiration for his works in objects he finds while walking around, sometimes even the foil wrappers for shish kabobs. “I’m inspired by the moment and natural phenomena,”Jang said. Natural phenomena dominated his installation art show. Among the works presented was a bulky, foil sculpture entitled “Rock,” a fishing line and oozing black hot glue dripping sculpture entitled “The Black Mirage” and the namesake of the show, a stack of sugar cubes arranged in steps similar to an optical illusion found in a picture by Dutch artist M.C. Escher. Megan Rook-Koepsel, the curator of the show, chose Jang for the gallery space because of how intriguing his ideas about the effervescence of life were to her. “It brings out these subtleties of everyday life and things that we experience in everyday life,” RookKoepsel said. “But he gives them new connotations and new ways of seeing these materials.” Jang challenges those who enter
the gallery to reconsider the place of these common objects in our lives and to think of them beyond their initial value for “temporary pleasure.” He connects that challenge to his cultural background in South Korea, where there are two coexisting ideologies, and one must choose between them . “We always have these two perceptions, a dichotomy of perspectives, a contradistinction,” Jang said. “Good and bad, life and death.” Those who enter the gallery have the chance to absorb Jang’s essential message about consumerism through the unanticipated use of items never thought to have had any significance before. “I think some of the stuff he’s bringing up about the temporaryness of the objects we use and throw away is very relevant to today’s issues,” said Nava Behnam Shabahang, a junior dance and art major, referring to how society constantly has a need for new things and forgets to look for uses in what it already has. Issues like consumerism and waste resonate throughout Jang’s art as well; every material used in the show has a transient purpose in our lives, from how we read a magazine once and throw it away, to the way we use glue or tape simply as a means to patch something up. Other viewers were more astounded by Jang’s work than understanding of them. Samuel Margai, a senior art major, described the exhibit as “daring” and “shocking,” but also “non-sequitur,” referring to how each piece did not necessarily lead to the next. “I would never expect to see something such as this in a gallery,” he said. Spontaneously profound, Jang “just plays around” with materials like paint, sugar cubes, magazines
PHOTOS BY SARAH HOGUE
Hong Seon Jang, a South Korean sculptor, uses objects such as aluminum foil, sugar cubes and magazine cut-outs to create unique works of art. His exhibition, “Sugar High,” will be on display in the Stamp Gallery until Dec. 16.
and aluminum foil until they are transformed into something unexpected.
The simply mundane objects that Jang uses in his art are as basic as his answer for why he is an artist.
TALENT Tallapragada added that “auditioning for [‘America’s Got Talent’] was a natural step in the direction of bringing our dance form to a larger community than we would have ever imagined.” The team is definitely nervous at the possibility of being showcased on such a large stage but “we recognize that [‘America’s Got Talent’] is a prestigious platform for artists to express themselves,” she said. Moksha isn’t the only team from the university to make a run for the grand prize. During the summer of 2011, the university’s Gymkana made it to the semi-finals of the show with their gymnastic performances. Kelsey Clark, a junior biology major and member of Gymkana said that since appearing on “America’s Got Talent,” the troupe has gotten a lot more attention. “People actually know who we are now,” she said. “We got a lot more requests for shows all over the country, instead of just Maryland.” Moksha hopes that the exposure the show would bring could help them gain similar success and help give American audiences a better understanding of Indian dance. Bollywood is the dance form
PHOTO CREDIT: MOKSHA
In hopes of raising awareness of their art form and culture, Moksha, the university’s classical Indian dance team, auditioned for NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” in Washington, D.C. early November.
American audiences most associate with Indian culture, but despite the popularity, it is in no way complete-
ly representative of all Indian dance, Tallapragada said. “There are styles of dance that
are distinct from one another, each originating from a different region and culture in India,” she said.
“Ever since I was a kid, I was making something,” Jang said. “I just like to do this.”
With dance and music being so intertwined within Indian culture, there is no one definitive style. “Indian classical dance is a genre, not a style,” she added. Not only does Tallapragada hope that Moksha will be able to give a strong representation of Indian classical dance to the country, but they also want to represent the university well. “The University of Maryland is extremely diverse in its student body,” Tallapragada said. “Being on the show would allow the nation to see that diversity and variety first hand.” Junior hearing and speech sciences major Cate Browne thinks that Moksha will bring both good publicity and diversity to the university, if they are chosen to appear on the show. “We are a really diverse and tolerant campus,” Browne said. “I think this venture and the amount of support they would get from the campus would really show that to the country.” Moksha will not receive a decision from “America’s Got Talent” for a few months. Until then, the team will continue to raise awareness of their art form and continue to educate their audiences both on-campus and off.
8 | Arts & Entertainment
The PublicAsian | December 2011
APAs mix holidays with culture By Alexa Lardieri Staff writer With the holiday season around the corner, many Asian Pacific American families are anxiously awaiting the annual gathering of close friends and family. “We use this time to catch up, talk about things and just enjoy each other’s company as a family, which usually involves good food and good atmosphere,” said freshman bioengineering major Charles Liu. Liu said much of his family is still in Shanghai, but his immediate family indulges in traditional Chinese food such as zhong-zhi (sticky rice wrapped in large banana leaves), tang yuan (sticky riceballs with bean paste) and moo-shu (chopped pork and scrambled eggs stir fried in sesame oil, mushrooms and day lily buds) for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Unlike Liu’s family, Christopher Quach, a freshman sociology major, whose family is Vietnamese, has religious as well as cultural traditions that he and his family follow. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, Quach and his family weave their Buddhist traditions and beliefs into their celebrations. “My aunt and uncle have a Buddhist altar with a shrine to our ancestors that we all worship and offer food to every time the holidays come around,” Quach said. Thanksgiving in Quach’s household coincides with his grandfather’s death and he explained that
“it is typical of Asian families to acknowledge anniversaries of deceased relatives every year, so we also integrate some ceremonial stuff into our Thanksgiving festivities.”
PHOTO CREDIT: TWISTNSWIRL.BLOGSPOT.COM
Traditional seasame seed riceballs with bean paste is a popular dessert for Asian Pacific Americans during the holidays.
Nikhil Mathur, the freshman executive for the Indian Students Association, shared some of the Indian American traditions that take place during this time of year. “The concept of family is huge in the Indian culture, so getting together with all of your family and eating a lot of homemade food is perfect for us,” he said. He explained how his family celebrates Thanksgiving the same way most Americans do, but that his family also includes traditional Indian food and performs Hindu prayers before eating to give thanks. Sweets, according to freshman bioengineering major Priyanka Jayanti, are exchanged among Indian
American families during the New Year to signify the “sweet” things in life. “During Indian holidays, sweets are a really big deal,” she said. “People usually make a lot and distribute them among their friends and family. And they get some back too.” These include gulab jamun (deep fried dough soaked in a sugary syrup) and jalebi (deep fried batter in a pretzel or circular shape soaked in syrup). Mathur and his family also celebrate Diwali, which is the Hindu New Year, also known as the Festival of Lights. It is a holiday that celebrates the triumph of good over evil. “We do our prayers and then we turn on as many lights as we can in our homes, which is supposed to attract blessings from God,” he said. “We also light candles, known as ‘diyas,’ and put them around the house.” Diwali is a big celebration that includes lighting off fire crackers and getting together with family and friends. Mathur’s family also celebrates the American New Year with a large party of family, friends, food and dancing. Although Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year are viewed as American holidays, many people of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds celebrate them. Each celebration varies depending on the culture, religion or household, but it is the tradition of celebrating that ultimately brings everyone together.
Recipe Seasame Seed Riceballs Ingredients • • • • • •
Glutinous rice flour - 300 grams Sweet potatoes (skin removed) - 150 grams Sugar - 250 grams Cooking oil - 2 tablespoons White sesame seeds - 150 grams Peanuts (toasted and ground) - 300 grams
Directions • Steam sweet potatoes until soft and smash into paste. • Add in glutinous rice flour, 50 grams of sugar, cooking oil, mix well and knead into smooth dough. • Mix ground peanuts and sugar well for the fillings. • Divide dough into 20 portions, flatten and wrap up filling to form into round ball shape. • Moisten the ball surface with some water and coat with sesame seeds. • Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown and drain well. Enjoy! RECIPE FROM WWW.A1-ASIANRECIPES.COM
APA Spotlight: The Jubilee Project
The PublicAsian | December 2011
Arts & Entertainment | 9
By Emily Marshall Staff writer
The Jubilee Project, whose motto is “Doing Good is Contagious,” strives to make videos that empower, enable and inspire others to ‘do good.’ “We realized that videos have an amazing potential for social change, so we created The Jubilee Project to harness people’s potential to do good,” member Eric Lu said in the group’s video, “Join Us!”. The group was created in response to co-founder Jason Lee’s visit to Haiti shortly after the 2010 earthquake. Lee sang in a New York City subway station, made a video of it and raised over $700 for earthquake relief. Lu joined soon after, along with Jason’s brother, Eddie Lee. Together, they have highlighted issues related to human rights, HIV/AIDS, widows and orphans in Liberia, refugees in North Korea, deaf children in the U.S., Hepatitis B awareness, education for the underprivileged and more. The three-man group debuted their short film “Dear Daniel” at the Asian American Student Union’s 12th Annual F.U.E.L. Leadership Conference on Nov. 18. Eddie, 25, said the group has made 62 videos in the last year and a half and covered many topics ranging from youth with disabilities to domestic violence. “Dear Daniel,” which focuses on depression, is a 20-minute coming-of-age story about a college student in Washington, D.C. torn between pursuing his filmmaking dreams and
PHOTOS CREDIT: SHANG CHEN PHOTOGRAPHY
The Jubilee Project is a three-man group that creates inspirational videos to raise money for different causes. The group was founded by Jason Lee, Eric Lu and Eddie Lee (left to right).
pleasing his parents by becoming a lawyer. The short film is based on both Asian Pacific American and non-APA lives and was made to give an identity to the voice of people trying to follow a dream, according to Eddie. “Our hope is that you, and people all over the world, really be inspired to follow your dreams,” he said. “[‘Dear Daniel’] was really inspiring,” said Alex Nguyen, a student at Poolesville High School and F.U.E.L. attendee. “It rekindled a lot of hope.” Nguyen added that the film’s dilemma of picking personal dreams or parent’s dreams is a
common one. Elaine Wang, vice president of programming of AASU, agreed, noting that “Dear Daniel” was very realistic by touching on the expectations of the typical APA family for children to become doctors, lawyers or engineers, and showing that despite those pressures, achieving personal dreams rather than the parents’ dreams is important. Eddie challenged F.U.E.L. attendees to tweet @JubileeProject one thing they would like to change in the world, awarding the winner with a “Doing Good is Contagious” tshirt. Nguyen’s was the winning tweet of the night: “The social injustice in our society: all the hatred, war, sexism, homophobia, inequality, and corruption that exists. #endit.” The group hopes to continuing making influential videos. Their newest video, “Back to Innocence,” which will be released after their college tour, is about sex trafficking and focuses on a 12-year-old girl who was raped. Eddie describes the video as raw, dramatic and gruesome. “We felt very convicted to put the issue in people’s faces and force them to react,” he said. Though this is the first time The Jubilee Project has come to the university, “the moment you invite us, we’ll come back,” Eddie said. Wang said that AASU would not hesitate to invite the group again. “We think the charity work they do is great,” she said. “The Jubilee Project is aware of Asian American issues on top of the charity work they do,” Wang added.
“Ching Chong Chinaman” highlights artistic use of derogatory terms By Jack Molleur Staff writer Artists at Play, a theatrical group located in Los Angeles, has taken on the production of a new project that is sure to spark some controversy. On Nov. 4, the group premiered Lauren Yee’s “Ching Chong Chinaman,” a play with a title that probably warrants a few double-takes. The play focuses around the Wongs, a Chinese American family that has become so assimilated into the American way of life that their cultural identity seems to be lost. Ed, the father, loves to play golf, while the mother, Grace, is preoccupied with the desire to have another child. The couple has two children; a daughter, Desdemona; and a son, Upton. Desdemona wants nothing more than to get into Princeton, but is simply terrible at math, while Upton’s primary focus is not with his studies, but rather in the world of online video games. Though they are of Chinese descent, the Wongs have become just about as Americanized as they can get. The play goes down the
comedic route when Upton hires an indentured servant, Jinqiang, to do his homework and chores for him so he can have more time to practice and qualify for a “World of Warcraft” tournament. The Chinese family is baffled by Jinqiang’s entire culture, even though they come from the same background. They butcher his name so badly that he simply becomes “Ching Chong,” and one of the characters even asks upon seeing him at the dinner table, “Who’s that Asian guy?” The play satirizes the way people live their lives today with no sense of their own identity. “I feel that the play examines questions of personal and cultural identity and one’s search for or dismissal of that identity,” said Julia Cho, who plays Desdemona and is one of the founding members of Artists at Play. “The play portrays individuals who are stifled or misguided in their pursuit of self-awareness and self-fulfillment, ultimately leading to the realization that you need to recognize and accept who and what you are.” While some question Yee’s choice to bring
back a derogatory term that caused so much harm to the older generations of Chinese Americans, the Chinese American youth today may be able to look past the title and its negative connotations. “I have no problem with it,” said sophomore history major Weimin Chen about the play’s title. “I fully support anyone’s right to write whatever they want. The title doesn’t bother me.” “As a teacher and lover of the arts, I would say... playwrights, like novelists and other artists, absolutely have the license to explore the derogatory,” said Asian American literature professor Lawrence Minh Davis. “Restrictions are censorship.” In his opinion, it can be left up to the audience to decide what is offensive and what is not. He compared the play to Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel, “American Born Chinese.” The novel “conjures up historically offensive slurs and stereotypes in the interests of examining them more carefully, and not so much to track their origins or even critique them, but to explore the complex ways in
which they influence those at whom they’re ostensibly directed,” Davis said. He also explored another reason the play might have been given the particular title, saying the playwright’s predominant goal may be to spark real consideration of racial discrimination, rather than using the title simply for the “shock value” to make a profit. This is not the first time an artistic work has been successful with controversial and derogatory terms in it. Like author Mark Twain and his use of the N-word in his classic novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” writers can take artistic license to use certain words to transcend stereotypes and call for social change, Cho said. “‘Ching Chong Chinaman’ is helpful to the Asian Pacific American community in that it sheds light on issues that older generations have grappled with in the past and that younger generations can recognize as part of their history,” Cho said. “It takes an alternately brutal and tender look at the complexities of identity and one’s relationship to that identity, all coated with a layer of irreverent humor.”
6 Tuesday JASA December 5 MondayAAST 5-7 Mon.- Wed. Potluck Dinner Brown Bag Lunch w/ Prof. Yong-Mi Kim
6 Tuesday
VSA Bake Sale
Win UMD vs Duke tickets!
outside Stamp 11am-4pm
9 Friday
Student Association for India’s Development
Holiday Dinner Bring $5 Anne Arundel Hall basement 7-9:30pm
Calvert Room in Stamp 12:30pm
Phi Delta Sigma Clothing Drive outside Stamp
7 Wednesday 8 Thursday Study Abroad Fair
Spotlight: Languages
Atrium in Stamp 11am-2pm
Filipino Cultural Association Last Fall GBM Art/Soc 1213 7-9pm
Bring a dish or $3 LaPlata basement 6:30-8:30pm
8 Thursday
VSA GBM & Pho Night
Win UMD vs Duke tickets! Art/Soc 3207 & Pho VN1 6-8:30pm
10 Saturday 14 Wednesday 21Wednesday Hindu Student Club Temple Trip Meet at east entrance of Stamp 10:30am
TASA Study Session St. Mary’s Hall basement 2-5pm
Asian American Student Union Holiday Party 7:30-10pm
10
The PublicAsian | December 2011
op inions
AASU Unedited: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Asians Ashley Zhan, The PublicAsian Liaison I am very fortunate to have been able to go back to China consistently every few years since my first visit in 2000. Although I have witnessed a lot of changes in the landscape throughout China’s rapid modernization over the last decade, I have a pretty uninformed perspective on the social progress due to my lack of integration into Chinese society. So, when a friend of mine who is currently studying abroad in Chengdu, China mentioned that he recently visited a lesbian bar in the city, I was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, homosexuality is a topic that is rarely discussed in many Chinese households; LGBT issues are hardly recognized in these communities globally. My mom has always told me that gay rights are basically nonexistent in China. Furthermore, gay individuals are often forced to hide their sexual identity due to the blatant discrimination within Chinese society. Many gay men even enter heterosexual marriages in an effort to fulfill familial and societal expectations. Despite widespread bigotry in China, there are few instances where homosexuality has been publicized in the entertainment industry. One iconic example is the 1993 film “Farewell My Concubine,” which tells the story of a gay opera singer played by Hong Kong actor Leslie Cheung. Cheung became one of the first and few actors in China to take on a gay role. Cheung, himself, was bisexual, although he denied rumors about his sexual orientation for much of his life. While Cheung remained a popular entertainer, many LGBT individuals in China do not have the luxury of fame to help them gain acceptance in society. My friend in Chengdu described the lesbian bar that he went to as a “kind of subversive” place where “the girls ... talk politics.” Having never really interacted with the younger generation in China, I’m not sure if this kind of atmosphere is common amongst young people or not. But, what strikes me most about our conversation is that there is even a lesbian bar in the city to begin with. The China that my mom has always described to me does not seem like a place that would allow open gay scenes. However, social movement has been seen in events such as a Mr. Gay China pageant and a Pride Week that have taken place in cities like Beijing and Shanghai. While Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai are all large urban
PHOTO BY RYAN ALPHONSO
areas and may be more progressive than rural parts of China, it is interesting and hopeful to see that the LGBT community is becoming more prominent in Chinese society. Although this progress is definitely something to celebrate, it is important to be aware that the fight for LGBT rights is far from over. It wasn’t until 2001 that homosexuality became officially unrecognized as a mental illness. Unsurprisingly, same-sex marriage and adoptions are also illegal in most states. Advocates say that changes regarding LGBT rights will
take a long time to occur in China due to current social attitudes. In the U.S., however, these issues can and should be brought up more frequently in the Asian Pacific American community. I am incredibly grateful for and proud of growing up in an area where human rights are important to both the public and the legislators. For example, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a transgender anti-discrimination law in 2007. In this environment, I have always been surrounded by open-minded individuals who have greatly influenced my own values and beliefs. Unfortunately, there are also times when I don’t even have to step out of my own house to see that intolerance and prejudices still exist. When I was younger, I would always play the hypothetical question game with my parents. What would you do if I ran away? What would you do if I got pregnant in high school? What would you do if I told you that I was gay? While they were able to answer the other questions with relative ease, the last one made them noticeably uncomfortable. My mom, in particular, struggled to come up with an answer. She confessed that she had never even considered the possibility of me or my brother being anything other than straight. This was the first moment when I realized that much of the discomfort, the phobia and the discrimination towards LGBT individuals within the APA community stem from the fact that these issues are often swept under the rug and simply ignored. Like a parent in denial, the APA community hasn’t really done enough to address or advocate for LGBT issues and rights. As members of the younger, supposedly more tolerant generation, we need to speak up about these issues, even if it means having to challenge the beliefs of our parents. Anyone who has witnessed the backlash after the Alexandra Wallace YouTube video can attest that we are not really a “silent minority.” The APA community already advocates for many issues including racial equality, women’s rights and immigration laws. I think it’s time we add LGBT rights to the list. Ashley Zhan is a sophomore neurobiology and physiology major.
Organization Spotlight Thai Student Association (THSA) Simon Kasemphantai, Co-President
THSA doesn’t just stand for Thai Student Association; it stands for the spread of Thai culture for those who do not know and those who want to know about it. Our purpose is to make a noise in our wonderful Maryland campus community. For the past years, we have hoped that more and more people are involved with the knowledge of our Thai traditions. Recently, we had our annual event called Loy Krathong. Every year around November we have this event by the reflection pool in front of McKeldin Library. This event gave a taste of one of Thailand’s oldest traditions where people make wishes and hope to cast away all their sins in the past. It’s not a bad idea to wish for that A plus on a certain midterm. Don’t worry if you missed this event, we have another event coming up in the spring called Thai Night.
Thai Night is an explosion of Thai traditions and cultures integrated just for people who want to take the time to learn. Last year for Thai Night, we had many Thai performances brought to you along with very famous Thai succulent dishes that will bring you back for seconds. Be sure not to miss this event in this upcoming spring. Thai Night is a great opportunity to experience all the exciting things about Thailand. Unfortunately, recent events have diminished the excitements of Thailand to tragic disasters. Since late July, many cities in Thailand are engulfed by up to 12 feet of water, killing more than 600 people and causing 2 million people to lose their homes. Every day is a struggle for the millions of kids and parents to survive through these tough times. At every event and charity
production we are involved in, we ask for donations of any amount to help support the Thai Red Cross Society, to whom we are sending all our proceeds. One dollar can bring one meal to a child and $17 can help a family of four survive for four days. They need our help! Donations do not necessarily have to be in person. Please visit our website www.gofundme.com/thailandfloodrelief2011 and make any donations online; your help can save someone’s life. Our goal is to reach a total of $5,000, and we are currently very close to achieving that goal. Please spread the word to friends and family members to help our cause. Help bring back the assurance of hope to the hearts of the lost ones. Be a part of Thailand! Simon Kasemphantai is a junior economics major.
PHOTO BY RYAN ALPHONSO
The PublicAsian | December 2011
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11
hyo’s corner
The Terra Cotta Warriors: Beauty of Craftsmanship
ast winter, I was on the phone for over two
hours trying to get my hands on a few tickets to go see the Terra Cotta Warriors at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. The Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit was the most attended event ever hosted by the National Geographic Museum. What I didn’t know then was that in about a year, I would be standing among the actual excavation site in Xi’an, the capital of the Shaanxi Province. The site was discovered by a few peasants in 1974 while they were digging for a well nearby. Since then, the Chinese government has pushed efforts to preserve what is now known to the world as one of the most wondrous findings of the 20th century. The excavation site covers an area of 16,300 square meters and is divided into three pits. As I stepped into the pits, my entire body felt the grandness of the site. I was standing among rows and rows of statues that had individual characteristics: hairstyles, facial expressions, garment details and posture. I later learned that about 7,000 potteries of soldiers, horses, chariots and weaponry were buried at the site to honor the death of the very first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, in 210 BC. As I walked around, studying each pit carefully, I couldn’t help but to think about the creativity, innovation and dedication that went into producing a site of burial as grand as this
one. I immediately felt a surge of emotion and excitement for having witnessed a part of China’s impressive history. While walking around and slowly taking in the details and the intricacies of the craftsmanship, I started to think about death in Chinese culture. I thought about how profound this site was in portraying the importance of an afterlife of a person. The purpose of each and every standing pottery at the site was crafted to honor and to protect the soul of the emperor and to guide him throughout his afterlife. The more time I spent walking around and wondering about the purpose of this burial site and the sheer amount of manpower, resources and time spent into creating one of the largest collection of potteries, I couldn’t help but wonder why I thought this was awesome and profound. It wasn’t the sheer number of life-size figures nor the fact that this entire compound of findings was for one man. Rather, my excitement came from the creativity and dedication of the craftsmen that was evident in the details of each pottery I saw. To me, it didn’t matter which emperor this site was for nor how much power and money they had to commission for this project. What mattered to me was the simple fact that these figures were products of many talented craftsmen and for the fact that each and every pottery was molded and detailed by those who were the artists of that time. Despite not having the most advanced technology for creating these figures, they were able to use creativity, innova-
tion and artistic talents to produce a compound of sculptures that even artists of our time admire and are inspired by. Thanks to them, I was able to appreciate how creativity and art transcends time and beliefs. See you soon, -h.
Visit Hyo’s blog at: www.evergreenhyo.wordpress.com
Hyobin Sung, a senior goverment and politics major, is studying abroad in China this semester. PHOTOS PROVIDED AND TAKEN BY HYOBIN SUNG
12 | Events Recap
The PublicAsian | December 2011
oomed In :
Z Dinner, Show and a Cause The Multiracial and Biracial Student Association asked students to donate one canned item in exchange for an endless line of food and a special screening of the 2008 film “Shades of Ray” during their Diversity Feast and Film on Nov. 17. All cans were given to Capital Area Food Bank.
MBSA Diversity Feast & Film Photos by James Levin
Clockwise: Hungry students wait in line for the wide variety of food, including rice, macaroni and cheese, chicken and noodles; Music plays on the big screen as attendees socialized and ate their food; Junior psychology major Bona Shin gets ready to take a bite of salad from her two plates of food; A student treats himself to rice, salad, pizza and bread.
ISA Fall Charity Dinner Photos by Ryan Alphonso
Clockwise: As co-host and performer for the charity dinner, Indian Students Association’s freshman executive, Nikhil Mathur, was kept busy for the night; South Asian a capella group Anokha performed several numbers for the attendees; Indian dance team TerraPind Bhangra, which Mathur is a part of, breaks out their best dance moves to entertain their guests.
Visit www.publicasian.com for our exclusive photo coverage of the F.U.E.L. Conference!
Students packed the Grand Ballroom on Nov. 14 for an all-you-can-eat buffet during the Indian Students Association’s semi-annual Fall Charity Dinner. This year’s proceeds went to the SSSMILE Village in India to aid rural development. Groups like TerraPind Bhangra and Anokha provided performances for the night.