The PublicAsian

The PublicAsian

April 2012 | A Voice

for

Inside

the

Asian Pacific American Community

at

the

University

of

Maryland, College Park | Volume 18, Issue V

Cu

Newsfeed

April is for APAHM at UMD Student organizations gear up to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month | Page 4 Features

PHOTO COURTESY OF TYLER BABICH

Vice President Leon Chao of the university’s TerpWushu competes in the advanced straightsword (jian shu) event during the California Martial Arts Tournament.

TerpWushu goes for gold Paintings of Japanese history For the first time ever, the National Portrait Gallery brings together all 30 of artist Ito Jakuchu’s masterpieces | Page 6 Opinions

Shanghai vs. Chengdu Catch up with Hyo as she explores the differences and similarities between the two cities | Page 11 Online Exclusive

Meet Yellow Rage, a group on tour to spread activism through poetry.

By Jessica Suss Staff writer

W

hile other students enjoyed a weeklong vacation from school, the members of the university’s wushu team spent their spring break on the other side of the country, competing for the first time ever in the 20th annual California Martial Arts Tournament at University of California, Berkeley. The team walked away with a couple medals and suffered a few rough losses, but is determined to learn from their mistakes for the next competition.

Twelve members of the 11-year-old TerpWushu team, who left for CMAT on March 22, was afforded the opportunity to compete with other extremely talented athletes and won three gold medals in

“

The competition made me pretty sore, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

– Jeff Lui

2011 University of Maryland Alumnus

the bare hand, broadsword and spear competitions along with two silvers and two bronzes.

The martial arts events were held in the main athletic arena at the UC Berkeley campus on March 24 and were categorized by gender, difficulty level and age of the competitors, which ranged from children to seniors.

Competitors were scored by numbers and then ranked against one another within their respective groups. Members of TerpWushu competed in several bare hand and weapon categories.

Typically, wushu is done individually. The teams compete by performing routines that reflect skill and understanding of wushu fundamentals.

Sophomore government and politics major Tyler Babich compared it to gymnastics, in which individuals perform on their own

WUSHU, Page 3

Blossoming in Pink

By Caitlin Zentgraf Staff writer

Each year, millions of tourists visit the nation’s capital to admire the blossoming pink cherry trees that surround the Tidal Basin and to attend events that celebrate the beginning of spring at the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The annual festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to Washington, D.C. A first batch of cherry trees arrived in 1910 diseased, but that did not discourage the United States or Japan. Over the years, the cherry trees have become a symbol of honor and lasting friendship between the two countries and their continuing relationship into the future.

Today, the cherry trees have expanded to approximately 3,750 trees of 16 varieties. In fact, 100 of the original 1912 trees still exist, according to Communications Manager Danielle Piacente.

BLOSSOMS, Page 7

www.publicasian.com @publicasianumd

PHOTO BY NANCY PHAM

2

The PublicAsian | April 2012

newsfeed

First Indian American exhibit to open at the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley Center in spring 2013

By Melanie Balakit Staff writer

For the first time ever, a Smithsonian exhibition that will chronicle the lives and experiences of Indian Americans is expected to launch in spring 2013.

The exhibition, “Speaking Up!: Asian Indian Americans Shape the Nation,” will be temporarily housed at the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley Center of the International Gallery, which is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. There is no permanent space for the exhibition, but it will travel to cities with a large Indian American presence, according to a press release.

Speaking Up! is an exhibition for the larger Smithsonian initiative, HomeSpun: The Indian American Heritage Project.

The HomeSpun initiative was conceived in 2007 when the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and members of the Indian American community recognized the need for Indian Americans to have a greater presence at the Smithsonian.

So far, HomeSpun has raised about a third of the initial $1 million needed to launch their exhibition.

“It’s a lens into a nation that hasn’t been sufficiently explored yet,” said Pawan Dhingra, curator of the HomeSpun initiative. “This would be one of the first exhibitions of its kind on Indian Americans in this country.”

The name Speaking Up! refers to “the impact Indian Ameri-

“

It’s a lens into a nation that hasn’t been sufficiently explored yet.”

– Pawan Dhingra

Curator of HomeSpun: The Indian American Heritage Project cans are having on the broader community, and the increased voice, symbolically and literally, they are taking on,” Dhingra wrote in an email.

The exhibition will feature how Indian Americans came to the United States in the late 1800s, the major industries in which Indians have a prominent role, how Indian culture has become more a part of mainstream culture and how the younger generations are articulating themselves as part of the American society.

Items collected for Speaking Up! will be representative of the story of immigrants from India and their descendants in America.

Some items already collected include the campaign items from

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

the first congressional campaign of Dalip Singh Saund – the first person of Indian origin elected to Congress from California during the 1950s – and the signed Super Bowl jersey of Green Bay Packer player Brandon Chillar, who is of Indian descent.

Kushaan Shah, vice president of philanthropy of the Indian Students Association at this university, said it would be inspirational to learn about Indian Americans who have led successful lives. “I think the exhibition will shed light on Indian Americans in America,” she said.

In addition to the Speaking Up! exhibition, the HomeSpun initiative will also include public programs, a middle school program, a website and a permanent collection of items.

There are nearly three million Indian Americans in the U.S. according to the 2010 Census. In a 2011 report published by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Indian Americans had the highest household income of all Asian American ethnic groups in the U.S., with the median family income being $96, 872. Indian Americans also have one of the highest educational levels of all Asian American ethnic groups in the U.S. – nearly 70 percent of Indian Americans ages 25 or older have a bachelor’s, graduate or professional degree.

Sophomore marketing major Swarupa Nune said she has never attended a museum or exhibition about the Indian American experience before, but would be interested in going to Speaking Up! “It’s cool [the Smithsonian is] opening up to new diversity,” Nune said.

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 | April 2012 WUSHU and “tries to complete complex moves.”

TerpWushu is a competition-focused club that competes regularly in and around the Baltimore-D.C. area.

Members focus on non-contact “contemporary wushu,” which combines features of sport, performance art and martial arts. Contemporary wushu involves a mixture of many traditional styles and has only recently become a competitive sport with standardized rules and judging.

While many team members, including President Jeff Xu and Treasurer Sherry Feng, brought home medals, other competitors did not fare as well but took the tournament as a learning experience. Many are already looking ahead to the next competition, the 16th Annual Wushu Collegiate at University of Virginia, with hopes to bring home even more medals on April 28.

“As a team, we had mixed results, [but] I think people are pretty focused on the next competition already,” said

News | 3 Babich, who competed in the beginner’s southern fist (nan quan) event. “I wasn’t too happy with my performance, but it inspired me to prepare harder for [collegiates].”

Alumnus Jeff Lui, who traveled with the team, earned a gold medal in the advanced male open bare hand event. Although he was pleased with his performance, he didn’t dwell on it much. “The competition made me pretty sore, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Lui said. “I’m looking forward to a good performance at [the next competition].”

For some TerpWushu members like senior Kevin Chung, who competed in the advanced long fist event, CMAT marked their final competition in collegiate wushu.

“I cannot make it to collegiates this year which is a shame,” the electrical engineering major said. “As a senior, it’s always good to have one final martial arts tournament before you graduate. [CMAT] is basically it for me; I made the most of the experience and I’m glad I came.”

Junior finance and information systems double major Bryan Huang shows off what he can do with a sword during the intermediate straightsword (jian shu) event. Huang took home a bronze medal for the event.

University of Maryland’s TerpWushu team president, Jeff Xu, took first place in the spear (xiang shu) and second place in the broadsword (dao shu) competitions.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TINA ZHANG

(Left) TerpWushu member Tina Zhang shows off her bronze medal from the advanced female adult long fist (chang quan) competition. (Right) Xu, sophomore member Gina Calloway and Treasurer Sherry Feng pose with their medals after the California Martial Arts Tournament hosted by the University of California, Berkeley on March 24.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TYLER BABICH

(Left) Alumnus Jeff Lui is awarded the gold medal for the advanced adult open bare hand event. (Right) Vice President Leon Chao competes in the advanced straightsword (jian shu) competition.

4 | News

Conditions in Foxconn factory cause worry for Apple buyers

By Ilana Shulevitz Staff writer

This past January, horror stories from Foxconn’s largest factory surfaced in American mainstream media and drew the public’s attention to Apple, who contracts with the Chinese mega-factory. Now, one question remains: what price will Apple pay for the human rights violations involved in the making of their products, if any at all?

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., has factories in Asia, Europe and Latin America, which together assemble around 40 percent of consumer electronics products in the world. However, the facility in Longhua, Shenzhen, is not the traditional working environment. Sometimes referred to as “Foxconn City” or “iPodCity,” the location has a walled campus that covers about 1.6 square miles and contains 15 factories, dormitories for workers, a hospital, a television network, a bank, a grocery store, and restaurants, among other amenities. It employs hundreds of thousands of people.

Two months ago, Chicago Public Radio broadcast program “This American Life” aired a program that looked into where the nation’s beloved iPhones and iPads are born, and revealed a workplace rattled with reports of forced overtime, child labor, minimum wage violations, suicides and dangerous working conditions.

The episode focused on monologist, author and actor Mike Daisey, who was once a die-hard Mac fan, but then saw some photos from a new iPhone of the Longhua factory and decided to go check the place out himself. The descriptions of life in iPodCity contrasted harshly with Apple’s reputation as a knightly innovator of the future.

“As a company, Apple has branded itself as an innovative futuristic brand that can ‘change the rules of the game’ when it comes to electronics,” said James Hodapp, who teaches Global Literature and Social Change at the university. Reports of unethical labor practices from Chinese factories

The PublicAsian | April 2012

--Thailand-The Thai co-founder of the energy drink Red Bull, Chaleo Yoovidhya, died on March 17 at age 89. Yoovidhya was born into a poor family of Chinese immigrants in northern Thailand and was once a duck farmer. He first started making an energy drink called Krating Daeng (which roughly translates to Red Bull in Thai) in 1976, right as Thailand’s economy was starting to industrialize.

Red Bull, as we know it, spawned in 1987 after Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz tried Krating Daeng on business trips and noticed it worked well for jet lag. WhenYoovidhya died, he was Thailand’s third wealthiest person. If Yoovidhya’s longevity is any indication, it seems Red Bull may truly “give you wings.”

--North Korea--

PHOTO CREDIT: NATIONAL POST

As Apple’s largest supplier, Foxconn is receiving national attention for what may be unfair labor practices in one of their factories in Longhua, Shenzhen.

are not anything new, but as Hodapp said, “Apple’s professed impotence contradicted the entire identity of the brand that it had ingrained into consumers for decades.”

On March 8, Apple introduced its newest toy: the iPad 3. So far, the hype surrounding the release has been as big as ever. “I don’t see the Foxconn story as having a negative impact on this launch,” said Gary Cohen, a Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow and academic director, M.S. in supply chain management. “I see the launch as a way to take focus away from the Foxconn story.”

Since the story broke in January, Apple asked the Fair Labor Association to engage in inspections at Chinese assembly plants that manufacture Apple products. Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a statement saying Apple believes “that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment.”

Even as the company took heat for the reports on rights and health violations and dealt with unwanted press from the debate about outsourcing high-technology manufacturing, Apple worked wonders doing damage control. Human rights advocates and consumers continue to protest, but very little word on the scandals appeared alongside news of the newest product release.

“Consumers love their Apple products and this will blow over, just as it did for Nike many years ago when they faced protests for child labor in Asian factories,” Cohen said. “Apple has become one of the most iconic and valuable brands in the world and demand for their products will continue to be strong as long as they continue to innovate and deliver quality, state-of-the-art products.”

According to reports, the conditions at Foxconn are not unusual for a Chinese factory, but may actually be relatively quite good.

“Sadly, consumers are more concerned with getting products that are going to benefit them more than they truly care about human rights,” Lauren Beatty, a sophomore accounting major, said. “What’s going on is unethical and immoral … but it falls out of the news and out of minds so quickly.”

The FLA reported both good and bad conditions from its Applerequested inspection. As of early March, FoxConn sent out advertisements for new jobs that would address lifestyle, safety and security issues at its Chinese plants that supply Apple, including two fire chiefs, a safety and security officer and a lifestyle services manager. The company also recently increased the salary of junior workers.

Pyongyang’s Ryugyong luxury hotel is finally near completion after 24 years of construction and will partially open in April. The pyramid-shaped, 105-story glasscovered building will have 3,000 rooms and is by far the tallest structure in the communist state.

The project is seen as an effort to attract Western tourists.

PHOTO CREDIT: URBIKA.COM

AASU breaks boundaries for APA Heritage Month

By Caitlin Hennegan Staff writer

The Asian American Student Union made this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month focus “Building a Better Future” to encourage camaraderie among the APA groups at the university.

“Our focus this heritage month is community building, because generally, it’s divided up,” said Elaine Wang, vice president of programming for AASU. The organization is also striving for long-term cooperation, according to Director Starr Chen of All People As One, an annual talent and cultural show hosted by AASU. “I definitely want to see a lot more unity in the on-campus APA community, such as being more active – not just about the socials, but also focusing on their cultures,” she said.

One of the highlighted events this

year includes a talk with actress and APA advocate Amy Hill (“That’s So Raven,” “The Cat in the Hat,” “50 First Dates”) in an event on April 4 called “Lost and Found: Life as I (K)new It.” Hill, a Japanese American, will discuss her involvement in the APA community, as well as her own story of adopting a daughter who is not APA. “It’s about how [the adoption] is intersecting with Amy’s culture, and being able to integrate her daughter into that lifestyle,” said Merz Lim, coordinator for APA Student Involvement and Advocacy at this university.

Another highly anticipated event for APAHM is the annual Taiwanese American Student Association Night Market on April 13. “You can basically go in and experience a variety of Taiwanese culture, whether it’s food, games or performances,” Wang said. “It’s a huge event, so you have people of all ages coming.

Families show up; it’s a very familyoriented event.”

Like the TASA Night Market, the Filipino Cultural Association, the Japanese American Student Association and the Indian Student Association will also hold their yearly events to celebrate their culture.

Philippine Culture Night and Taste of Japan offer food, performances and games. The ISA’s “Browntown Showdown” and “Anokha Amplifed!” events will showcase the university’s South Asian performing arts and a cappella groups.

These events not only help people experience the different cultures of the APA community, but can also establish new friendships. “I think it’s important for people to know that we have a similar background, or, at least, that our parents have similar backgrounds,” Chen said.

“And that’s something we can appreciate. You don’t have to become

best friends, but you can both attend an event or support a cause because you feel it connects you more.”

The Asian American studies department is also sponsoring a lecture featuring APA spoken word artists Bao Phi and Ed Bok Lee. Like Hill, Phi and Lee are advocates in the APA community who specialize in connecting arts with activism.

In addition to events that will host guest speakers, there are also opportunities for students to share their own thoughts. The Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy Office will lead a workshop called, “Looking Beyond the Linsanity: What does race have to do with Jeremy Lin?” that will invite students to discuss Lin’s success and experience as an APA in the NBA. Sorority Sigma Psi Zeta and ISA aim to highlight their respective philanthropies through charity dinners.

“SPEAK,” an annual dinner SYZ

holds to raise awareness on domestic violence, sends proceeds to the Saving Promise campaign, a movement that spreads awareness about domestic violence on women.

Lim believes the creation of “Building a Better Future” recognizes the need to improve relations in the APA community and working together to achieve this goal.

“Some perceptions may be that the APA community isn’t a minority anymore – that they are living the dream and don’t need help,” Lim said. “That’s really the opposite aspect that we need to acknowledge.

We still face various issues within the community that we need support from everyone.”

With such a diverse amount of festivities to choose from, student groups are looking to make this APAHM a memorable one and stand by the theme of making progress in the APA population.

The PublicAsian | April 2012

News | 5

Candidate Ron Paul’s views attract young voters

Paul supporters say his libertarian ideals can appeal to left-leaning APA voters

PHOTO BY JAMES LEVIN

Libertarian Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul spoke to supporters at the Ritchie Coliseum, which was filled to capacity, on March 28.

By Aaron Watkins Staff writer Support for Rep. Ron Paul, RTexas, to be president may be stronger on this campus than any other

university in the nation. Paul, 76, is the oldest presidential candidate, and his connection with young voters has been a key asset throughout his campaign.

“I think he represents a lot of people

who are fed up,” said junior government and politics major Matt Parsons.

Parsons and junior government and politics major Mohsen Farshneshani are members of this university’s Youth for Ron Paul chapter, which has been actively trying to garner support on campus by chalking and speaking with students.

Maryland’s chapter is the largest in the nation, with over 2,000 members, and on March 28, the group succeeded in inviting Paul to speak at the Ritchie Coliseum.

In the 2008 presidential race, Asian Pacific Americans favored Democratic nominee Barack Obama over Republican nominee John McCain by three to one, according to a survey by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The survey suggests that APA voters have been left-leaning, as 58 percent were registered Democrats and 13 percent were Republicans.

But other APA students, like Parsons, who support the libertarian, say that if more people knew what Paul stood for, they would support him too.

“The idea of liberty is appealing to everyone,” Farshneshani, the chapter’s president, said.

Paul’s appeal to young voters stems from his political views. His supporters are generally in favor of a reduced government role and protection of civil liberties. American politics professor Frances Lee said Paul’s enthusiasm also gives

him an edge over other Republican presidential candidates because it is something young people respond to.

“It’s his idealism,” Lee said. “He has a set of political principles that he adheres too strongly.”

“

ing contest in this campaign. Political pundits debate as to whether Paul should drop out of the race, and Farshneshani said the media has not given him much of a shot at all.

“The support is there, what’s

I think [Ron Paul] represents a lot of people who are fed up.”

– Matt Parsons

Member of the University of Maryland’s Youth for Ron Paul

Paul’s political stance is that the government’s role should be limited to providing defense, courts and a criminal justice system. He earned the nickname “Dr. No” for his promise not to vote for legislation that was not explicitly allowed by the Constitution, and is known for recommending the abolishment of the nation’s Federal Reserve System and advocating limited foreign intervention.

Parsons says that young voters can not only see changes that need to be made in government, but are more willing to act on them than older voters. “[Most] people want to do what’s popular or socially accepted,” he said.

Despite loyal supporters, Paul is in fourth place in the race for the Republican nomination for president, and has yet to win a state nominat-

missing is the correct information,” he said. He added that Paul has received “little to no media coverage,” and hasn’t been given a fair share of time during televised debates.

Farshneshani said that if Paul does not win the nomination, he’ll write him in on the ballot anyway.

Lee said that though Paul won’t win the race, “he’s going to stay in.” He sees himself as “building a movement.”

Parsons said that if former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney receives the Republican nomination, some Paul supporters will view Obama as “the lesser of two evils.”

But for the most part, Parsons said, Paul supporters will see no other option and prefer to write him in because it “sends a message to the establishment.”

US Office for Civil Rights appoints UMD alumna

PHOTO CREDIT: HHS.GOV

University of Maryland law school alumna Juliet Choi currently serves as the Chief of Staff of the Office for Civil Rights.

By Colleen Wilson Staff writer Juliet Choi, a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law, was appointed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights as the Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor in February.

Choi said she will lead the OCR to ensure that government programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Head Start are more accessible.

“My role and responsibility is making sure I have a bird’s eye view of all of our efforts and initiatives,” she said. “Sometimes certain cases and policy questions might be more top of mind at a certain time in the calendar year, but my overall role is to have a 360 [degree] view.”

As Choi steps into her new role, her extensive professional background in garnering both grassroots and private sector partnerships will be vital to making an impact on public

policy and forming governmental relations.

“Her vast management, policy, and constituency engagement experience will help guide OCR’s important civil rights policy and outreach and stakeholder relations,” OCR Director Leon Rodriquez said in a press release.

Before her appointment, Choi devoted five years to the American National Red Cross where she took on numerous leadership roles.

Most recently, she was the senior director for Disaster Partnerships where she brought together organizations that help relay the Red Cross’ information and resources through community organizations, like the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. which has nationwide membership.

Comparing her previous and current careers, Choi said, “Because [the OCR’s] jurisdiction is on behalf of the federal agency, our outreach is the entire nation. It’s similar to the Red Cross in disaster services for the country. On the other hand, when you look at services that the HHS provides, it’s a much larger scale, more complex programs.”

Gabi Kaiyal, a junior and animal behavior major, said there needs to be more attention on low-income families and minorities.

“Because we have a health insurance that is earned, and not a privilege, there needs to be a reorganization of budgets and the services themselves,” she said.

Choi will take on the responsibility to gain support and quell public suspicions, like Kaiyal’s, of the Affordable Care Act that was signed into law in March 2010 by the Obama administration. The Affordable Care Act is one of many pieces of legislation enacted by the HHS that has endured intense scrutiny from citizens and public officials.

According to research released in March by the HHS, 700,000 Latinos, 400,000 African Americans, 97,000 Asian Americans and 29,000 American Indian/Alaska Natives have benefited from the Affordable Care Act. This

is one aspect of the legislation that allows young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they are 26.

Lamar Rogers, a junior government major, believes there should be a socio-economic focus at the OCR. “The lower class is expanding, and by helping internally, we will be stronger as a nation,” he said.

Choi emphasized that it is essential that the people know who the OCR is and that they make themselves accessible to the public. “Some days people remind me that my nickname will be ‘D.C. Bureaucrat’… letting folks know that we are available to meet and [that] talk helps get the word out [about resources that are available],” Choi said.

eatures f250-year-old Japanese artworks paint a colorful world 6

The PublicAsian | April 2012

By Aaron Watkins Staff writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Titled “Fish,” this is one of 30 scrolls displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in celebration of the 100th National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Japanese art enthusiasts will have something to look forward to at the National Gallery of Art this spring when the museum hosts an exhibit in celebration of the 100th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. Japanese painter Ito Jakuchu’s “Colorful Realm of Living Beings,” a renowned 30-scroll set of bird and flower paintings, which had rarely been displayed collectively, will be at the Gallery from March 30 to April 29. The exhibit focuses on scenes in nature to commemorate Japan’s gift of Japanese cherry blossom trees to the United States back in 1912.

Nine scrolls from the “Colorful Realm” were put on display at the Smithsonian in 1997, and 10 were displayed in Los Angeles in 1989, but this is the first time all 30 scrolls are presented together in D.C. The Imperial Household in Japan has owned the paintings since 1889 and is once again imparting a gift of Japanese culture on American soil.

“It’s not a blockbuster in size, but in content and cultural importance,” Harvard University art history professor Yukio Lippit said of Jaku-

chu’s set. “He captures the exactness of nature.”

Lippit is the guest curator for the exhibit and said that the Japanese Embassy wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of the cherry blossoms with a meaningful presentation of Japanese art. “The most important work of art [among Japanese nature paintings] is the collection by Ito Jakuchu,” he said.

Jakuchu (1716-1800) completed the collection in the late 18th century and focused on depictions of animals in natural settings. His paintings were based upon techniques of the period, such as woodblock printing and highly naturalistic details, but combined them with a unique approach to forms and shapes, Lippit said.

Jakuchu, possibly Japan’s most famous pre-modern painter, grew up in a fairly wealthy family, but preferred painting and Zen-Buddhism to mercantile activities. He retired from the family’s grocery at 40 to solely focus on painting and self-cultivation, becoming very famous in his time.

Though Japanese art has transformed over the years, Lippit said artists continue to rediscover Jakuchu and provide new interpretations. In the 1960s, he was “framed as an eccentric,” Lippit said, partly

because of the then changing culture of Japan. In the 1990s, Jakuchu became a paradigm for those who were single-mindedly interested in a specific hobby, as he was known to focus on his art, religion and not much else.

In more recent times, however, the perception of Jakuchu has changed as more information has been discovered. Though he was previously seen as somewhat of a hermit, late in his life, Jakuchu led a three-year campaign to overturn a city ruling that required the shutdown of his family’s grocery, displaying “personal and business skills” that weren’t often attributed to him, Lippit said.

Jakuchu’s exhibit is a celebration of both Japan’s relationship with the U.S. and Japanese influences in American art, which are largely seen in animation. Neal McDonald, Assistant Animation and Interactive Media professor at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said the connection goes back to the 19th century and the Impressionist era.

“American art has really grown up in its own right,” McDonald said, “whereas Asian art has been there.”

He added that the impact of Japanese animation on American culture is not to be underestimated.

Locally owned restaurant serves authentic Thai cuisine

By Mary Tablante Features editor From the outside, Siri’s Chef’s Secret does not look like a place for romantic dinners or birthday celebrations. But luckily, it is the inside that matters.

The interior of the restaurant, which specializes in Thai and American cuisine, creates a calming ambience. It is adorned with decorations from Thailand and is coupled with soft classical music in a dimly lit atmosphere.

The Thai menu includes entrees such as crispy duckling, a cherry roasted duck with pineapples, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers in pineapple sauce and Siri’s chicken ginger, grilled chicken breast topped with sautéed mushrooms and ginger sauce.

The American menu offers entrees like baby back ribs, salmon fillet and fish and chips, as well as a selection of vegetarian dishes.

Located in Greenbelt, Md., on Greenbelt Road, the locally owned Siri’s Chef’s Secret, which has been opened for more than 30 years, stands out among the several chain restaurants surrounding it, including Boston Market, Checkers and KFC. Siri and Sutti Chai are a husbandand-wife team who manage the restaurant. Siri’s mother and aunt, who handed down the recipes, inspired the food and Sutti worked on the design and restaurant decoration and presentation of the restaurant’s dishes.

Waiter Benz Makung said the restaurant benefits from being familyoriented. He said the restaurant has a good amount of regular customers, and the servers have many of their customers’ orders memorized.

Makung also acknowledged the authenticity of the Thai dishes.

PHOTOS BY MARY TABLANTE

Siri’s Chef’s Secret, located in Greenbelt, Md., offers original recipes such as Siri’s chicken ginger, topped with mushrooms and ginger sauce (top right), as well as desserts like fried banana with vanilla ice cream (bottom right).

“Since I’m Thai, it’s my food, and -it’s easy for me to eat. I enjoy it a lot,” Makung said.

Makung, who has worked at the restaurant for five years, said his favorite foods at the restaurant are

pad thai and the drunken noodles.

Pad thai, the most famous Thai dish outside of Thailand, consists of stir fried rice noodles with bean sprouts, eggs, crushed peanuts, scallions and tofu with a choice of shrimp, chick-

en or beef.

The drunken noodles can be paired with either chicken or beef, and are fresh noodles coated in Thai chili, tomatoes and basil leaves.

Makung added that what makes

the restaurant unique is their friendly attention to customers, their decorations and being one of the few Thai restaurants in the surrounding area.

University alumnae Jeanine Reyes finds the atmosphere of the restaurant unique.

“I went there for my birthday, and instead of singing to you, they play you ‘Happy Birthday’ on a wooden flute, which I thought was cool,” she said. She added that although she does not know much about authentic Thai food, her favorite Thai food at Siri’s Chef’s Secret is the red curry and the mango sweet sticky rice.

“My only complaint is that I wish it was cheaper, because then I would go more often,” Reyes added.

Prices of entrees range from $9 to around $20. The restaurant also offers a small selection of desserts, which all cost $5.

Sameer Malla, a junior geography and meteorology major, said he had never heard of Siri’s Chef’s Secret but would be interested in going if he were with a group of friends. He also liked the fact that it is independently owned and added that chain restaurants are more about quantity than quality.

“The chain restaurants all have the same ingredients and products and cook or fry them the same way in the quickest way possible,” Malla said. “Independently owned restaurants put their own kick in their foods and prepare them in their own unique, time-consuming way.”

Siri’s Chef’s Secret is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and for dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. Dinner is offered from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

For more info, visit sirichef.com.

The PublicAsian | April 2012

Features | 7

Gift of a Century

By Caitlin Zentgraf Staff writer

100th Anniversary Nearly a century later, the cherry trees have withstood the test of time. During a five-week “once-in-a-lifetime” celebration from March 20 to April 27, the nation’s capital will be filled with exhibitions, traditions, culture, artists and performers from all over the world.

“We are hoping [the celebration] tells a story of how this gift of trees has become the nation’s greatest spring time celebration,” Communications Manager Danielle Piacente said. “Not many gifts last 100 years. It’s a true testament of peace and international friendship.”

The cherry trees are in bloom for as long as 14 days. Because of unseasonably warm weather this year, the cherry blossoms began blooming as early as March 18 and peaked on March 20, according to the National Park Services.

The opening ceremony on March 25, which was stand-alone for the first time, launched the centennial celebration. Local and national entertainment from American songwriter Sara Bareilles to one of Japan’s most popular female R&B pop star, MISIA, to the Washington Ballet filled the Walter E. Washington Convention Center as guests experienced the story of the gift of trees through these performances.

Highlights Throughout the celebration, some of the best signature events will take place in April.

“For a city such as Washington, D.C. that already has such history and meaning, the cherry blossoms seem like an additional characteristic that makes this celebration so attractive to residents, as well as to tourists,” said Christa Ursini, a senior marketing and studio art double major. “The cherry blossom festival and events are something you don’t want to miss.”

Whether one is young or old, the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s events are bound to be a learning experience for all ages. With more than 150 daily cultural performances to choose from, tourists will not leave without seeing a glimpse of traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and community spirit.

March 20 - PINK TIE PARTY Culinary community innovators Chefs Jose Andres and Roy Yamaguchi hosted the Pink Tie Party on March 20 at the Mayflower Renaissance. A pink tie and spring style were required. That night, no one left hungry as metro-area chefs had everyone tasting spring, cherry and blossom-inspired cuisine and cocktails. Along with the fabulous food, an auction spectacular contributed to the festival’s fundraising efforts.

March 31 - BLOSSOM KITE FESTIVAL Adults and children were blown away at the Blossom Kite Festival on March 31. Kite makers competed and demonstrated their creative masterpieces at the Washington Monument grounds. Kite makers showed off their tricks and coached participants throughout the event. “This is a very family friendly event,” Piacente said.

Upcoming Events April 7 - FIREWORKS FESTIVAL Watch the night sky light up with Japanese fireworks from Nagaoka, Japan at the Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival. With three stages featuring live music and family-friendly events, visitors are sure to end their day with a bang.

April 14 - PARADE Enjoy one of the most exciting traditions of the National Cherry Blossom Festival – the parade along Constitution Avenue. Journalist Katie Couric will host this nationally televised event on WJLA-ABC7 and NewsChannel8.

Marching bands and performers, who have prepared for this event months in advance, will showcase their talent alongside lavish floats and balloons.

When recollecting her performance in the parade with her high school marching band a few years ago, sophomore mechanical engineering major Megan Frey stated that Constitutional Avenue was absolutely beautiful and filled with so many floats and all different kinds of themes and music.

April 14 - JAPANESE STREET FESTIVAL The 52nd annual Sakura Matsuri is the largest Japanese cultural festival in the U.S. Presented by the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C., the event will feature performing artists such as singer Takako Shirai and hip-hop martial arts group Orientarhythm. Don’t forget to stop by the Kirin Beer Gardens and the Hakutsuru Sake Tasting Pavilion at the Taste of Japan where eventgoers can enjoy cultural food from 25 different Japanese and Asian restaurants.

From adults to children, there’s something for everyone at Sakura Matsuri. The festival takes place on 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults; children 12 and under are free.

Japan Relief Efforts The festival encourages participants and supporters to donate to Japan relief efforts in return for its gift of trees and lasting friendship. The American Red Cross has a microsite with the National Cherry Blossom Festival directly benefiting the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund, and a portion of the festival’s online auction is designated to this fund.

Y JOE N E H

T IVAL ST FE

Paddles the Beaver, Cherry Blossom Festival mascot

PHOTO BY NANCY PHAM

8 | Features

The PublicAsian | April 2012

Kina Grannis: from stuffed animals to sold out shows

By James Levin Staff writer When Kina Grannis was born on Aug. 4, 1985, no one could have guessed the amazing career her future would hold or where her popularity would spring from. No one could imagine that the 4-year-old girl playing shows for a cluster of stuffed animals would eventually be playing shows in front of sold-out crowds across the world.

The half-Japanese acoustic pop singersongwriter’s love of music goes back to elementary school, when she would compose piano pieces. She picked up the guitar at 15, which would become her main instrument.

Eleven years, five albums, 198 YouTube videos and 288,000 jelly beans later, the YouTube sensation is now an internationally-recognized artist with more than 515,600 subscribers and nearly 100 million video views.

Her most recent music video for “In Your Arms,” a nearly two-year project that placed Grannis in a world composed of hundreds of thousands of jelly beans, has garnered more than six million views. This music video introduced the start of her current world tour to Europe and Asia.

She will be returning to the states in early April and will be playing at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. on April 24. Freshman undecided major Joyce Yu is one student who plans on attending.

“It’s exciting to know that someone who’s popular on YouTube is going to be in my area because I don’t really see opportunities like that very often,” Yu said.

With her first album, “Sincerely, Me,” already under her belt, Grannis uploaded her first YouTube video five years ago in November 2007. It featured her singing her original song, “Message From Your Heart,” which

she then entered into the Doritos “Crash the Superbowl” contest and won. Her video was shown nationwide during the commercials of Superbowl XLII. But Grannis’ talents are not the only thing that have caught people’s attention. Many, like director Ross Ching of Grannis’ most popular music video, “Valentine,” were drawn in by her personality. “Kina is a pretty awesome girl. There really are few people in the world that are as nice and caring as her,” Ching said.

Despite landing herself a contract with Interscope Records in 2007, Grannis forfeited the label, determined to release her songs independently. “[She] puts people first, rather than the big corporate push and how corporate likes to brand you. And she is [willing] to be still innovative and [able] to take risks,” said Abraham Martinez, the director of photography for “Valentine”. Martinez attributed Grannis’

PHOTO CREDIT: KINAGRANNIS.COM

PHOTO CREDIT: OLIVER YU/ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

APA YouTube sensation Kina Grannis, who started her music career with humble beginnings, is currently on tour and will be making a stop at 9:30 Club on April 24 to perform some of her most popular songs in front of hundreds of devoted fans in the Washington, D.C. area.

success and popularity to that willingness to take risks which he believes many people or corporations are not willing to do.

In 2011, Grannis self-funded and released “Stairwells,” her fifth and most recent album.

Following this album, The New York Times recognized Grannis as one of the most influential Asian Pacific American artists in the pop music world.

“The fact that she was part Asian didn’t really play a factor in how I looked at her. But looking at it on a grander scale, I think the fact that the Asian YouTube community has really embraced her has helped her success greatly,” Ching said. “Since Asians are so dominant on the Internet, their promotional ‘stamp of approval’ helps take people from unknown to budding YouTube sensations.”

Grannis went from being a student playing in the stairwells of her University of Southern California dorm to being MTV’s Best Webborn Artist of 2011. She puts her own unique style into her acoustic-pop music which gives her appeal to people from many different backgrounds. She keeps in touch with her fans by posting personal videos and spending hours after her shows to talk to concertgoers.

“I like how unique her voice is, it stands out from what you would normally hear,” Yu said.

“I find her lyrics very artsy, and I think her music is overall really relaxing.”

In April, many fans will vie for the chance to meet her as she has announced a meet-andgreet following her show at the 9:30 Club.

In the meantime, fans can follow Grannis on her YouTube channel as she tours the world. One thing that has never changed is her interaction with her loyal fan-base and her expressions of gratitude for the people who launched her career.

Cup Clothing promotes both culture and philanthropy

By Melanie Balakit Staff writer Is it possible to combine philanthropy, style and Vietnamese culture in a clothing line? For Tuan Duong and Nghia Le, founders of the Cup Clothing line, the answer is yes.

“CUP,” which stands for culture, unity and progression, seeks to “inspire and spread Vietnamese culture and philanthropy through design,” according to the Cup Clothing website.

The founders launched the online store, which currently sells T-shirts packaged in bubble tea cups, in

early February. In addition to retail sales, the company also promotes issues of interest to the Vietnamese American community.

Shortly after the launch of the online store, Cup Clothing pledged $2 for every shirt sold to Children of Vietnam, a charitable organization that provides aid to disadvantaged children in Vietnam, throughout the month of February. Through that promotion, the line raised about $60 for the Children of Vietnam.

The goals of the company reflect Duong and Le’s active involvement in the Vietnamese American com-

PHOTO CREDIT: CUP CLOTHING

Cup Clothing sells T-shirts in packaging that resembles bubble tea cups.

munity.

Duong is the external vice president of the Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations and has been a master of ceremony at Miss Vietnam D.C. and the annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month concert, which features some of the biggest Asian Pacific American musical talents. Le is the Collective Philanthropy Project selection director of the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations.

Making Vietnamese culture the focus of Cup Clothing was a very personal decision for the pair.

Le says he has always been involved with the Vietnamese culture, but was particularly inspired during the three months he volunteered in Vietnam for the Catalyst Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports orphaned, abandoned and homeless children in Vietnam.

“What I have here is more than they could ever imagine. For me to have that privilege, I really have to give back to the community,” Le said. “I love my culture, I love my heritage, and I’m really proud of where my parents came from.”

For Duong, his involvement with the Vietnamese Student Association actually began with his involvement with the Filipino Cultural Association at George Mason University in Virginia. Duong said seeing how everybody was connected to their Filipino culture inspired him to learn more about his own Vietnamese culture.

Duong and Le met in July 2011 through a mutual friend at a UNAV-

SA convention in Denver. As they rode to the airport, Duong and Le asked themselves what they wanted for the Vietnamese community and how they could promote knowledge and pride about their culture.

They answered their questions with the creation of Cup Clothing, which would also serve to fill the void in Vietnamese-inspired street style brands, according to Duong.

In November 2011, just four months after they first met, the two seriously began organizing their company.

The two are proud of the positive feedback they’ve received so far, but say their company is still in its “infancy” stage. “We got good exposure in the beginning,” Duong said. Since its debut in February, Cup has received more than 700 likes on their Facebook page. “But we haven’t really kicked off yet.”

Le, who handles networking, is working on establishing connections with accomplished Vietnamese figures. “We want to create partnerships with Vietnamese Americans that are already doing big things, like poets and artists,” he said.

Cup Clothing plans to collaborate with spoken word artist, Bao Phi, who is based in Minnesota. When Le attended Phi’s show, he said there were no other Vietnamese Americans in the audience. “Cup wants to promote individuals that don’t get enough recognition,” Le said.

The company also plans to work with the Catalyst Foundation’s Vietnam Culture Camp program, which works to familiarize Vietnamese adoptees with their culture.

Melinda Nguyen, public relations officer for the VSA at this university, said she had heard of the Cup Clothing line through Facebook.

“It’s cool we’re both working towards raising money and awareness for Children of Vietnam,” she said.

Like Cup Clothing, VSA is also working with Children of Vietnam, collecting donations for the nonprofit organization during its annual Family Night cultural show in early March.

In addition to shirts, Cup Clothing plans to sell hoodies, crewnecks and snapback hats in the future. The hope is to incorporate Vietnamese folklore into their future apparel.

However, the company is not the owners’ sole venture. Duong and Le are full-time workers and live almost 900 miles apart – Duong lives in Woodbridge, Va. and Le lives in Milwaukee. Both have used their different locations to their advantage in promoting Cup Clothing.

The clothing line made its debut at a MAUVSA Advance Conference in January 2012 and continued to be promoted at the 10th annual Vietnamese Interacting as One conference in Cincinnati, a regional conference run by the Union of Vietnamese Associations of the Midwest, on March 16.

Duong and Le both view Cup Clothing as more of a side-project for now, but they hope to continue expanding the company and its involvement with the Vietnamese American community.

“We want to shift the mindset of our generation,” Duong said.

The PublicAsian | April 2012

By Matthew Fleming Staff writer

APA Spotlight: Phil Nash

There is no one word that could adequately describe Phil Tajitsu Nash. For most people, labels like lawyer, professor, journalist and author would be sufficient. But Nash is all of these things and more.

He has been a professor of Asian American studies at this university since 1996, but Nash, 55, hardly focuses on just Asian Pacific American issues. Coming from a multi-cultural family – his father’s family is from all over Great Britian, and his mother’s family comes from Japan – helped shaped this desire for diversity.

“I work with Native Americans, the LGBT community and others as well,” Nash said. “As Walt Whitman said, I and everyone else ‘contain multitudes.’ In my case, the multidimensionality is a little more apparent because I have Nash cousins who have blonde hair and blue eyes as well as Tajitsu cousins who look Japanese.”

A “quick” list of these multitudes would first include fighting for the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided an apology and compensation for the interned Japanese Americans in World War II. Nash was also the curator of the APA program at the 44th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2010, which was the first time that the festival focused specifically on APAs. Together with his wife, anthropologist Emilienne Ireland, he is helping the Wauja, a tribe indigenous to the Brazilian Amazon, “preserve their language, culture and history by training them in video and online media skills,” Nash said.

The couple also runs Nash Interactive, which develops an Internet presence for causes and groups.

Nash has taught law, Asian American studies and metropolitan studies at some of the finest higher learning institutions in the country. He even started the first Spanish-speaking Boy Scout troop in north Bergen County, N.J. But Nash prefers that his character and personality, rather than his achievements, represent him.

PHOTO BY RYAN ALPHONSO

“What I find daunting is when you only list accomplishments,” he said. “Everyone has failures. If we don’t humanize people, others will feel inferior. That’s why I like my students to call me Phil.”

His career started in 1975 as a pre-med student at New York University. To break up all the biology classes, he took “Shaping the Urban Environment,” an introductory class to the urban studies program. His professor assigned a paper to write about something that shaped the urban environment, like notable structures. Nash wrote about how the Japanese American internment camps of World War II acted as a precursor to modern prefabrication.

Coming from a family where his maternal side spent time in the internment camps, he was inspired. He spent countless

6 Friday

Amy Hill’s story, “Lost and Found, Life as I (K)new It”

Taste of Japan

AASU, MICA, AAST

Stamp | Pyon Su Room 4:30-5:45pm

12 Thursday

Sigma Psi Zeta Speak Stamp | Colony Ballroom 7-9:30pm | $10 presale; $12 at door

16-20

MSA Islamic Inspiration Week http://ter.ps/iiw

21Saturday

AASU Yuri Kochiyama Awards Ceremony Stamp | Pyon Su Rm 5:30pm

hours researching for the paper and interviewing architects, Buddhists and anyone who may have had a connection with the internment camps.

The story was published as the lead article in an issue of the NYU Historian magazine and won a national student magazine contest. It was this experience, along with his work with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund while he was in law school that sparked his passion for civil rights.

“I’ve known him since the 1970s, when he was just an intern,” AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung said.

“He’s been a great resource; his knowledge of APA history makes him an invaluable [addition]. He did a lot of work on the Japanese American redress. And he is a good mentor to younger students.”

Nash considers teaching one of the best parts of his career.

“That’s why I do it every year,” he said. “That’s the way to make the world a better place, by inspiring people.”

Jeffrey Wollentin, a 2009 graduate in American studies, took two courses with Nash and is now the deputy director of international affairs at Rangsit University in Bangkok.

“In both classes I took with Phil, he really tried to connect us to the real world,” Wollentin wrote in an email. “It’s really great to give academic meaning and application to students.

In addition to the film research project, I also did a project that resulted in all our research being posted on Wikipedia.

This was a good idea as it gave us the feeling that what we were doing made a difference.”

When he was a student, Nash helped organize a movement for college staff to get better wages. This altruism and selfsacrifice is a quality he hopes to impart on students.

“It’s your responsibility to get involved,” Nash said. “Everyone should be doing something. If you’re good at accounting, then do accounting for a community group or your church.”

To accomplish great things, Nash said, “Just do it every day. Don’t wait for your crowning achievement. Remember, Beethoven wrote eight symphonies before his ninth. Every day, do something to make the world a better place.”

April

4 Wednesday

JASA

Stamp | Grand Ballroom 7-10pm | $5

13 Friday TASA

Night Market

Stamp | Grand Ballroom 7-10pm | $3

10 Tuesday

MICA Looking Beyond the Linsanity Stamp | Jimenez Room 5:30-7pm

Moving Towards Social Justice through Student Activism

Stamp | Terp Room B & C 12-1:30pm

24 Tuesday

MICA Isn’t S/He Lovely?

Stamp | Jimenez Room 5:30-7pm

11Wednesday

MICA, AAST APIA Spoken Word and Poetry Lecture Van Munching Hall 7-9pm

14 Saturday 14 Saturday FCA

Philippine Culture Night: “Bitaw: Letting Go”

Stamp | Grand Ballroom 5:30-9:30pm | $10

18 Wednesday 19 Thursday MICA

Features | 9

AASU

ISA Browntown Showdown Stamp | Hoff Theater 5pm

20 Friday

Stamp | Atrium 7:30-10:30pm

ISA ISA Formal EJ’s Landing 7pm

26 Thursday

27Friday

APA 1

Anokha Anokha AMPLIFIED! Memorial Chapel 7-9pm

CSA, aKDPhi Date Auction Stamp | Prince George’s Room 7:30pm

10

The PublicAsian | April 2012

op inions

AASU Unedited: Inside My Head Max Kim, Yuri Kochiyama Chair

I downed a second cup of coffee as I sifted through the Angry Asian Man blog looking for a relevant issue to write about for this column.

On the blog, I had just finished reading through the fifth post on Jeremy Lin when I remembered that the Asian American Student Union board elections were coming up soon. I took some time to reflect on my time on the board along with any considerations for re-running and realized that my experience is the unique perspective I can bring to the table.

Thinking back, many of my friends have questioned why I put aside so much time for my involvement in AASU and what it is that I even do. Unfortunately, and ironically, while the AASU exists to serve the Asian Pacific American community, large portions of the community are unaware of what we do and the significance of our existence on campus.

This column suddenly became an opportunity to provide some clarification for those questions and to create some transparency between AASU and the community.

AASU advocates for and acts as the voice of the APA community on campus. We seek to bring together

various cultural organizations across the community. Of course, this is a very broad textbook answer and probably doesn’t really mean anything to most of you. So to give you a more specific and tangible answer, instead of trying to cram a list of all our activities in this half of a page, I want to go into detail on just one of the programs we host and the role of my particular position on the board.

My official position on the board is the Yuri Kochiyama High School Leadership Program Chair. The position is exactly what it sounds like; I am in charge of running the YK Program. This program reaches out and invites high school students to come to this university once a week for around two months. Each time they come here, they get to spend three hours listening to me ramble.

All jokes aside, the students come to learn about important APA issues and how to develop their presence as leaders within their own community. The three-hourlong sessions are packed with group discussions and fun activities, and it passes by pretty quickly. Each student takes something different away from the sessions, but all of them leave with a greater under-

standing of their identities, APA issues and the APA community.

Coming into the session, they don’t know much about most of the people or issues I speak about.

It’s alright – I don’t expect them to. Most people don’t know much about the issues and struggles of the APA community. It’s not something taught in most schools. It’s not something covered or discussed much in most popular media and culture. People generally don’t take the struggles of our community seriously.

Actually, just the other day I was speaking with a friend who was saying that the issues that plague the Hispanic American and African American communities were far more significant than that of APAs, and that the APA community has much more social privilege. While this is debatable, it doesn’t make the struggles of our community any less prevalent. Our collective experiences as APAs are filled with prejudice, and as unfortunate as it is, it’s a part of our identity we shouldn’t turn our backs to.

Educating and empowering ourselves with real knowledge about APA issues reminds us that we are a minority group too – and that’s

PHOTO BY RYAN ALPHONSO

precisely what the YK program seeks to do. It seeks to educate and prepare students to become leaders as they enter college. This comes back to my goal and reasoning behind the time I dedicate to AASU, which is working towards bringing together an empowered community

devoted to advocating for each other.

My hope is that after reading this through, you will also seek an education on APA issues and maybe even get involved with AASU – or even run for a board position.

Max Kim is a sophomore mechanical engineering major.

Organization Spotlight Lillian Tran, Sigma Psi Zeta (SYZ) President Sigma Psi Zeta sorority is a multicultural Asian-interest Greek organization. We are a cultural, social, educational and community-service oriented sorority. Our organization was founded nationally in 1994 and at this university in 2003. Since then, we have been making strides to maintain a remarkable presence among the Greek and non-Greek communities.

The fundamental goal of Sigma Psi Zeta is to promote awareness of the myriad of Asian Pacific American cultures. Our sorority addresses this issue through leadership, outreach, individual, community interaction and, most importantly, the bonds of sisterhood. The sorority also promotes development among its members, the students and the faculty at each of the campuses we represent. Amongst our other sisterships across the nation, our chapter has the largest active house, and we are also the largest Asianinterest sorority on campus.

One of the most important aspects of our sorority is our national philanthropy to combat the violence against women. As an organization, we recognize that domestic violence and the violence against women is an unnoticed issue that we must actively fight against. Domestic violence affects millions of people, including children, every year.

In fact, around 30 percent of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by a significant other in the past year, and about one out of every four women will be physically assaulted or raped by an intimate partner at some point in their life. The sisters of our chapter have made notable progress in educating our peers as well as spreading awareness among our community.

We have extensive programs for April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Just to name a few, we will be co-sponsoring Clothesline Project with the Health Center’s Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Program (SARPP) on April 3 at Hornbake Plaza. The Clothesline Project

is a public art display focused on breaking the silence on sexual assault and domestic violence. Our chapter wishes to honor survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence and other forms of violence in our community.

In addition, our chapter will participate in the Health Center’s Survivor Garden on April 17. Not many people know that the garden in front of the Health Center is actually a memorial to all survivors of violence in the Maryland community. We will come together for the annual spring re-dedication ceremony and view the blooming of the daffodils we planted in October to honor the strength and healing of survivors of violence.

In the Colony Ballroom of Stamp on April 12, our chapter will host our biggest event of the year! Our third annual charity dinner, SPEAK, will inform those in the community about domestic violence and raise money for the New York Asian Women’s Center, which helps women and their children overcome domestic violence and other forms of abuse by empowering them to govern their own lives.

There will be guest speakers, performances and, of course, dinner! Please join us in bringing the Maryland community together to learn more about the violent issues affecting countless women here in the U.S. and abroad.

The sisters of Sigma Psi Zeta, Tau Chapter takes pride in our involvement with combating the violence against women. Through a network of like-minded yet highly individualistic women, the sorority lends structure and support to sorors that share this Sigma vision. It is through our various participations in these cultural events, educational workshops and philanthropic support that we make a difference.

True to our colors, red and gold.

Sisters forever, heart and soul.

PHOTO BY RYAN ALPHONSO

Lillian “Luciera” Tran is a senior communication major.

The PublicAsian | April 2012

11

hyo’s corner

In the Grand Picture of China Spring semester is reaching its midpoint here in Chengdu and the weather is finally turning around. Although it’s already April, I’ve only recently put away my winter coats. It was the coldest winter I’ve experienced and I was starting to despise not being able to feel my toes.

To everyone’s relief, warm weather finally arrived at Chengdu this week as I returned back from another weekend trip to Le Mountain and E Mei Mountain. This trip was organized by my program, University Studies Abroad Consortium, and the Shanghai group was to join us in Chengdu and depart together as a full USAC – China.

For the few of us in the Chengdu and Shanghai programs, we were being reunited since our last trip together to Xi’an. Reconnecting with our Shanghai counterparts is always enjoyable especially because we get to exchange our experiences and traveling tales. Plus, with our continued experiences living and traveling, our observations and experiences have developed from simply being excited to understanding some of Chinese culture and lifestyle.

Being able to share and connect with others is one of the greatest joys of my time in China. As a writer, I’ve always appreciated the gift of sharing stories and experiences as a great way to deepen relationships with others.

While climbing up the endless stair-trails of E Mei Mountain and walking through villages of farms and vendor shops, the thought of knowing that there are others here who have seen and appreciated the same experience was very comforting.

I was talking to a friend from Shanghai about the dif-

ferences in both of our respective cities and how our daily routines differ, as well as how they are similar despite the obvious differences in development of the two cities.

No matter how big or small, developed or developing the city is, the Chinese lifestyle is more or less the same.

For most Chinese, just like you and me, there exists a desire to provide for their family and friends, to have that next big thing and to better their standards of living.

What may differ is the quality of the lifestyle.

While Chengdu locals enjoy playing mahjong in the afternoons as they sip tea at the parks, Shanghai counterparts may enjoy trying diverse eateries and shopping.

But the people in both cities still spit carelessly, children wear slit pants and people bargain whenever possible.

Moreover, traveling to mountains and tourist sites are still fancied outings that require dressing up for both men and women in their best clothes and shoes no matter where in China you are from.

Of course, seeing temples, mountains and historical sites are also important and interesting, but it’s what we observe while going to these places that’s most exciting and insightful about Chinese life.

Then there are moments during a trip like this where you just gasp at how the grandeur of China can make you realize why you chose this country to explore.

No matter where you choose to travel in China, whether it’s the modern cities or the poorest farms, you always walk away feeling small in the grand scheme of China.

My friend and I shared this sentiment – that there is no

place like China that can make you feel insignificant but simultaneously provide comfort in feeling that way.

After two days of demanding hiking, we left for Chengdu. And as I looked out my window, I thought about how I’ve only seen a very small portion of this country. As usual, I fell asleep in peace while gazing at the beauty of China’s countryside.

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 | April 2012

Z100 years of history in bloom oomed In :

PHOTOS BY NANCY PHAM

Photos by James Levin

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom almost a week early this year because of the warm weather, jumpstarting the 100th year celebration of the National Cherry Blossom Festival with a scenic view.

(Left) Pins of the festival’s mascot, Paddles the Beaver, are given out as a reminder to visitors to protect the cherry trees.

(Above) Paddle boating in the Tidal Basin is especially popular during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

(Left) A family tours D.C. in a pedicab that has been decorated with cherry blossoms in honor of the festival. (Above) An elderly couple dressed in traditional clothing poses for a picture with their grandson under the the cherry blossom trees.