PublicAsian - October2013

The PublicAsian OCTOBER 2013 VOLUME 20 ISSUE 1

A VOICE FOR THE ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

APA ISSUES AT LARGE by Marissa Laliberte

FUELING AWARENESS FOR INVISIBLE ISSUES F.U.E.L.: Forging, Understanding, Empowering and Leading conference sought to inform students about “invisible issues” that do not gain enough publicity, such as mental health, racism and domestic violence.

This year’s FUEL: Forging, Understanding, Empowering and Leading conference sought to inform students about “invisible issues” that do not gain enough publicity, such as mental health, racism and domestic violence.

About 70 students gathered in Stamp Student Union on Oct. 12 for the Asian American Student Union-sponsored leadership conference to hear a keynote speaker, attend workshops in various subjects, watch spoken word performances and discuss what they learned.

Conference co-director Ashley Zhan said AASU chose the theme to address a variety of issues that often go ignored.

“I hope students understand and become aware of issues and get why they’re relevant to their lives,” the senior physiology and neurobiology major said. “So many people are affected… but they are not always talked about in society, especially in the APA community.”

The conference began with a keynote speech from Mee Moua, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Moua, who was the first Hmong American woman in state legislature as a Minnesota Senator from 2002-11, described the difficulties of going from a refugee camp in Laos to growing up in Midwestern America. She said her peers constantly failed to see past her race.

Asian and Pacific Americans are often seen as “perpetual foreigners,” Moua said, and it can be difficult to find an identity with either culture.

She encouraged listeners to be activists and speak up with issues such as immigration and discrimination.

After Moua’s speech, students could attend one of three workshops addressing racism, mental health or immigration. Co-director Joanne Liu, a senior government and politics major, said the workshops gave attendees options based on their interests rather than forcing them to focus on one theme.

During the immigration workshop, students learned information about immigration legislation like the DREAM Act. Attendees watched a movie, discussed personal experiences and listened to Olivia Chow, online organizer for Reform Immigration FOR America.

>>>FUEL, PAGE 7

INSIDE

a

s e t t i n g s u n?

POPULATION IN JAPAN HITS RECORD LOW

by Jin Kim

Japan, a nation that once increased its workforce by 37 million within two generations and became the world’s second largest economy, faces a crisis resulting from a reversal of its population growth.

Japan suffered its largest recorded annual drop in population, according to statistics published late August by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which has kept track of Japan’s population since 1968.

The ministry recorded a 0.21 percent decline in population, a decrease of 266,004 people, making the fourth consecutive yearly decline in Japan’s population.

“I feel concerned for our parent’s generations,” said University of Maryland Japanese language instructor Makiko Inoue. “They really worked hard, and they supported their parents with a good workforce, but our generation can’t support them.”

Inoue, who has taught at the university for eight years, worries about her parents, who live in Omuta, a Japanese city with one of the highest ratios of senior citizens.

“That city is really struggling,” Inoue said. “There is no younger generation to really support the huge amounts of older citizens there. It’s a problem of the nation.”

University of Maryland alum and graduate student Hiroko Nishimura had similar concerns for her grandmother, who lives alone.

“They’re aging and they’re not really getting much because there’s so many of them,” Nishimura said.

Japan’s senior citizens aged 65 and over topped 30 million this year while the number of people aged 14 and younger hit its lowest point at 16.6 million, while the birth rate suffered similar figures, falling for its fifth consecutive low to an all-time low of 1.1 children per woman.

The population crisis has reached the point where adult diapers are outselling baby diapers in Japan.

According to the National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health, the population of people aged 65 and over worldwide will exceed the population of children aged four and younger within the next seven years.

>>>JAPAN, PAGE 5

KOLLABORATION DC UMD CONFUCIUS BRINGS TALENTED APA INSTITUTE HOLDS ARTISTS TOGETHER “KUNLUN” SHOW >>>PAGE 6 >>>PAGE 7

INTERNATIONAL CHRIS QUACH STUDENTS ADAPT TO STARTS HIS YEAR U.S. LIFESTYLE ABROAD IN THE U.K. >>>PAGE 8 >>>PAGE 11

WWW.PUBLICASIAN.COM FACEBOOK.COM/PUBLICASIAN @ThePublicAsian

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| October 2013

About: The PublicAsian is a student-run newspaper sponsored by the Asian American Student Union (AASU) of the University of Maryland, College Park.

A Voice for the Asian Pacific American Community at the University of Maryland, College Park

editor-in-chief Ulysses Munoz managing editor Lily Hua news editor Kaiwei Hsu graphics editor Fatimah Waseem webmaster James Levin

Printing Schedule: The PublicAsian is published once a semester 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 joining our staff in some capacity, please contact publicasian@gmail.com Published with support from Generation Progress, a division of the Center for American Progress. Check them out at genprogress.org.

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Want to work for PublicAsian?

You DO NOT need to be Asian to apply.

Believe it or not, PublicAsian has been around since the 90s. It was created to serve as a voice for an underrepresented Asian Pacific American population at the University of Maryland, College Park. As the years have gone by, the publication’s format has evolved and staff members have come and gone, but that main purpose has remained the same. At its core, PublicAsian has always been a medium for APA students to connect with each other and form a stronger community.

The paper you’re reading right now is special, and not just because of the many hours of work that each of our staff members has put into it bringing it as close to perfection as possible. No, this print issue is unique because not only is it PublicAsian’s first of the year, but it’s also its last.

Don’t get too distraught; we’re not going anywhere.

Starting in a just a few short weeks, we will be taking the publication completely online! We’re rolling out a brand new website that will hopefully be even more user friendly and aesthetically pleasing than what we currently have set up. Instead of a monthly publication, we’ll be posting a new story every single day. We’re still covering news, features, events and other issues relevant to the APA community, but by posting every day we hope to become an even more reliable news source for all of you.

We have a number of exciting stories for you to check out, Ellie Silverman takes a look at the low unemployment rates of APA workers on page 3, which may comfort the juniors and seniors that will soon be graduating college and entering the workforce. On page 4, Bethany Hooper investigates North Korea’s recent announcement of its brand new smartphone called the “Arirang,” and what that could mean for the average N.K. citizen.

On page 6 we cover the annual Kollaboration DC event, an awesome talent show that showcases a lot of local APA stars. Marissa Laliberte covers the “invisible issues” like racism and mental health that were brought up at the AASU F.U.E.L. leadership conference on page 7. Directly beneath that, there is a piece by Savannah Tanbusch on an impressive new “Sense of Place” exhibit at the Freer-Sackler art gallery in D.C. It’s only there for a limited time, so make sure you try to check it out soon.

Finally, I strongly recommend you read about Chris Quach’s year abroad on page 11. He’ll be writing a bi-weekly travel blog for us while he’s living in London for a year studying APA and LGBTQ issues in Europe. I’m sure he’ll have plenty of interesting stories for us as he travels all around the U.K. and you definitely won’t want to miss out.

That’s just a quick look at all of the great stories we have for you from the past month, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy producing them for you. I want to thank everyone who has been reading PublicAsian since its inception, and I hope that you will continue to support us as we go about making major transformations to our structure. Just remember that even though we aren’t printing hard copies anymore, PublicAsian will always be there to support you and the APA community at UMD. Without all of you behind us, we’d have no purpose.

-Ulysses A. Munoz, Editor-in-Chief

The following positions are open: Business Manager Ad Manager Creative Director Photo Editor Copy Editor Graphic Designer Contributing Writer Travel Writer Staff Photographer Freelance Photographer

Send a resume to publicasian@gmail.com if you want to apply!

News | 3

| October 2013

Terrapinoy Day provides college admissions advice Filipino Cultural Association reaches out to assist middle and high school students Elementary and secondary school students from around the state will gather at Reckord Armory September 28 to attend leadership workshops, college preparation presentations and traditional Filipino culture classes.

The University of Maryland’s Filipino Cultural Association hosts “Terrapinoy Day” annually. Formerly known as Filipino American Youth Dialogue, Terrapinoy Day boasts a full schedule of developmental workshops to help students interested in Filipino culture learn and prepare for their higher education.

“Terrapinoy Day…provides middle and high school students the opportunity to learn more about the college admissions process, the financial aid process, FCA, and the University of Maryland,” said FCA President Krstyle Canare. “Through a series of workshops, interactive games, and dialogues, we encourage the Filipino American youth to take a first hand look at the college experience, an experience that could possibly be the first in their family.”

Due to heavy publicity during the summer at Asian and Filipino Independence Day Festival, the FCA anticipates over 75 students in attendance, Canare said. The FCA has also reached out to all school college prep coordinators in Maryland, and the group expects students from Kennedy High School and a local Filipino organization, Mabahay, Inc., she said.

Margaret Magnaye, cultural chair of UMD’s FCA, said the group sent emails to nearly every high school in the state of Maryland as a way to attract as many interested students as possible.

“This year we’ve cast a much larger net than before,” she said. “It’s going to be much bigger than last year, which is very exciting.”

Students do not have to be in high school to participate, however. The program will welcome students of any age, she said.

“The main goal of Terrapinoy Day is to bring local youth onto a college campus, introduce them to positive role models

they can relate to, and help them understand how to prepare for college, while also learning about Philippine culture,” said Tyler Babich, former lead organizer for Terrapinoy Day. Babich organized Terrapinoy Day two years ago, and he said he is excited about the anticipated growth of the event.

He said FCA’s executive board has “done a great job of sticking to Terrapinoy Day’s mission and some traditions while not being afraid to try new things.”

Magnaye, a sophomore hearing and speech sciences major, attended Terrapinoy Day when she was a senior in high school two years ago, the same time Babich organized the event. Her brother, an undergraduate at the University of Maryland at the

“

FCA is family.

“

By Kelsey Sutton Contributing writer

Margaret Magnaye

UMD FCA cultural chair

time, encouraged her to attend.

At the time, only around 20 students were participating in the program and Magnaye was only one of about three high school students, but she said the program “really sold the school for me.” “[University of] Maryland sells the school a certain way,” she said. “It’s a little generic.” But throughout the day, the programs Magnaye took part in made her “have a different perspective.”

Students were broken up into several groups, moving through a Filipino-American current events workshop, a Filipino culture class where students learned dances, a class where students explored financial aid options and an event called ‘role models.’

In role models, student leaders stressed the importance of qualities that define positive role models and encouraged students to find role models in their lives.

“Role models meant a lot to me,” Magnaye said. “I knew I had role models growing up…but as I got older, some of the

people I thought were role models weren’t the best choices. I learned to focus on the qualities that make up a person.”

Students who participate in Terrapinoy Day this year can expect an added element to the ‘role models’ program: the ‘ate’ and ‘kuya,’ or ‘big sister, big brother’ program.

Ate (ata) and kuya (qui-ya) provides younger students an opportunity to network with older members of the FCA. Every executive board member of the FCA becomes an ate or kuya, providing them with lessons in leadership and role modeling.

“Terrapinoy Day epitomizes the Filipino saying of ‘Utang ng Loob,’ which is translated to ‘payment of the womb,’” Canare said. “In other words, one can never pay back one’s mother for giving birth to them, but what you CAN do is give back to someone else. In other words, ‘pay it forward.’”

All Terrapinoy Day volunteers are given the opportunity to serve their community and mentor the attending youth, she said.

The Ates and Kuyas are paired with grade school children in hopes that the younger students can find role models and develop a relationship that allows them to reach out to older students with any questions they might have, Babich said.

“There’s [sic] a lot of promising young kids in our communities, but they’re falling short of their potential because they don’t have proper guidance about college and financial aid,” he said. “Terrapinoy Day is a great effort to reach out to those types of kids in a fun environment and give them the tools they need to achieve whatever they want.”

If students who participate ultimately come to the University of Maryland and join the FCA, Magnaye said they would welcome them with open arms, but it is not essential.

“We just encourage them to be involved in their campus community,” she said.

Magnaye’s experience with Terrapinoy Day left her with a sense of community when she came to college.

“When I came to Maryland, I knew faces [from the program],” she said. “I wasn’t my brother’s younger sister. I was Margaret.”

She said she hopes other students can gain the same networking benefit from Terrapinoy Day this year.

“FCA is family,” Magnaye said.

Asian Pacific Americans maintain lowest unemployment rate Study provides relief to some APA students; others disagree with findings

By Ellie Silverman Contributing writer The uncertainty of post-graduation life plagues seniors as they begin their last year at the University of Maryland.

The omnipresent pressure to find a job in a desirable field is tremendous. However, Asian Pacific American students can find comfort in the fact that they have the lowest levels of unemployment among major ethnic groups, according to CNN. The University of Maryland Career Center’s data shows that APA students at the university utilize the Career Center’s programs, resources and services in percentages roughly equivalent to their representation in the student body.

“The statistics don’t appear to correlate with elevated levels of participation,” Kelly Bishop, director of the University Career Center, said.

CNN also reported the presence of a stereotype regarding APA workers as onedimensional, uncreative and white collar, which may be seen as a barrier to employment opportunities.

Senior Sophie Jin, a biology and environmental science major, has heard of this stereotype but has never experienced it.

“It’s probably because I’m very Americanized because I don’t have an accent,” she said.

Veronica Son, a senior nutritional sciences and biology major, agrees. “I have never heard of that stereotype before but everyone I know who is Asian has a job. Everyone I know is very hard working and they all have jobs, I don’t know if that’s a race thing though,” she said.

Senior finance and biology major Melissa

Chong, disagrees with the stereotype of APA as uncreative, but sees truth in the stereotype of working white collar even though she says people of all races have white and blue collar jobs.

Chong has never encountered this stereotype before. She said, “All the places I worked hire you for what your merits are.

They don’t really judge by race.”

The stereotype does not seem to derail APA students from success.

Veronica Son is confident in her job prospects once she graduates. She derives her positivity from the education and skills she has acquired through different jobs.

“If I can get into medical school and be a doctor, I can find a job,” Son said.

“Even if I don’t find a job immediately, at some point I will.”

Jin is also confident.

“Having previous experience definitely helps,” Jin said. “I’m optimistic in finding a job in the environmental science field. The field is growing and the importance of global warming and protecting the environment is growing.”

The APA low unemployment is not due to confidence alone.

Professor Alvaro Pedraza, who teaches financial economics, attributes the low unemployment rate to education. “[APA] have a higher employment rate due to high education and high education comes from family,” Pedraza said. “Either culturally or historically their families have received higher degrees so that would be a reason why [APA] would study more,” Pedraza said.

Melissa Chong agrees that the family is a

main reason for low unemployment.

“Asian parents always expect the best from their children. It’s engrained in us to work hard all the time with everything we try to attempt,” Chong said. “For most people, the main goal of college is to get a job after school [and] I think part of that just comes from always working hard and giving 110% no matter what.”

4 | News

| October 2013

Smartphone addiction plagues APA across globe South Korean “cell phone penetration” already at over 100 percent

By Katie Wilhelm Contributing writer From texting friends at all hours of the night to finally getting to the next level in Candy Crush, college students everywhere find their eyes glued to their smartphones for hours each day. While the convenience of having a smartphone is a huge benefit in most people’s lives, how much time spent using it is considered too much?

According to “A Rising Addiction Among Youths: Smartphones” by In-Soo Nam, a person is considered to have a smartphone addiction when he or she uses a smartphone for more than seven hours a day.

These individuals often experience symptoms such as anxiety, depression and insomnia whenever they do not have access to their

smartphones. Excessive phone usage often leads to bullying in schools.

South Korea in particular has an ongoing smartphone addiction problem among its youth, stemming from the fact that South Korea is home to the world’s biggest smartphone maker, Samsung.

According to Nam, cell phone penetration in South Korea is more than 100 percent, which means that some people have more than one.

Approximately two-thirds of those phones are smartphones.

“A lot of people now talk to you through text but won’t always talk in-person,” Siyeon Kim, a sophomore kinesiology major and Asian Pacific American (APA), said.

“They feel more comfortable talking online rather than in-person. There are more of these people today.”

KakaoTalk, a popular app in

South Korea, is a messaging app that has become more popular than texting among many Korean teenagers. Users can have individual conversations or group chats with as many people as they want, and a number of people give up their texting plans in order to cover the data plan required to use KakaoTalk, according to Kim. In an attempt to control cellphone usage in class, there is a standard practice in Korean schools where teachers collect phones from students during the school day.

However, that practice only has a small success rate because students often hide their phones in order to text during breaks and classes, according to Nam. Beyond South Korean borders, smartphone addiction numbers are also rising in Taiwan. According

to Joy Lee’s article “10 Percent of Taiwanese Children Severely Addicted to Smartphones,” addicted children ages 11 through 14 often use their phone once every five minutes.

The number of children with smartphones has doubled in recent years, which has led to an increase in the number that have argued with parents about their phone usage and that have added strangers to their friend lists.

“Most children do not have any idea about protecting themselves, so they actively reveal their personal information to strangers, putting them at great risk,” Chen Yahui of the Child Welfare League Foundation said in Lee’s article.

APA freshman accounting major Heidi Shiau encouraged those who are addicted to their smartphones to be aware of how much time they are

using their phone. “I use a prepay plan so I have to pay for each text I send,” she said. “I would recommend it [to those who are addicted]. “ Shiau explained how she has an app that allows her to send texts over WiFi in order to avoid the prepay plan’s costs, but she doesn’t recommend it to someone who truly needs to limit their texting.

Regardless of whether individuals believe that they are addicted to their smartphones or not, Kim and Shiau suggested that people turn off their smartphones at some point to see how long they can last without it.

They advised users to delete some of the more time-consuming apps if necessary; to limit texting and data plans as needed; and to take a break every once in a while, even if they are not truly addicted.

North Korea announces nation’s first smartphone The “Arirang” has similarities to the Android, likely produced in China

By Bethany Hooper Contributing writer North Korea announced that they have created their own cell phone, causing speculation as to how North Korea will use its new technology.

In recent years, North Korea has expanded its technology, going so far as to threaten the globe with its weapon capability.

The country is bolstering new social technology with the creation of the “Arirang,” a cell phone similar to the Android.

The cellphone is named after an old Korean folk song.

According to BBC News, however, the North Korean manufactured “Arirang,” might be made in China. “[Cell phones were] probably made to order by a Chinese manufacturer and shipped to the May 11 Factory where they are inspected before going on sale,” North Korean technology expert Martyn Williams said.

According to The Washington Post, North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un wants to give his citizens access to cellphones

and stop the black market from selling illegal technology.

“The Kim regime rightly fears technological encroachment, which risks allowing outside information to seep into this carefully engineered society,” Washington Post writer Max Fisher said.

Yvonne Chan, senior environmental science and policy major and member of LiNK, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing liberty to North Korea through humanitarianism, had strong opinions on the new technology and so-called freedom Kim Jong Un was advertising.

According to Chan, the new cell phones come along with heavy price tags that most North Korean citizens will not be able to afford.

“From what I read, these cell phones are a fifth of their income, which I don’t think the average North Korean can afford,” she said. “If they made the cellphone more accessible to citizens, they could possibly become closer as a nation.”

Freshman animal science major Maddie Monaco believes the Arirang is a disguised attempt by the government to regulate

and retain control of its people. “Upfront it sounds like it would make the citizens more liberated, but it’s not,” she said.

“I can see them tracking [phone calls]. Our government even does that.”

On the other hand, Sargoon Nepaul, a junior neurobiology and physiology major, views North Korea’s new cell phone as a positive change. “[Cell phones] are a really good start. It is leading to progress. They are opening up more communication methods. Cell phones will definitely not limit them,” said Nepaul.

Whether or not North Korea’s new cellphone will help or hinder its citizens remains unknown, but Kim Jong Un is using the media to his advantage to gain respect, said Chan.

Chan believes that as North Korea continues to release more and more information about their new technology, it will also attempt to convince the global community that the government is concerned about the well-being of its citizens.

Chan said, “They want to show us that they are not starving [their citizens] of information.”

New evidence behind risk factors of APA depression

By Katie Wilhelm Contributing writer Cultural adjustments and academic pressures are cited as reasons why Asian Pacific American college students are at an increased risk for depression.

These students often feel as though they have to spend copious amounts of time on work and thus they often deprive themselves of social and free time. This lends itself to feelings of loneliness and homesickness, which intensifies when language barriers and cultural adjustments are considered, according to Katherine Kam in her Inquirer Global Nation article Depression Haunts Many Asian College Students in U.S. They often stop going to class when they feel embarrassed that they weren’t able to keep up with the workload, and as a result it’s too difficult to catch up, according to Kam. The added pressure of family obligations often goes unnoticed by people outside of the family, Cornell counselor Wai-Kwong Wong said in the article.

“They don’t get how deep that goes, that sense of living up to family expectations, of not letting their parents down,” Wong said. “In many ways, it goes to the core of the identity of many of Asian descent because that’s what they’ve grown up with their entire lives.”

APA sophomore Xandria Baleno also noted the cultural aspect of increased stress and depression rates among Asians.

“For students, there’s the fact that the Asian stereotype is to be so smart and to keep up with that demand,” the supply chain and finance major said. “You might not identify with that and it can be frustrating, which can lead to stress and depression.”

On the University of Maryland campus, the Counseling Center is open to all students who need assistance for any personal, academic or social concern. The UMD Help Center, a peer counseling hotline, is another resource open for students.

The Mental Health Services within the Health Center is yet another option.

Asian Americans are encouraged to seek out whichever resource they feel will meet their needs, but it is also noted that there is oftentimes a cultural stigma against asking for help.

To address that stigma, some colleges and universities have established Asian American Centers, a place where students of Asian descent can go for counseling, tutoring and other services that are geared towards their cultural needs. Cultural events would be organized within the center in order to bring students together and organized discussions would be held focused on topics of interest to the Asian American population.

Sophomore APA Brenda Shah supports the idea of an Asian American center on campus.

“Asians are still a minority,” the neurobiology and physiology major said. “We have our own issues and problems that affect us.

It would be a unifying agent for Asian American students.”

Biochemistry major APA Carly Cheng would be particularly interested in seeking out a center’s tutoring services if they were geared towards Asian Americans in particular.

“We grew up in a different cultural and social lifestyle to Asians,” the sophomore said. “Tutoring services that address international [students] do [not] necessarily apply to us. Sometimes general tutoring is just not detailed or helpful enough for us. If there was one that addressed Asian Americans specifically then I would be interested.”

Other APAs, such as Baleno, commented how they would be more likely to help provide services within the center than they would actually seek them out.

If someone is feeling too depressed to function or is too overwhelmed with their workload, encourage them to seek help.

Educate them about the different resources on campus and even offer to walk them there. Offer a listening ear, do not judge the individual and simply be their support system.

| October 2013

Drastic increase of rape in India Convicted rapists now face death penalty

By Morgan Eichenser Contributing writer Indian citizens rejoiced and felt a renewal of justice with the recent conviction and death sentence of four men whom had raped a 23-year-old female student in New Delhi last December.

The victim of the gang rape had died from internal injuries two weeks after being attacked. The event had sparked an outbreak of public protests and demonstrations, calling for harsher punishment for the perpetrators.

Ashwini Tambe, an associate professor in the Department of Women’s Studies asserted that it is important not to think of rape as exclusively an Indian problem. She expressed disappointment in the positive reaction to the death sentence and said she doesn’t know if it will make much difference.

“What we need is a change in the way people think about rape and the language that we use to discuss it,” said Dr. Tambe. “We need to have a different attitude toward the stigma and have a collective response to it.”

Dr. Tambe explained that one of the specific issues with rape in India is that there is often a stigma of dishonor that follows the victims. Due to fear, this causes many rapes to go unreported.

However, Dr. Tambe expresses hopefulness and believes that this problem will not continue for long due to recent developments and the potential for cultural shifts regarding the issue of violence against women in India The uprisings have already led to one change. A new legal ordinance was passed in February that allowed for the death penalty to be executed against those convicted of a rape in which the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state.

Under this new ordinance, Judge Yogesh Khanna issued a death sentence for the four assailants on September 13. He insisted, according to BBC News, that “courts cannot turn a blind eye toward such gruesome crimes.”

Though the citizens of New Delhi seemed satisfied with Judge Khanna’s ruling in this case, human rights officials worry

that this step will do little help solve the problem of violence against women in India.

Several other cases of rape have fueled public anger in India since last December. In August, a photojournalist was raped while on assignment in India, a story that had caused another uproar among Indian citizens fed-up with this problem.

In early September, a 40-year-old man was accused of raping a six-year-old girl. The outcome of that case was an order by a caste council in Rajasthan that forced the parents of the victim to have their daughter marry the accused man’s son, according to an India Times report.

Priya Parikh, a sophomore global health major, and Indian American student at UMD has been to India several times and visited in January, following the December 2012 events in New Delhi. She said she is glad that the issue of violence against women is gaining news coverage.

“It’ll take more than the one law,” Parikh said, “But at least it is finally being talked about.”

India incurred about 24,206 reported cases of rape in 2011, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, and experts suspect the number of unreported cases to be much higher.

Radha Kumar, Director General of the Delhi Policy Group has described rape as one of India’s most common crimes against women.

In response to the New Delhi rape ruling, Meenakshi Ganguly, Director of Human Rights Watch South Asia told BBC News that “the punishment of perpetrators is important, but equally working together as a society to keep women safe is much, much more important.”

According to a Time.com report, in the first three months after the December rape, the number of reported rapes in New Delhi more than doubled compared to figures from that period in 2012.

“Thirty years ago, even uttering the word ‘rape’ was almost taboo,” said Ranjana Kumari, a women’s activist with the Center for Social Research, according to Time.com. “That is changing.”

NEWS | 5

JAPAN, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “All developed countries except immigration countries are having problems,” said Dr. Mila Zlatic of the university’s Department of Geographical Sciences.

“Countries like France, Italy, Russia, or Germany - and Japan, of course - they all have similar problems. Even the U.S. is in the same boat. We have had less than two children per woman for more than a decade.”

The Japanese government provides some monetary incentive for having more children, but not nearly enough, according to Inoue. “My brother has two babies, and the average is 1.1, so if you have two, you have many kids,” Inoue said. “They are receiving money, but if you think about the costs in raising a kid, that impact is not enough.”

The low birth rate has been attributed to a number of causes, including the sensational theory in Japanese media of “herbivorous men,” or men who have little interest in sex or relationships.

“That’s really a sensational thing,” Nishimura said.

“It’s like that ‘Millennials’ and ‘Generation Y’ thing we have going on here. They’re just making it a sensation.”

Another possible cause is that Japanese women are pursuing professional careers in favor of having children due to the patronizing sexist attitude towards mothers.

“Why have a kid when having a kid, as a woman, means you’re instantly demoted?” Nishimura said. “As soon as you take that maternity leave, they’re going

Chinese law forces kids to visit parents

By Aiyah Sibay Contributing writer If all the countries in the world joined together on stage to enact a family, China would play the father, a figure that does not shy away from practicing any form of discipline for the benefit of the family’s wellbeing.

In addressing its status as the highest populated country in the world, the Chinese government implemented a policy that startled us all, the one-child policy. Now, China has returned to surprise us once again with a new mandate, this time concerning the growing population of the elderly.

China appeared on the front page of the Washington Post on Thursday, September 19, under the sensitive title, “In China, family ties fray.” The article featured a photograph of an elder man sitting on what appears to be a skeleton of a bed, with his sparse belongings harbored underneath. Dou Shengli, of age 87, lives with his wife in a humble house; visits from his five children are rare, financial support from them even more so.

His story was accompanied by shocking statistics.

Currently, it is estimated that one in four of China’s elderly population live “below the poverty line.” While 70% of adult children lived with their rural families in 1990, only 40% continued the tradition in 2006. The Post assigns much of the blame to China’s “massive rural-to-urban migration.” Lisa R. Mar, an associate professor in the Department of History and Asian American Studies Program, agrees with this, stating that “great migrations of working age adults” gave rise to a prosperous urban, challenging China’s once “predominately rural society.”

Mar believes that the situation that gave rise to a response from the Chinese government directs focus to an “on-going conflict between two cultural trends: the enduring strength of Confucian family traditions that claim children have a moral obligation to care for elderly parents, and the profound challenges of an urbanizing population to maintaining traditional Confucian relations.”

In response, according to reports from CNN, China has proposed the Law of Protection of Rights and Interests of the Aged. This mandate requires that offspring of parents older than the age of 60 make frequent visits to their parents, and in addition, ensure that their “financial and spiritual needs” are attended to.

The proposal, although favorable within the context, has otherwise startled many who believed that attending to the needs of the elderly was deeply engrained long ago within the Chinese culture; out of context, any law that strives to maintain this established custom seems irrelevant.

Nevina Jakopin, junior, and public health major, expressed

deep regret that the time has come when a country feels obligated to mandate visits to one’s parents. CNN offers an explanation, stating that while “respect for the elderly is still deeply engrained in Chinese society, traditional values like filial piety have been weakened by the country’s rush to modernity.” But modernity, according to Jing Chen, a graduate student majoring in accounting, has expanded communication that, not long ago, was significantly narrowed when the child moved away. Modern means of communication have increased the potential for preserving interests in the parent’s wellbeing, a task that would otherwise prove greater difficulty to carry on over long distances.

Native to China, Chen was not at all offended by the law.

She bluntly confessed that it “makes sense.” She did, however, point to a flaw in the law’s word choice, insisting that the term “frequently” is “too general.” Indeed, many others share this concern. The CNN reports include similar concerns from Ding Yiyuan, from Beijing Yingke Law Firm, that the law comes short of providing precise standards for the mandated “frequent” visits.

The vague wording is not the only concern that the law creates. For many parents, their needs are invested into one child due to China’s strict one-child policy, and in turn, the child may feel an immense responsibility to care for his or her parents alone. The Post describes the single child’s new assignment as a “potentially crippling economic burden,” a burden that would inevitably fall to the government otherwise, which has already claimed the country’s “rapid aging” as “one of its most profound economic challenges.”

The law neglects to address the following factors that contribute to infrequent visits from children: stingy vacation time and fragile work positions. Chen described the Chinese workplace as “intense” and vacations as rare as “once every four years.” The government has addressed the wrong audience in its mandate. The new law would prove more effective if directed towards businesses to provide more vacation time and then for employees to make use of this time to fulfill their requirement. Jakopin states that there is the unsettling fear of losing one’s job, justly so, and that this fear often overcomes family obligations.

Despite the shortcomings and shock of the new law, Jakopin expresses sincere hope; “It will deepen relationships and place an end to those straying away from their parents.” When I asked her how it would affect her if the law were to be implemented in America, she wasindifferent. Law or no law, “I would still find every possible way to visit my parents.”

to demote you. You’re probably never getting back to where you were before you had that child. You’re never getting back to that level of pay.”

“My friends who are college educated had to quit their work to raise their kids,” Inoue said. “And there is no getting back. I know quite a few female friends who are college educated, had a baby, quit their job, and, mentally, they suffer. They think, ‘for what did we work so hard to get here?’”

Historically, educated women around the world reject early marriage so that they would not be tied down by their familial responsibilities as a mother.

“Every country that went through a decline in the number of children per woman has had an increase in the number of years in school for its population,” Zlatic said. “It is clearly related - higher education, lower fertility rate.”

The population trend shows no signs of improvement, with the percentage of senior citizens in Japan steadily increasing since 1950 from 4.9 percent to 23.1 percent, with an 11.1 percent jump in just the past two decades.

“The baby boomers are getting really old, but they haven’t retired yet,” said Nishimura. “They’re going to retire very soon, and when that happens, it’s going to be very bad.”

The aging population compounded with the low birth rate paints a bleak future for Japan. “It’s like a culture dying,” Nishimura said. “The Japanese monarchy is the longest standing in the world, and the history is dying.

It’s basically dying because there’s no new generation to keep it going.”

eatures fKollaboration DC show highlights local APA artists

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| October 2013

By Lily Hua News Editor

The Asian Pacific American community gathered together for a talent showcase Sept. 28 at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium for the fourth annual Kollaboration DC. The winning act of the evening belonged to Dave Yoon who performed an original composition dedicated to his late uncle that retold the story of his relationship with him. He said, “This really just goes out to the person who made me who I am today.”

Yoon’s uncle had attended the University of Maryland. Yoon had, at the encouragement and help of his uncle, trained with CUBE entertainment for a year in South Korea before returning back to the United States.

George Yamazawa Jr. who won Kollaboration DC in 2012 with his slam poetry made a guest appearance to support the event.

According to Yamazawa, his experiences after Kollaboration have been remarkable with the support from his new community.

Yamazawa said, “[Kollaboration] has connected me more to the Asian American and arts communities; it has given me another platform to share my poetry outside of the poetry world.”

PHOTO CREDIT: LILY HUA

Third place winner Jomin Mujar sings and plays guitar at the fourth annual Kollaboration D.C. talent show at GWU

Despite having made such a huge difference for many rising Asian Pacific American artists, Kollaboration isn’t getting the amount of coverage it should, according to Yamazawa.

“Kollaboration is an incredible platform for Asian American artists,” he said.

The goal of the organization is to empower APA artists in the community so that they can share their talents within a culture that

doesn’t revere art as it does with fields such as math or science.

“It is extremely important not only to empower APA artists, but for them to be able to share their talents to other demographics as well,” said Yamazawa.

Lynsey Fadul, a vocal finalist in the competition, believes the organization is well in-line with their goal. “It’s really great that there is something for the Asian community, there’s not

much… that’s designed for arts and allowing kids to have that platform to pursue their passions.”

Fadul is currently a student at NOVA university and dreams of touring across the country. She said, “I feel like I was born for the stage.”

Empowering the new generation of APA artists is meant to promote not only creative talent, but also to inspire performers and audience members to take pride

in identifying themselves as APA. Hip hop artist Gowe, also known as Gifted on West East, takes great pride in being an Asian American. Gowe said, “I think it’s important to know my roots. My poetry and rap all comes from that.”

The 2012 Kollaboration DC winner echoed the same sentiments as his fellow performer. “I take great pride in being an Asian American. It’s who I am. It’s what makes me different,” said Yamazawa. “It’s what connects me to my past, and my knowledge of my history is what allows me to propel forward.”

However growing up as an APA wasn’t as easy for some as it was for others, Cara Kim, the rising star award winner, had struggled with being proud of her heritage for a while when she was younger.

Having been brought up in a fairly Americanized family household, she said she had a difficult dealing with Asian stereotypes spoken against her and as a result, tried to distance herself away from her background.

“For a time, I was ashamed for being Asian,” said Kim. “But now, I’ve come to really appreciate and really love the Asian culture and the sense of family and community, especially with Kollaboration. There’s really a sense of family here.”

Classic Disney princesses re-imagined as women of color

By Ryan Alphonso Photo Editor

Imagine this: Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast wearing a hijab.

Or Princess Aurora with silky black hair instead of blonde. This is the image that University of Illinois photography student Kim Navoa had in mind when she reimagined the princesses.

The recent project redesigned America’s favorite Disney princesses as Asian Pacific Americans. The shoot was aimed to inspire young girls of color that they could be princesses like the ones they see on TV. Navoa took on the shoot with another photography student Donnie Chang.

The project recast a few of Disney’s most iconic heroines, giving each an updated wardrobe and brand new look.

Each subject chose which character they wanted to portray. The project, originally planned as a personal memento for Navoa herself, became an inspiring movement when it received the outstanding support that it did.

“Growing up,” Navoa told the Huffington Post in an interview, “we didn’t believe exciting things could happen to us because we didn’t see them happening to people who look like us…

This wasn’t just me, a lot of people felt this way.”

To date, there are only four Disney princesses of color. Two of which aren’t technically considered “princesses,” and only one who was designed Asian American—Mulan Fa from Disney’s “Mulan.” The two photographers sought to create something that, “girls of color could relate to.” With this premise in

ALL PHOTOS BY KIM NAVOA

(Clockwise from top-left) Re-imagined versions of Belle, Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty

mind, they explored the question, “what if Belle wore a hijab?”

So they gave her one. And Tinkerbelle traded her blonde ponytail for a shaved look. Snow White’s hair kept its recognized jet black sheen, however.

The remade princesses are garnering some attention, including praise from junior biochemical engineering major Chris Meyer, who thinks the redesigns could help girls to connect to their childhood.

“It’s kind of hard to tell from pictures if the new designs affect the original image,” he said.

Meyer explained that even though the princesses were originally imagined as young and beautiful, they were also imagined as white.

“As a guy looking in, it seems like Disney made those characters for a reason. But as long as the new princess has the same purpose and allows girls to connect to the character, there’s nothing wrong with them being Asian too,” Meyer said.

Sophomore business major John Mayuga disagreed. “It doesn’t seem right,” he said. “It’s not what I’m used to. It feels off.” Mayuga feels that girls in America may not be able to relate to the reimagined princesses; it would be too foreign.

If given the chance to have another shoot, Navoa says she would, “look for a greater range of body types and skin colors,” to really get a diverse gallery of her recreations. Until then, young Asian American girls can look to her project and be inspired to let their very own re-imaginations take shape.

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| October 2013

FUEL, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Freshman economics major Kalyn Cai said the workshop inspired her to become more involved with immigration reform through internships, volunteer work or contributions to such causes.

Meanwhile, Norman Chen, campus outreach coordinator for University of Chicago of Illinois’ Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, ran a racism workshop.

He contrasted APA and African American stereotypes to show how all forms of racism are interconnecteds. For instance, he said, society assumes APA men are meek while African Americans are aggressive.

general Americans,” Yun said. “Asian and African Americans were shown as opposite sides of a spectrum toward a common goal, trying to get to the ‘ideal’ white American.”

The mental health workshop sparked similar discussion of stereotypes about members of the APA community, specifically in terms of body image. National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum chairwoman Diana Bui said growing up, language barriers often prevented her from discussing her mental health issues and homosexuality with her parents, as their native languages didn’t have a word for such subjects.

“If there’s no word for it, it doesn’t exist,” Bui said.

Spoken word performances by two students

when they commented on her weight gain.

After being considered skinny growing up, she said, gaining weight made her feel like she’d lost part of her identity.

“As girls especially, we try to compare ourselves as the ‘model minority,’” Ho said.

“It’s about effortless beauty and being skinny without trying.”

Yun said the performances were a meaningful way to learn about such personal subjects.

“It can be hard to explain [those feelings], but they found a medium through spoken word that was powerful and beautiful and the community can appreciate and learn from,” he said.

After the performances, students attended a

Kumarachandran, led discussions about the stigma on mental health. They said seeking help is healthy, not shameful, and encouraged students to show concern for their peers.

Yun said APA parents do not always recognize or acknowledge their children’s mental health issues.

“It’s especially hard for Asian Americans and their families because their parents don’t ask much,” Yun said. “Parents ask about school and teachers, not emotions and mental health. That’s not a priority; they’re more concerned about the future.”

Johnson said the negative stigma around mental issues often stops people from seeking help, but attending the workshop made him more likely to use the counseling center.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PREET MANDAVIA

PHOTO COURTESY OF PREET MANDAVIA

The Asian American Student Union executive board after listening to the final FUEL speaker

The above chalkboard was filled up with opinions on invisible issues by audience members

Junior geography and information systems major Grant Johnson said he does not always feel a strong tie to his Asian or African American background, and he usually becomes more conscious of one race depending on the races of those around him.

“I could see how I fit into both sections,” Johnson said. “I saw myself as the least ‘American’ because I’m usually part of a smaller minority.”

Junior civil engineering major Min Yun said the workshop showed that minorities often try to fit into “white” stereotypes to find success.

“We compared and contrasted between Asian Americans, African Americans and

and Jenny Lares, Founding Executive Director of arts organization Sulu DC, also showed difficulties relating to family members. Senior finance and accounting major Kevin Chen spoke about being gay in the APA community, while senior engineering and secondary education major Mellownie Ho’s performance dealt with her past eating disorder.

“Being Asian is all about lineage, family honor and, being a man, expected to carry on the family name and have grandchildren,” Chen said. “Being gay is the opposite — there’s no honor, and it’s seen as a sickness that’s able to be fixed.”

Ho said she also dealt with judgment, not wanting to tell relatives they hurt her feelings

second set of workshops, this time choosing from mental health, domestic violence and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues.

Amara Tek, Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project program coordinator, led a workshop showing the cycle of domestic violence. Liu said Asian culture often views domestic abuse as an individual, rather than societal, problem.

“Domestic violence is more accepted because it’s seen as a family issue, not a big problem we need to address,” she said.

During the second mental health workshop, Counselors Helping (South) Asians/Indians founder, Razia Kosi, and member, Kumudha

Junior history major Ashley Peralta said many students’ second languages didn’t contain a politically correct work for homosexual or transgender, and some students could not think of any words to describe them.

“The most important part [of eliminating stigmas] is knowing the stigma exists,” Peralta said. “Without knowing that, you can’t do anything.”

The conference ended with a “town hall” discussion for students to share what they learned and how to improve the conference in the future.

“People felt comfortable and unjudged,” Liu said. “There was a lot of participation, and everyone was engaged.”

Confucius Institue holds “Kunlun” exhibition

By Tisha Claudia Lim Contributing Writer Had it not been raining so heavily this past Friday, the Confucius Institute would be packed with people engaging in open and interesting conversations on Chinese culture.

The Chinese Culture and Conversation Corner is one of many activities organized by the Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland (CIM).

Confucius Institutes are non-profit, educational organizations overseen by the Office of Chinese Language Council International.

There are currently 91 Institutes in U.S. and about 400 globally, according to the Washington Post.

The first institute was set up in South Korea but because it did not last, some people attribute CIM to be the first, according to Rebecca McGinnis, the coordinator of CIM. CIM aims to promote Chinese culture and to advance the understanding of China today.

At CIM, students not only get to learn more about China and its culture, but also get to practice Chinese in a more relaxed manner.

“Students are able to engage in both English and Chinese… if the conversation is conducted in English, we will talk about Chinese cultures…conversely, if the conversation is engaged in Chinese, we will practice the language…it’s a cultural exchange activity,” said Leo Tong, one of the culture conversation teachers and a senior majoring in business.

“Conversation corner provides the opportunity for Chinese students to interact with American students,” Tong added.

Students also get to learn more about Confucius, the famous Chinese philosopher that the institute was named after.

“We talked about Confucius last week…after his death, there are a lot people who drew portraits depicting his life,” McGinnis said.

PHOTO BY TISHA CLAUDIA LIM

The “Kunlun” photo exhibition was held at the Language Hall “I also brought a small Chinese antique so I show and can talk about it…we also eat some traditional Chinese snacks every week…today we will have moon cakes,” McGinnis added.

This week, CIM hosted a photography exhibition at the Language House featuring the “Kunlun” National Park.

The national park, located in the Qinghai province in China, is renowned for its breathtaking sceneries.

It is also one of the longest mountains in Asia, spanning over 1465 miles from the Tibetan Plateau into the North China Plain.

Students got the opportunity to marvel at over 100 captivating and fascinating photos of the national park.

The photos included various ethnics who dwell in the province as well as the breathtaking landscapes of the national park.

The photographers self-selected photos and send them to CIM, according to Tong, who was also there at the exhibition.

PHOTO BY TISHA CLAUDIA LIM

Rebecca McGinnis displays a box of traditional moon cakes.

Despite the fact that CIM has been established for eight years and has held many events similar to the abovementioned, McGinnis says the organization still needs to do more promoting.

“We still need more outreach,” she said.

8 | Features

| October 2013

International Students adapt to American lifestyle

PHOTO CREDIT: TERESA LO

A large group of international students in the Maryland English Institute program at UMD enjoyed coffee, tea and cookies at one of Dorchester Hall’s weekly “coffee hours.”

By Teresa Lo Contributing writer

Coming to college is never easy for anyone; there are new people, classes and professors to get used to. But what if you had to go through all those transitions in a foreign country without the familiarity of friends and family?

Along with the normal worries of college life, international students at Maryland need to balance assimilating to a new environment with the stress that comes with college work.

The changes international students experience at their university varies over the spectrum of the student experience: things differ from sports, to academics, to food, to increased independence.

Jenneke Evers, an international

student from Holland’s Delft University of Technology, said the sport pride – sometimes bordering on fanaticism – at the university was novel when she first arrived.

“In Holland, a lot of people play sports, but not in the university,” Evers said, adding that she thought it was great when people would get dressed up in Maryland colors to go watch a football or soccer game.

Senior Jianan Liu, who came to the university in 2012 from the China Agricultural University in Beijing, says her first impression of the United States was that the culture wasn’t drastically different.

Despite this, she said, “Even though everyone is nice, I still like to be with other Asian students.”

Liu came to the United States hoping to learn cutting edge research techniques in the animal science field, and she has found that since coming to Maryland, she has focused more on the practical aspects of her major rather than simply the theory.

“In China, we would just follow the instructions step by step to write up our lab reports, but here, you need to search up references and it’s actually three labs in one, so it’s much harder,” Liu said.

Evers agreed that the course load at this university was more strenuous, adding that she receives more homework here than she did at home.

The Maryland English Institution, which teaches English to students that are fluent in other languages, is a huge draw for international students because it offers them an opportunity to improve their language skills while studying at the university. Most of their part-time students are from the Asia Pacific region, and so they encourage their students, both full-time and parttime, to engage in activities around campus.

“Many teachers will arrange for students to go to certain events on campus,” Jonathan Malone, the Associate Director of MEI, said.

Once a month, MEI sponsors an international coffee hour that the International Student and Scholar Services arrange on Wednesdays, and encourage their students to go and meet other international students.

Another service that they provide is the speaking partner program, where

they will pair a student at MEI with a native speaker of English in order to help them meet new people and practice their oral skills.

Though this is Evers’ first month at Maryland, she says she already sees marked improvement in her speaking, picking up new words and learning more slang.

“Everyone in China learns English in primary school, but a lot of people still can’t speak it fluently,” Liu said.

“My listening has improved since I

“

Not everything is as convenient as in China, but living here has helped me try new things and become more optimistic.”

– Jianan Liu, Senior, international student

need to take classes in English and my spoken English is better, too.”

Both Yu and Liu said the biggest change they faced at their new university was the increase in independence – something many college freshmen can relate to.

Liu, who lived with her parents in Beijing while she went to school, now cooks for herself and lives on her own, conquering the time difference and physical distance from her family.

“Not everything is as convenient as in China, but living here has helped me try new things and become more optimistic,” said Yu.

Student group explores the path to “Buddhahood”

By Tisha Claudia Lim Contributing writer

The unified voices chanting “Nam-myohorenge-kyo” resound in the room as members of Buddhist Philosophy for Peace get together for their bi-weekly meetings.

Members of Buddhist Philosophy for Peace practice the philosophy and ideas of Buddhist monk Nichiren Daishonin (1222-1282) and are affiliated with a non-governmental organization called Soka Gakkai International.

SGI is a renowned worldwide organization that strives for peace, culture and education in 192 countries with over 12 million members.

The fundamental purpose of Buddhist Philosophy for Peace is to contribute to world peace and happiness for all. The organization started in spring 2012 by four students who wanted a university forum in which students could learn more about Buddhism and talk about different ways they could use the Buddhist philosophy to promote peace, culture and education in their communities.

According to Gitima Sharma, one of the founders of Buddhist Philosophy for Peace, the organization regularly conducts workshops, small group discussions, and panel discussions to examine themes in various peace proposals and books on human potential. Their activities include promoting interfaith and interdisciplinary dialogues based on the belief in every person’s inherent goodness, the boundless power of human life, and the role of heart-to-heart dialogue in achieving peace at individual, community and global level.

Through chanting, the members of SGI have been able to bring forth their highest potential, which they refer to as Buddhahood.

This potential is characterized by limitless

compassion, courage and wisdom. They are able to tap life state of unshakable happiness and strength to overcome all difficulties and fulfill their goals, and at the same time tap their highest potential to contribute to happiness in society.

“When…we chant ‘Nam-myoho-rengekyo,’ with just that single sound we summon forth and manifest the Buddha nature of all…living beings,” according to the one of writings of Nichiren Daishonin.

“I joined SGI 13 years ago in India. Over these years, I have realized that through chanting consistently, participating in SGI activities, and studying the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, I could tap limitless hope and strength and [I] developed as a person with deep confidence and sense of purpose,” added Sharma. Through her chanting, Sharma said her father overcame depression, her mother overcame cancer, and she herself is able to fulfill her many goals.

“No matter if your goal is to achieve happiness or to get an A in an upcoming exam, chanting helps you achieve your aims,” she said.

Graduate accounting student Star Yeh, another founder of the organization, said she found courage and wisdom through chanting, and that it has helped her overcome self-doubt.

“It gives me strength and be stronger in faith,” she said, adding that a person could chant anytime he or she wants to. “Chant, no matter how bad you feel… Everyday you can be in Buddhahood.”

“I know that by chanting and being determined to make great changes in my life, I will be able to achieve greatness in many

PHOTO BY TISHA CLAUDIA LIM

Star Yeh (center) discusses the benefits she has gained from chanting.

Her brother, Hsin Kuang Yeh (left), and Lewis Morgante (right) listen as she speaks.

ways and that I am capable of spreading peace to others,” sophomore Arabic major India Lewis said.

The organization welcomes everyone, no matter his or her race, ethnicity, religion, background or sexual orientation. Over past semesters, many students who either wanted to chant, learn more about Buddhism or participate in group discussions have actively participated in the meetings.

With the collaboration of SGI, Buddhist Philosophy for Peace has organized three exhibitions in the Stamp Student Union since it first started.

The third and most recent exhibition was “Victory Over Violence.” It started after the Columbine High School massacre and was used as an example to reach out to

troubled youth, as well as to educate students about non-violence through the practice of Buddhism, according to junior mechanical engineering major Lewis Morgante.

Members of SGI and Buddhist Philosophy for Peace aspire to achieve absolute respect for life and dignity of life as core values in society.

They believe that every individual is precious and irreplaceable. They promote peace, harmony and the sense of interconnectedness through exhibitions.

Students interested in the organization can email buddhismforpeace@gmail.com to receive emails about meeting times. Meetings take place on a bi-weekly basis either on Wednesday or Thursday in the Stamp Student Union. Get more information about SGI at http://www.sgi.org/

By Anika Reed Contributing writer

APA Spotlight: Mindy Kaling

| October 2013

With the starring role in her own television show, “The Mindy Project,” it is not difficult to see why Mindy Kaling is quickly a rising comedienne with an avid following.

Kaling, who has been compared to “Tina Fey’s cool little sister” by the New York Times, has credits as a writer, producer, director, bestselling author, and award-winning actress—showcasing her incredible versatility and talent in all aspects of the business.

Many people may recognize Kaling from her time on “The Office” as the scatterbrained yet funny Kelly Kapoor, the love interest of B.J. Novak’s character Ryan Howard. Kaling wrote and directed several episodes of the nine-season long mockumentary that helped set her path to fame.

“Regardless of her somewhat ditzy attitude, she brought culture to the show that without her or another actor of a similar nature, would not have been present,” said Santiago Urbina, a sophomore letters and sciences major.

Following other big-league roles in “The-40-Year-Old Virgin” and “No Strings Attached,” Kaling approached NBC with a television show idea initially

called “It’s Messy” that was eventually pushed over to Fox and retitled “The Mindy Project.”

“The Mindy Project,” which returned to Fox on Tuesday, Sept. 17, follows Kaling through her personal and professional life.

In the show, Kaling plays Mindy Lahiri, a 30-something year old gynecologist— inspired by Kaling’s mother, who is an OB-GYN—looking for love in all of New York City’s alleyways and bars.

Kaling shines among her male doctor counterparts on the show and adds a level of humor that is smart, silly and witty all in one.

“I hope that her show continues to do well because her personality is too big to just be the ‘funny best friend.’ She deserves her own show,” said Mia Simon, a junior journalism major.

“It’s a show that has an [Asian Pacific American] actress, but it’s not about being [APA],” said Dr. Kalyani Chadha,

Features | 9

program director of the Media, Self and Society scholars program. “On one hand, she’s an [APA] woman who has a show, but she is also an [APA] woman who is treated like anyone else.”

Born Vera Mindy Chokalingam, Kaling was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts,

by Indian parents, Avu and Swati.

Chadha questioned the need to use fame as a “bully pulpit” for important issues facing people of color, or if APA actors and actresses should be portrayed for what they are—as people who are just like everyone else.

“How do you represent a community authentically without being stereotypical?” Chadha said. “We argue that we want more diversity but it’s not an easy thing to handle.”

However, many viewers appreciate her diversity, even if her ethnicity is somewhat muted in order to focus on her character as a whole.

Kaling is willing to put herself into hilariously compromising positions for the sake of comedy, often garnering comparisons to comedy heavyweight Amy Poehler, star of “Parks and Recreation.”

“Mindy is so enjoyable because she can make fun of herself,” Simon said.

“If she’s self-conscious, no one knows it because she loves to make a fool of herself.”

Media coverage of minorities misrepresents APA community

“The Blind Chef” releases first cookbook

By Kelsey Sutton Contributing Writer

Christine Ha, often referred to as “the Blind Chef,” has released her first cookbook, “Recipes from My Home Kitchen.” She gained enough notoriety to publish only after earning first place on season three of Fox’s “Masterchef” reality series.

However, Ha, an Asian Pacific American woman diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO), wasn’t always without sight.

She fell in love with cooking before losing her vision and was forced to re-learn everything through a process of trial and error, according to Mochimag.com. Fully aware of how competitive a show MasterChef is, she threw caution to the wind and decided to audition.

According to Lauren Lamore, a special education teacher at a local Washington, D.C. private school, “many people who have disabilities and are aware of their own challenges will often make a greater effort to break stereotypes.”

Ha’s confidence and success on MasterChef is in part due to her large fan base rooting for the “underdog.”

“In one of the challenges she had to replicate the plate presented by the judges,” said sophomore cell biology and genetics major Ryan D’Souza. “She did that perfectly even though she couldn’t see at all.”

A local news station made national news after making a racist snafu on-air, and Big Brother contestants have made headlines with racist comments directed towards contestants.

A San Francisco news station anchor read racially offensive names she said were South Korean pilots on a plane that crashed July 6, reported Associated Press.

Incorrect names like “Sum Ting Wong” and “Wi Tu Lo” were read on air after Asiana Flight 214 crashed into a seawall near San Francisco National Airport, injuring over 180 passengers and leaving three people dead. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, an intern incorrectly confirmed the names to KTVU, a Fox news affiliate.

“My understanding is that many viewed these incidents as a joke,” said Dr. Janelle Wong, director of UMD’s Asian American studies program. “Making fun of Asiansounding names has long been used to degrade Asian Americans and make them feel like they are not worthy of equal social respect.”

Native-born Americans draw attention to an Asian name’s unfamiliarity as an easy way to cast Asian Americans as foreigners, Wong said. Placing the emphasis on a minority group’s foreign status “is an easy way to assert dominance and superiority,” she said.

“It is an easy way to represent Asians in the U.S. as not truly American,” she said.

“Lack of experience flying a plane has very little to do with your race,” said Dr. Kalyani Chadha, media researcher and director of University of Maryland’s Media, Self and Society Scholars Program.

Asiana Airlines is suing to “strongly respond to its racially discriminatory report,” said Airlines spokeswoman Lee Hyomin.

In entertainment news, CBS began issuing a disclaimer before its reality television show, “Big Brother,” due to the extent of competitors’ openly racist and homophobic comments directed at African-American, Korean-American and gay houseguests.

Season 15 contestants Aaryn Gries and GinaMarie Zimmerman have made comments about former houseguest Helen Kim’s eye shape on a live feed from the ‘Big Brother’ house. Kim, a Korean-American, was also subject to comments such as “shut up, go make some rice,” reported Alex Moaba for the Huffington Post.

“Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by a Houseguest appearing on ‘Big Brother’… do not represent the views or opinions of CBS or the producers of the program,” the statement read.

Chadha said she was disappointed with but not surprised

by CBS’s disclaimer.

“It’s classic double-speak,” she said. “They’re saying, ‘let’s disassociate ourselves, but we want [‘Big Brother’] to get good ratings. If there’s no drama, why would anybody watch?’”

“The feeling here is, ‘oh, it’s just entertainment,’” said Chadha, who studies media trends. “But entertainment is as, or more, powerful in informing people and normalizing behavior.”

Minority groups have long been targets of stereotypes that diminish their sense of value and personhood, and these recent news events have highlighted trends that are slow to change.

The real problem in media’s representation of minorities in both cases is that minorities are rarely seen as they actually are, Chadha said. Asians, who are sometimes modeled as a positive minority, are still stereotyped, and it is “a very simplistic representation,” she said. The simplicity does not allow people to look at minorities in complex ways.

A white person who embodies certain traits might be categorized using universal human characteristics, like being kind or being ‘a fool’, Chadha explained. Minority behavior, in contrast, is rarely attributed to human characteristics and instead adds to stereotypes that one’s race or ethnic group is prone to behave a certain way.

“It’s a desensitized form of institutional racism,” said Nabil Morad, a junior psychology major.

People don’t feel restricted in using Asian stereotypes in jokes, so the stereotypes become overused, he said.

Since nobody feels pressure to stop using them, the trends become normalized, he said.

“It puts Asians who are offended by it in a weird spot because it is hard for other cultures to identify it as actual racism instead of a harmless joke,” he said.

These racial attacks on APAs in the media “suggest an enduring view of Asian Americans as not worthy of everyday respect,” Wong said. “One way to counter such attitudes is for both Asian Americans and non-Asian Americans to investigate more thoroughly the historical context behind particular kinds of ethnic jokes.”

And while racism is still evident in the media, there is a heightened sensitivity to overt stereotypes, Chadha said.

By Maria Fernanda Andia Contributing writer

“

People tend to be more sensitive to the disability so much as to avoid talking about it altogether” – James Liu

Economics major, UMD

D’Souza added that he had seen the majority of the previous seasons but had followed Ha’s journey most closely.

Even a year after winning the competition, Ha’s achievements are still strongly recognized. In fact according to Ha’s blog, “www. theblindcook.com,” her opportunities today appear endless.

“While I’ve looked extensively into opening my dream gastropub in Houston, there have just been so many other opportunities still falling into my lap that I couldn’t bear to pass up,” said Ha. Though her inspirational story and multitude of successes seem to keep her in the public eye, stereotypes of people faced with disabilities remain prevalent.

“It’s more often that it draws pity than gives a bad impression,” said James Liu, a junior economics major. “People tend to be more sensitive to the disability so much as to avoid talking about it altogether.”

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| O ctober 2013

op inions

AASU Unedited: Welcome to a New Year From AASU President Amanda Wang

First and foremost, I would like to extend a warm greeting to all of the new freshmen and transfer students who have recently joined us here on campus! I hope you have been adjusting well to a new lifestyle and have gotten the opportunity to meet new people and get involved in our community.

As for our returning students, welcome back! I hope you’re excited to see just what AASU has to offer in this new school year.

I guess I should introduce myself for those who aren’t familiar with me. My name is Amanda Wang. I’m a junior elementary education major interested in government and politics, and I will be serving as your president of the Asian American Student Union for the year. I’ve been involved with the APA community since I have arrived here at UMCP, serving as an active member of the Freshman Council associated with AASU, as well as the Taiwanese American Student Association (TASA) and becoming a sister of alpha Kappa Delta Phi Sorority.

I’ve met hundreds of new people and established helpful connections that will benefit me in the future, as well as help me get even more involved in the APA Community outside of our university. I also served on the AASU executive board last year as the vice president of external affairs and that experience has served as my main motivation to step into a leadership role this year.

The board has a number of goals that we want to accomplish this year, but the main idea is to really instill into the community that we are your number one support system and resource. AASU is here to serve the Asian American students on and off campus, giving them a voice

and a network to rely on. We have over 40 different organizations in our coalition: all groups serving to provide cultural awareness, Asian American advocacy, as well as their own philanthropies.

This year, I want to build a strong community for all of our organizations as well as for students who may not be directly affiliated with any one group. They should be able to network and find support from each other in working towards one common goal, which is representing the APA community as a whole. One exciting initiative that we are working on is being involved in the ECAASU Conference this year, which brings together all of the Asian American organizations along the East Coast and unites them in one place to network and learn more about the APA community.

Some events that students can get involved with are our annual F.U.E.L. conference, networking events, ECAASU: Campus Tour, our bi-weekly General Assembly meetings, as well as tons of other community events. These programs are all designed to unite the APA students around campus. There are always events hosted by our organizations that promote their own culture or philanthropy and educate others about issues they are passionate about. If you’re interested in getting involved around campus, I highly encourage checking out these events and meeting the leaders of these organizations.

I strongly believe that to have a strong voice on campus, we need to unite as a community and make our presence known.

AASU is definitely here to serve you, the students. Our mission is to provide

to get

PHOTO CREDIT: AMANDA WANG

service, representation and advocacy for the APA Community. Therefore, we are here as a support system for organizations or students who need help getting more involved or need resources to organize events. We are a liaison between the community and university authorities, and we are here to help make your life easier any way we can.

I’m looking forward to meeting all of you and working together to strengthen our presence on campus! Please never hesitate to approach me if you see me around - I’m always open to meeting people who want

involved and I’m very willing to help you get started. Hopefully I’ll see you at our events soon and good luck with the rest of your school year!

Amanda Wang is a junior elementary education major and president of AASU. Reach out to her at awang929@gmail.com

APA Writer Criticized for Novel On Mississippi Racism

IMAGE FROM : NPR.ORG

By Kelsey Sutton Contributing writer

Literary critics are raving about Southern Cross the Dog, but somehow no one can brush the thought that the novel’s author, Bill Cheng, is not white.

In place of legitimate criticism, literary critics and journalists have instead chosen to wonder openly about how Cheng’s race played a part in his authoring abilities.

Cheng’s debut novel takes place in rural, black

Mississippi in the early 20th century. The literary world found little to criticize in its content; Cheng writes with dexterity and exhibits painstaking research. I devoured the first chapter in place of an eighteenth-century novel I should have read for class.

But Julie Bosman for ‘The New York Times’ wrote, “It’s no wonder the Southern literati have raised an eyebrow at [Southern Cross the Dog’s] author: Bill Cheng, a 29-year-old Chinese American from Queens who has never set foot in Mississippi.” In the same article, Bosman hardly touches on the book’s content.

Instead, she interviewed Lisa Newman, a bookseller from Mississippi, who said, “Does Bill Cheng have such an extraordinary writing ability as to tap into what is universally human and overcome the limitations of being an outsider?”

Other critics have lauded Cheng for transcending his own background for the novel.

And in an NPR interview, “Bill Cheng has never actually set foot in Mississippi,” host Kelly McEvers said.

Cheng, who grew up in Queens, New York, would not be receiving this sort of commentary if he were not Chinese American.

How many white authors have received criticism about their ability to write about places they have never experienced? Faulkner did not receive mainstream criticism about his ability to portray rural black Mississippi, even though he was white. Adam Johnson, who won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, wrote his novel about North Korea, and he grew up in Arizona, wrote Gracie Jin in an article on PolicyMic. Jin listed other examples: Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain, Pearl S. Buck, Colum McCann, Yann Martel and Arther Golden.

“How many celebrated white writers have written

characters who were not exactly like them?” she said.

“In a society masquerading as post-racial, it is still only the white man who can speak authoritatively for every man. People of color, on the other hand, are expected to speak only for themselves.”

The literary world’s obsession with Cheng’s “background” is a masquerade for the racist classification of non-white writers as “others” who are somehow incapable of telling fiction worth trusting. Minority writers, then, are faced with the decision to either write only about their identity as a minority or face backlash when they do not conform.

Writers regardless of color or background know that any work of fiction is exactly that: fiction. It should not necessarily be based on what one knows, but instead on what one wants to know. Fiction functions to blur and manipulate ideas, to suggest experiences a reader may never have. A good novel transcends the literal truth that is depicted in it.

Cheng, who found inspiration in his love of blues music, wrote a novel about Mississippi. It is one of power, integrity and imagination, and I am excited it has gotten the attention it has. But unless the literary world chooses to revisit all its critiques based on an author ’s geographic and cultural origin, their commentary on Cheng’s novel is null and void and, frankly, disappointing.

An excerpt of Southern Cross the Dog is available on NPR’s website.

The content of this post solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the author and is independent from the following institutions & programs: Institute of International Education, FreemanASIA, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, National Scholarships Office.

Read more reviews and opinions at www.publicasian.com

| October 2013

11

Postcard from Abroad Chris’ U.K. Adventure

By Chris Quach Guest columnist

Hello APA Terps, hope your semester is going well so far! In case you missed my bio, my name’s Chris Quach, I’m a junior sociology major with a certificate in LGBT studies, and I’m studying abroad for a year in England. This blog will chronicle my adventures in the UK and Europe and some of my studies at the University of Surrey, with an API twist. I’m really interested in the experiences of API people (and more generally people of color) in the UK and Europe, particularly the upbringings of API youth and queer youth of color. Also, I will be scoping out ethnic enclaves to see how API communities are forged and cultivated within the UK and throughout Europe (but mainly just to find a good bowl of pho). I will do my best to keep this blog as enticing as possible, with lots of pictures!

As soon as I arrived in England, any nervousness I’d had of not seeing any fellow Asian students went out the door. The other three international students that had arrived ahead of me were all from Asian countries, the first from Malaysia, the second from Hong Kong, and the third from Vietnam (a nice surprise!). Turns out that Surrey actually houses a ton of students from Asia, and lots of international students in general.

21% of all of it students come from outside the UK, and 31% come from outside of the UK and EU. Today (October 7th) was the first day of classes this semester, if you can believe it! After coming back from what seemed to be an incredibly extended summer vacation, I felt ready to be back in a classroom again engaging in discussion with others. In my first

class of the day, Cultures of Race and Racism, the professor started off with a picture of Trayvon Martin, and instantly I knew that even though this course focuses on race relations in Britain, a lot of the material we’ll be focusing on will hit very close to home. I’m really curious to see racism in the context of British history, and the different ways in which race and culture are discussed in contemporary British society.

Even in my first few weeks here, I’ve gotten the impression that everyone here is very welcoming and more than willing to help navigate this new campus. As beautiful as it is, walkways and roads are practically like mazes, and even those who’ve been on campus for a long time struggle with finding certain places. I think I’m adapting nicely though.

I absolutely love it here, and it doesn’t even feel like I’m more than 3,000 miles away from home.

Something about this feels so right, like I’m exactly where I belong.

Once I get more acquainted with campus and the local geography, I’ll be sure to post more. Stay tuned!

Also, for anyone who’s interested, I am managing my own personal travel blog, Stag Year, in addition to this one. It’s at stagyear.wordpress. com. The only difference is that this blog will be significantly more API-focused. And of course, you’re more than welcome to follow both blogs!

Christopher Quach is a junior sociology major with a certificate in LGBT studies currently studying in England.

“Sense of Place” exhibit portarys culture through landscapes

By Savannah Tanbusch Contributing writer Art-lovers craving a looking glass into Asian lifestyle and culture need look no further than “Sense of Place,” an exhibition at the Freer-Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C. The exhibition, a series of photographs by different artists showing off their homelands, seemingly transports viewers, offering them a taste of life outside their own country.

The exhibition is located in two small, grey, dimly lit rooms. Photographs, a majority of them in black and white, are hung on the walls presenting a somber interior. The photographs feature a collection of landscapes and scenes taken from Japan, Iran, China and Vietnam. The idea behind the collection is to portray culture and personal contexts through the use of landscape.

Some photographs featured children and people living life, while others were landscapes that the artists chose to represent their homes.

Jon Ferguson, a local from Gaithersburg, said the black and white photographs fit the emotions he thought the exhibit was supposed to emulate.

“The color photos seem too refined,” Ferguson said.

The focal piece of the exhibit, Northern No. 14, was located in a second room with a bench.

The photograph, taken by Hai Bo, was a black and white image of a solitary man walking over a dilapidated bridge in China. In front of the picture, a small bench was placed for the viewer to rest while they took in the atmosphere.

Susan Walcott, a geography professor from University of North Carolina at Greensboro, came to the exhibition to expand her syllabus to include an introduction in Asian studies.

“Some photographs definitely have a sense of what the artist was trying to achieve and have a sense of place,” Walcott said, noting a piece by Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama entitled “Cherry Blossoms” that she found particularly pleasing “The thing that’s beautiful about this is that it’s in black and white. Cherry blossoms are usually depicted as colorful, especially in Western culture, and that’s what makes this one different.”

Beth and Mike Ritchie came down from Philadelphia and happened to stumble upon the

“Sense of Place” exhibit. The couple both agreed that the exhibit had succeeded in immersing them in another culture.

Mike Ritchie preferred Northern No. 14, stating the piece “was very hard to describe”, but was his favorite piece of the exhibit.

While the exhibit seemed to have a positive effect on patrons as a whole, some pieces were not as effective with presenting their point to the outside world.

“Some of these look like they could be taken anywhere,” Walcott said, pointing specifically to a piece done by Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer Abbas Kiarostami.

“The Vietnamese pieces left me cold,” Beth Ritchie said.

The exhibition is free to the public at the Freer-Sackler Smithsonian Gallery until Nov. 11th.

12 | Events Recap

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| October 2013

Kollaboration D.C.

oomed In :

PHOTO COURTESY OF JASA

Photos by Lily Hua