Sparks Magazine Issue No. 23 | University of Florida

ISSUE 23 | FALL ‘22 at the University of Florida

I write to you today filled with emotion. This semester marks my last year with Sparks Magazine, and though I am so excited to celebrate the incredible work of all of our staff, part of me hopes to extend the year a little longer to delay my goodbye. When I joined Sparks as a freshman, everything was completely online, and no matter what I did, it was difficult for me to find value in the work I created. Sparks was different. The first time I received the magazine I wrote in, I saw a tangible, beautiful piece of art that I had a hand in creating. Sparks cultivated my passion for telling stories, and I can only hope that I have continued that legacy for others as Editor-in-Chief.

Legacy is the theme that permeates the pages of this issue. What kind of legacy did those who came before us leave? And what do we hope the future generations will remember us by? At the University of Florida, our alumni worked tirelessly to give us the APIDSE space, and now our student leaders are working to increase unity and representation among our Asian organizations. Outside of the university, we have driven and passionate businesspeople like Thu Win, an immigrant who balances caring for her community with the demands of being a businesswoman. We also have talented and creative artists who look to break the bamboo ceiling and make their mark on the music industry, like Pluto Koi, Zachary Pham, Rocco George and Philip Vo. We hope to immortalize the work that these individuals have accomplished by highlighting them in this issue.

I would like to extend a huge thank you to my executive board, whose effort and commitment to the magazine cannot be overstated. I would also like to thank the entire staff for their dedication throughout the year. Each member brought their unique skill set to the publication and raised the bar for content, design, photography and PR. As you read through the magazine, I hope you see the handcrafted messages the staff has created in each spread. Storytelling is an art, and I’m so proud of the team we had this year for bringing their ideas to fruition.

A glance at the Office of Asian Pacific Islander and Desi Student Engagement’s history and new beginnings

Written by Dzung Nguyen

There’s Tea For You Too

The Office of Asian Pacific Islander and Desi Student Engagement sits quietly on the second floor of the Reitz Student Union, awaiting students both old and new. Unlike the unwelcoming Ta Lo forest of Marvel’s Shang Chi, this space invites its guests in with tea, stuffed animals and enchanting decorations. For many belonging to the University of Florida’s Asian Pacific Islander and Desi American community, this office is serenity. A place that lets students feel safe and feel heard. It’s a wonder that a mere 12 years ago this office hadn’t even existed. In fact, students in the APIDA community had to fight for these resources.

Chomping Back to OAPIDSE’s Past

Asian American history at the University of Florida dates back to at least a century. In 1922, Hsiu Sheng Hua and Len B. Tan were the only Chinese students at UF. They were welcomed with open arms despite heightened hostilities against Chinese immigrants. The president at the time, Albert A. Murphree, would often connect with the two, personally asking them if they were doing well. He would also go on to write them letters of recommendation, which can still be found in the George A. Smathers library today. UF treated these

students with the care and respect in a time when they needed it the most.

Following Hua and Tan’s time at the university, the population of Asian students would continue to grow. Throughout the latter half of the ’90s, these students would connect with each other by creating organizations such as the Filipino Student Association, Chinese American Student Association, Vietnamese Student Organization and Indian Student Association. In 1993, these organizations would come together to compose the earliest iteration of the Asian Student Union, an attempt at unifying UF’s Asian perspectives. In the same year, the Asian American Student Assembly was held for the first time, making it the largest gathering of Asian Americans at UF. This marked the beginning of a creative, vibrant and beautiful UF APIDA community.

away at age 24. As this tragedy was one of the few reported, it ripped through the Asian American community, leaving its members feeling vulnerable, scared and confused.

This established alliance was no coincidence; Asian Americans had to stick by one another in the 1990s. Despite being labeled the model minority, Asian Americans faced no shortage of prejudice. Asian hate crimes were on the rise around the nation. Raleigh, North Carolina was no exception to this. On a Saturday evening in July of 1989, Ming Hai Loo and a couple of his Vietnamese friends wanted to play pool. Unfortunately, they’d chosen the same pool hall as Lloyd Piche and Robert Piche. The Piche brothers began hurling racial profanities at Loo and his friends. Eventually, management forced the brothers to leave. As Loo finished playing and left, he was brutally ambushed by the Piche Brothers. After suffering a strike from Robert’s handgun, Loo fell onto a beer bottle, piercing his eye. This resulted in a bone fragment plunging into his brain. Two days later, Ming Hai Loo passed

Over the course of the years, UF’s attitude toward the APIDA community shifted from one of consideration to negligence. In 2001, Delta Tau Delta, a fraternity at UF, threw a “Mekong Delta’’ party. This was a fraternity organized event where men dressed as American GIs and women as Vietnamese prostitutes. An apology was issued by the fraternity only after the protest of Asian American students. Egregious as that party was, this event would make a return the following year without much alteration. UF stayed mute as Vietnamese students were openly mocked, thus establishing an ongoing administrative trend of UF providing unsubstantial to no support to its Asian American students in times of necessity.

In light of UF’s lacking resources for the APIDA community, students were prompted to take action, assembling to advocate for themselves. This culminated in the Turlington Plaza rally of November 17, 2003. Asian American students filled the plaza, body to body, to echo one thunderous message: Asian American students weren’t only here to stay, but

Models/Maddy Gastrador, Manasa Addagarla, Caitlyn Wong

Photographer/Refat Roja Designer/Madison Edwards

“Being in this office reminds of being fourteen again scrolling through tumblr with christmas lights on feeling cozy.”

- Maddy Gastador

they’re here to make a difference. This was an invocation — a prayer for UF — to let Asian American students know they have a home here in Gainesville.

UF responded to their demands — albeit slowly — 7 years later. Their answer came in the form of an Asian American resource room on the fourth floor of Peabody Hall. Though small, this room became a sanctuary.

OAPIDSE Chomping in the Present

Now relocated to the Reitz Student Union second floor, the Asian American resource room has become a permanent fixture on campus. After going through multiple name alterations, directors, graduate assistants and ambassadors, its last name change happened this fall, reworked from the Asian Pacific Islander and Desi Affairs Office to the Office of Asian Pacific Islander and Desi Student Engagement. No matter its title, this office offers visitors a unique experience.

OAPIDSE isn’t short of a friendly face. Upon entering, visitors will be greeted by an office ambassador. Not only do these ambassadors wear a comforting smile, but they are the champions of this space. From knowing all about the office to consistently updating OAPIDSE’s social media and leading its programs, they animate the room. They turn a place into a home.

Peering deeper into the infrastructure of OAPIDSE, it can be seen that just behind the curtains are the director and graduate assistant. Currently, those roles are being fulfilled by Candace Collins and Flora Wang, two relatively new additions to the personnel.

Collins adds an exuberance and warm personality to the office. She became the graduate assistant shortly after the departure of director Jack Nguyen, which left her without a director for the better part of a year. Collins led an effort to share the organizations of the Asian American Student Union, previously known as ASU, in a cultural fair. This event was held at the Reitz Amphitheater and showcased 13 of AASU’s organizations, suborganizations, and affiliates.

Wang usually orders oolong milk tea, 30% sugar with cheese foam. Like her order, Wang carries a gentle aura with a smidge of sparkle. This is Wang’s first fall at UF serving as OAPIDSE’s director. Students were nervous to see what the office would be like under the guidance

of a new director; however, they were quickly assuaged by Wang’s passion and desire to connect those in the APIDA community. One of the first events Wang organized was a yearly summit for AASU organizations. This congregation held the first week of classes allows officers from across AASU to get to know one another and sets the tone for the rest of the year. Under the helm of Wang, this function was a fun and peaceful kick-off to the semester. Wang has only been here for a short time but it’s evident she has the best interests of Asian American students in mind.

Celebrating OAPIDSE’s tenth year, February 21, 2020, UF organized a day dedicated to the office. In the Reitz Student Union there was a boba bar where students could grab milk teas and upstairs there was even a station to make your own tea blend. Activities were scattered throughout the building and happened all day. Most memorably was a lion dance where drum beats ricocheted off walls and ornately costumed students danced fiercely. This is why culture is meant to be shared and protected.

Throughout its years, OAPIDSE has run a plethora of programs. From Queer Asian Pacific Islander Desi, a support group for LBTQIA+ Asian Americans, to Sampling Literature by Asian Americans! Book Club, a reading circle dedicated to exploring Asian American literature, there’s a little something for everyone in the APIDA community. Currently, they are focused on their programs Chai Chats, Forming our Identities through Networking and Development and Self Care Night Series.

During the COVID-19 pandemic Asian Americans around the nation experienced an unprecedented uptick in hate crimes. In a short statement from UF’s president Fuchs and in an weekly email update, the University echoed the same message of treasuring their Asian American students and said they were deeply alarmed by the violence against Asians. These two responses were an intangible detached answer to a tangible terror that pervaded UF’s Asian American student population who felt they could be mistreated next. Many in the Asian American community felt that UF did not provide proper resources to console them, but instead empty words that left them dissatisfied with the response.

There will be one day where APIDA students feel appreciated and valued everywhere on campus. Until that day, the Office of Asian Pacific Islander and Desi Student Engagement will be a singular island granting them sanctuary.

“Knowing that I’m not Asian American, I listen first before I act because I want Asian American students’ voices to be amplified. I want them to be heard, not muffled.”

-Candace Collins

CASA’s Mid Autumn Festival

CASA brings a home away from home to studentts who celebrate the Mid Autumn festival.

Written by Morgan Hurd

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a widely celebrated holiday observed mostly in Chinese and Vietnamese culture, though Korean and Japanese culture celebrate the similar holidays of Chuseok and Tsukimi respectively. Mid-Autumn falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, which also corresponds with the Autumn Equinox. The festival revolves heavily around the moon due to the ancient Chinese belief that the moon is responsible for replenishing water and bringing forth a bountiful harvest.

The Legend of the White Snake

Although there are different folktales that surround the festival, this year the University of Florida’s Chinese American Student Association decided to revolve their Mid-Autumn Festival around the Legend of the White Snake. The tale begins with a man named Xu Xian purchasing what he believes to be tangyuan, or glutinous rice balls. He instead discovers that they are actually immortality pills. Upon this realization, he spits them into the lake where a white snake spirit consumes them and gains 500 years’ worth of magical powers. This causes jealousy within a turtle spirit, Fahai, who missed out on consuming the immortality pills. Eighteen years later, the white snake spirit, Bai Suzhen, crosses paths with Xu. The two end up falling in love and opening a medicine shop. By this point, the turtle spirit has gained enough power to take a human form and plots to break up Xu and Bai. Fahai attempts several times to break the lovers up by capturing one or the other but ultimately fails.

CASA’s Spin

CASA created a modernized version of The Legend of the White Snake in their five-part skit. The plot of the story remained the same, but it included an extra twist…a cow! Well, a lion that moo’d. The skit left people laughing all night and made the audience feel as though they were part of the story.

Home Away from Home

For many people, Mid-Autumn is a time to gather with friends and family, share meals, tell folktales, celebrate culture and, of course, eat mooncakes! Although many associate the holiday with family,

not all students are able to go home to do so. Instead, many have found people to connect with through CASA, creating a home away from home.

Michael Shi, one of the choreographers for Jia Ting Lions said, “It’s something we can come together and celebrate as basically a new family here at UF.”

Behind the Scenes

CASA’s Mid-Autumn show fell on Oct. 16 and was held in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. The show did not fall short on entertainment, incorporating music and dance performances, a fashion show and an Oscar-worthy skit.

President of CASA, Jason Gao, was excited to switch roles from being last year’s vice president of culture.

“It’s kind of interesting because last year I was the VP of culture, so I was organizing this same event,” he said. “It’s nice to see that the legacy me and my co [culture chair], Kim, left is being upheld by Spenser and Jenny.”

Spenser Pham and Jenny Lin, this year’s co VP of culture, upheld that legacy by putting on a successful show that kept the crowd of 635 people cheering throughout the night.

Putting on Mid-Autumn is no simple task. Preparations for the show started back in May when Pham and Lin were elected as co-vice presidents of culture. There are many duties that go into making the show happen. Writing the skit, deciding on performers, handling finances, catering and booking the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom are just a few of these tasks.

The Show Must Go On

This year had added stress involving the Reitz Union. Unlike previous years where the Reitz Union allowed CASA to reserve the ballroom for the entire day, they were only allowed to enter at 3 p.m., just two hours prior to doors opening. This resulted in less than adequate time to decorate, get tech set up and allow performers to comfortably warm up. In addition, the stage was also smaller than previous years, which caused concerns among the choreographers as they wanted to optimize the amount of dancers in their

pieces without risking their safety. When Gao went to have a meeting with the coordinators of the Reitz to bring forth these concerns, their compromise was allowing access to the room at 2 p.m. and to push the chairs in the audience back so that some dancers could be on the floor. To compensate for the lost time inside the Grand Ballroom, other rooms inside of the Reitz were booked to allow for dancers to warm up and run through their pieces.

The Community

The stress and hassle of putting on an event of this capacity is well worth it in order to give people a sense of community.

Tara Katz, one of the modern choreographers, spoke on the importance of this event being held at UF. She said, “Mid-Autumn is an important event to put on here at UF, not just for people in general to be able to come together but especially for the Asian American community. It’s really important for everyone to see that their own culture is being shown and supported and that they have a community that they can go to.”

Despite challenges faced, CASA once again put on a stellar event. Booths with activities such as jianzi – the traditional game of keeping a weighted shuttlecock in the air with the player’s feet – lantern making, calligraphy and a photobooth were set up outside the ballroom for people to enjoy before taking their seats. Throughout the entire show, a strong connection could be felt across the audience and performers. There was hardly a silent moment, except when everyone was holding their breath to see if they were one of the raffle ticket winners. The energy kept building with each performance as each one kept a theme of family and unity.

Chris In, who was in attendance as a spectator said, “The Mid-Autumn show gave me a combo of both strong nostalgia and hopefulness for the future. It was very heartwarming to see this tradition being kept alive as it was when I first saw it in my freshman year, and it gave me a strong confidence in the future that people would gather over this very homey tradition.”

designer/Navya Nair

photographer/Carolina Tortorelli

Models/JiaTing Lions, ICE, Metero.s

The Lack Of Diversity

(and the Domino Effect of Bad South Asian Representation)

In this coming generation, with numerous milestones in showcasing and representing diversity, shows and movies have been incorporating diverse characters and cultures and many minorities have been able to find characters who they can see themselves in. This is something that videogames have also been keen on venturing in. However, there is seemingly a struggle when it comes to portraying South Asians in media, and more than a few companies and franchises have found themselves in hot water for their specific portrayals of South Asians and their culture. The reasoning behind it is deeply rooted in struggles with poor representation and perception of South Asians, and the importance of these issues translating into reality.

Even in this age of diversity and inclusion, I find it hard to see that many South Asians in media that follow fictional characters in animation and video games. In looking at the few examples, however, there is a pattern to be noticed in the portrayal of South Asians and how misinterpretation and inherent implied colourism can prove to be harmful to the very community such games want to include.

One notable franchise that incorporated South Asian characters into their media would be the “Fate” franchise from TYPE-MOON. With their first visual novel “Fate Stay/ Night” released in 2004, they have expanded into various other media, including anime and manga adaptations, RPG games, and a mobile game that still runs through present. One major trait of the series was that their characters were based off of several different historical and mythical figures of the past, coming from several regions of the world. This, of course, meant that they would eventually reach the South Asian subcontinent.

The first appearance of a South Asian character would be in 2013 in “Fate/Extra CCC”, a sequel to their dungeon crawler predecessor, “Fate/EXTRA’’ released in 2010. The character introduced was Karna, a hero from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. This myth is a very well known legend in India and is fairly connected with many stories relating to Hindu mythology. In the Mahabharata, Karna is described as having “physic radiance like bright gold or burning gold. His body reflected the brightness of fire and sun.” In many of the art and pieces made of him, his physical appearance showed one with brown eyes, black hair and dark skin. In contrast, “TYPE-MOON”’s interpretation of the hero was a sheer contradiction to the myth. With skin paler than a sheet of paper, blue eyes and white hair, the “Fate” Karna looked nothing like the legend that Indians were familiar with. The disappointment with “TYPE-MOON”’s portrayal as well as the controversy was present, albeit not as outspoken during its initial release.

“TYPE-MOON” later released a dark skinned Indian character years after. Arjuna, from the same legend as Karna, and his supposed rival, was introduced in the mobile game “Fate/Grand Order” in March of 2018, later a main character in “Fate/EXTELLA LINK”, the sequel to the spin off of “Fate/Extra”, “Fate/Extella”. Arjuna wore clothes that were inspired by Indian garments, and therefore contrasted with Karna (who is clad in an acultural bodysuit and armor) in the way that more represented his culture.

That is not to say there weren’t controversies. Karna was portrayed as a rather generous person, as his conflict in the original Hindu epic was that he was a “flawed good man”. However, Arjuna was, in comparison, made to seem like a resentful person by his side. Arjuna was always seen as bitter and aggressive towards his rival, to which Karna only treats him with niceties, and is shown to harbor multiple instances of envy, jealousy and pent up frustration with himself. The purpose of Karna’s and Arjuna’s characters were to be foils to each other, in which Karna was the one misunderstood to be bad, but he’s actually good, while Arjuna’s perceived to be the hero, while he’s deeply flawed. However, it is seen that “TYPE-MOON” heavily favors Karna and often paints him in a good light and emphasizes his good nature, and this is often at the expense of Arjuna being shown in a negative light. This characterisation is flawed in general, but what’s ultimately detrimental about this is the choice to make Karna the lighter skinned of the two. In addition to this, “Fate/Grand Order” also includes Rama, a major deity in Hinduism, and Ashwatthama, also from the Mahabharata. Rama is pale skinned, inaccurate to his appearance being stated in his epic being blue, as he was an avatar of Vishnu. He is characterized to be calm and heroic. On the other hand, Ashwatthama, like Arjuna, is darker skinned. However, his characterization shows

him being an aggressive person, with eternal pent up rage and frustration.

With this we see that Fate’s two light skinned South Asian characters are considered the morally just ones, while the darker skinned ones are painted to be the aggressive and heavily flawed ones. The harm and detriment with this, unintentional or not, is very severe as this is inherently colorist.

In an article, “The Power of (Mis) Representation: Why Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes in Media Matter”, by Mari Castañeda, she says that “stereotypical media depictions are received as the truth, rendering impressions that people of color are economically challenged and criminalized” and this verbalizes the amount of hurt that such portrayals can cause, albeit the intention or lack of. The stereotyping of South Asians within the media is huge, because of the small band of which there are South Asian cultures represented in media to be analyzed. However, the misinterpretation and stereotypical depictions have a harsher effect than the simple lack of them at all.

To many, 2013 was ages ago. And 2018 was hardly a time for social media “wokeness”. And in that time, many people seem to be more aware of how interpretations can be harmful to different cultures, there has been more accountability towards these kinds of things. However, has this portrayal really changed now?

“Genshin Impact” is not a name that has strayed from many ears. The game released by Hoyoverse in 2020 has a playerbase of over 63 million people in present day. The game releases updates periodically, and with that comes new regions and stories for their players to explore. Each region is based on a region in the real world, with areas such as Liyue representing China, and Inazuma representing Japan. Recently, in “Genshin Impact”’s new update, players get to explore the new region Sumeru, which takes inspiration from South Asia. Although the release was originally on August 24th of 2022, many characters were introduced to the fanbase and… heavily scrutinized.

People were not happy with the new characters. Those represented in the keyframe of the soon to be released Sumeru characters were mostly light skinned. The main archon, or representative, being a very small pale skinned girl. In addition to this, many fans pointed out the inaccuracies of clothing and cultural references made by Hoyoverse in trying to incorporate South Asian elements while visually referencing Amazigh, Nubian, and Persian cultures and combining them. In an article, “As It Adds New Regions, Genshin Impact’s Politics Only Get Messier” by Rui Zhong, published by Polygon, it was stated, “ Fans have pointed out that the movements of dancer Nilou were meticulously researched, but that her belly dance costume is a mismatch for her Persian-style performances.” Hoyoverse has shown a lot of inaccuracies, as fans have pointed out, with South Asian culture, as well researched as they claim to be. Many of the outfits, specifically regarding the female ones, which mostly follow inspiration from belly dancing outfits, have an orientalist amalgamation of Middle Eastern themes that are misrepresented or inaccurate. This, along with their lack of diversity within the region, have angered fans, and rightfully so. The lack of representation, especially in an area that was designated for them, makes South Asian fans greatly disappointed and this impact (heh) has created a significant amount of controversy even now. The elements of orientalism displayed in the recent update are extremely detrimental in the way that misrepresentation often does. It creates harmful stereotypes and allows for the profiling of the cultures involved outside of the media we consume as fiction. Thus, it becomes a very real problem.

While some may argue that any representation for marginalized groups is good, that is not the case when it comes to misinterpretations and stereotypical ones portrayed in the media. The dangers that come with such inaccuracies in the depiction of culture is that it permeates a sense of disrespect towards that community and isolates them more often that it includes them, despite whether that was the intention or not. Many minorities often get this sense of excitement of “Oh-! That character is just like me!”, when they see a character that represents their culture. That sense of inclusion is precious to each and every person within a minority who, often, in general feel very left out in a world that is predominantly everything they’re not. To dash that excitement with inaccuracies that do not represent them correctly or failure to even include them in the way that was promised is very detrimental to the very cause that people try to promote when adding such characters to their media. South Asians who are excited to see characters that are supposedly just like them who see that the character is instead pale skinned and does not relate to them at all in ways of culture, are directly harmed with these actions.

The imaginary worlds that we allow ourselves to be emerged in are much different than our reality but we cannot ignore that media does have big effects outside of their fictionality. Colourism displayed in media, while it may not be in the magnitudes of acts of colourism in real life, is still harmful to minorities. However, as we can see from the amount of criticism that major companies receive for such ill taste in their representation, we are in an age where we are holding more people accountable. So hopefully, some day, brown people will see more people just like them in their favorite media.

Chun Ching Wins Over Gainesville Chun Ching Wins Over Gainesville

Tarryn Nichols

The chime of the sliding door signals a wafting wave of pungent spices, durian and bitter herbs mingling with the smell of sweet buns to envelop any lucky soul that steps through the threshold. To the left, a wall of portly stacked rice bags — waiting for an obligatory slap — guides one’s path to the irresistible temptation of the snack aisle. Here, in brightly colored packages adorned with cute cartoon characters, lie the gems of every East Asian youth’s childhood. Seaweed rice crackers bursting with umami-filled goodness, sugar-dusted daifuku and Chinese hot-pot-flavored potato chips are just some of the delicious wonders presented on these shelves. The nostalgic atmosphere would make one think they walked into a Shanghai supermarket, but fortunately, Chun Ching Market is a local feature of Gainesville. It is located just minutes from the University of Florida’s campus at 418 NW 8th Ave.

The current owners, Thu Win, 46, and her husband Ye Oo, 47, have made this charming pan-Asian store come to life since purchasing it from the previous owners in 2018. In the past few years, they have worked tirelessly to expand the store’s product selection to be on par with other Asian supermarkets in larger cities such as Tampa and Orlando. Win comes into the store almost every single day to manage store operations and interact with customers. The couple’s hard work has paid off in the form of a loyal customer base with many regulars, some even coming from out of the county to shop specifically at Chun Ching Market.

Win was born and raised in Myanmar, where her family owned an Asian grocery store. As a kid growing up there, she took care of customer service as a cashier, allowing her to learn the ins and outs of successfully managing a business. When she was 25, Win immigrated to New York City after winning the Green Card Lottery as part of the Diversity Visa program. Like many other Burmese immigrants, she worked in the jewelry district while attending school in Brooklyn for accounting. Language barriers presented an obstacle during Win’s pursuit of an accounting degree, as she persevered through the required English proficiency test three times to pass. In the following few years, the couple decided to start a family. They chose to set down roots in Gainesville because Win wanted to continue her schooling and the town not only offered safety but great educational opportunities. Despite having only one semester left to graduate, Win was unable to finish her degree in Florida because of increasingly challenging language requirements. This difficulty did not hold her back. “I wanted to have my own business,” Win said. “That was my dream.”

At the time, there were no other buyers interested in purchasing Chun Ching.

Business was stalling because the previous owner did not have enough support to effectively run the store. Fortunately, Win had the backing of not only her husband but a solid team of employees. “They know what they’re doing,” Win expressed gratefully. Win is fluent in Burmese, but the bulk of the products sold at the store are Chinese. For that reason, it is key for the store to have Chinese-speaking staff who are able to order, translate and identify these imported goods in her stead.

The back of the store is lined cornerto-corner with freezers full of frozen assortments of tofu, rice cakes and, of course, dumplings – Win’s favorite food, which she insisted she could “eat all the time.” Mounds of gnarled ginger root and other non refrigerated produce are adjacent to the rows of condiments, canned goods and other staples of East Asian cuisine. With products stocked tightly from floor to top shelf, there is a broad selection for both local Asian customers and those experimenting with cooking Asian dishes to find what they need.

Mikee Orense, a fifth-year environmental engineering student at UF, said he shops at Chun Ching Market about twice a month. He mainly goes to pick up fresh produce and ingredients such as daikon radish, king mushrooms, kimchi and tofu, and remarked that “they have good prices compared to larger places” —such as tofu being only a little over $1 for a package. The store is not only his first pick because of the prices, but because they have a “very large stock and good variety” despite the limited space. “Everyone is pretty nice there,” he continued. Although some workers are not fluent in English, they will

“I wanted to have my own business. That was my dream.”

- Thu Win

Model/ Thu Win Photographer/ Eileen An Designer/ Kate Lynne Pudpud

A tour through this local Asian grocery store reveals an inspiring immigrant success story Written by

M r s . T h u W i n

- Thu Win

help find the products you are looking for if you show them a picture.

Chun Ching market’s prosperity has not come without its fair share of challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many local businesses, it struggled with short-handedness of workers and lacking inventory from supply chain issues. Win explained that “even in the hardest times, we tried to keep the shelves full. We tried really hard to take care of the community.” If merchandise was not coming in, they would find different brands to substitute. Despite the interruptions in supply, the number of customers coming in did not falter because “people have to eat.” The pandemic was ultimately beneficial for grocery stores, considering they swallowed the losses of dine-in restaurants. The store also implemented a strict mask mandate and occupancy limit for the safety

that stayed in place much longer than other establishments.

If one ventures past the bushels of bok choy, napa cabbage and other crisp produce vibrantly flaunted on display, they would be greeted by a strong whiff of fresh seafood. Fragrant looseleaf teas and imported dried goods border the aisles of packaged noodles—including the college necessity, cheap ramen! Win noticed that ramen was a best-selling good among students who shopped there and accordingly made affordability one of her goals.

“We try to keep good prices for the students. That is very important to us.”

As of now, they are working to expand the store and have opened up a larger section dedicated to utensils, cookware and intricately-painted dishes amongst other cute knick-knacks and general cooking supplies.

“Chun Ching Market has been serving Gainesville for almost 30 years. The two are a pair that will stay together.”

With looming threats of a recession on the horizon and inflation already devouring people’s savings, Win expressed concern over how the state of the economy will impact the store in the near future. Her priority remains on taking care of their customers in the community, and she said they are willing to tolerate reductions in profit if it means keeping their prices low.

Florida has a steadily growing population, and that brings a higher demand for grocery stores with diverse options. In five years, Win aspires to potentially expand the store into a chain, with additional locations around Gainesville or in neighboring cities such as Ocala. This would meet the demand of many regulars that make the trip from out of town. Of course, her current focus is upgrading their store on Eighth Avenue by improving the organization within the store and possibly implementing new technology. No matter what changes await the store in the future, Win declared that “Chun Ching Market has been serving Gainesville for almost 30 years. The two are a pair that will stay together.”

“Even in the hardest times, we tried to keep the shelves full. We tried really hard to take care of the community.”

Roaring Waters

the year of the tiger

Written by Yeleeya li

Legend says that long ago, there existed 12 animals of the zodiac: the rat, ox, lion, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. However, the Jade Emperor who ruled the heavens thought that the lion’s demeanor was too aggressive and hostile, so he removed the lion from the list of zodiac animals. Without the lion’s leadership, the zodiac animals terrorized villages and townships in the human realm. In response, the Jade Emperor decided to send the tiger down to keep the animals in check. In the human realm, the tiger defeated the three animals who were the ringleaders of the chaos: the lion, the bear and the horse, bringing the animals together again. The emperor was so impressed he drew three horizontal lines across the tiger’s forehead, one for each victory. Later, when the tiger was appointed as a zodiac animal, an additional vertical stripe was drawn on its forehead, creating the character “王.”

History

The history of the Chinese zodiac doesn’t actually begin with animals, rather it was initially a system to keep track of dates and years. The first records of the sexagenary cycle, a cycle of 60 years containing five subsets with 12 years each, began sometime around the Shang Dynasty in 1200 B.C. Almost 800 years later, during the late warring states era, animals were incorporated into the cycle, and the association of years with zodiac animals became widely popularized by the Han and Zhou dynasty. Under Chinese influence, various other

cultures, such as in Thailand, Singapore and Japan adopted similar zodiac systems as the Chinese zodiac. However, there tends to be slight variations. For example, Japan uses the wild boar instead of the pig, and Vietnam uses the cat instead of the rabbit.

The sexagenary cycle carries over into today’s modern zodiac system, which consists of five subgroups: fire“火”, earth “ 土”, metal “金”, water “水” and wood “木”. In addition to the widely regarded 12 animals, each year is then subcategorized into one of the five elements, and people born in a certain zodiac year share respective traits with the year they were born with. For example, 2022 is the year of the water tiger and incorporates additional water-like traits such as gentleness, but 2010 was the year of the metal tiger and is associated with metal-like traits, such as endurance.

"Tigers have symbolized courage and driving out evil even as far back as the Song dynasty."

Model/JiaTing Lions Photographer/Cami Chan

Designer/Elyza Navarro

The tiger is widely regarded as the second most powerful zodiac animal in China, right behind the dragon. While the dragon is seen as the king of the heavenly world, the tiger is known as the king of the physical world— so much so that the stripes on a tiger’s head are seen to resemble the Chinese character “王,” which translates to “king.” In fact, tigers have been long regarded as apex predators in China, hunted by no other animals except humans. Because of their strength and power, tigers have symbolized courage and driving out evil as far back as the Song dynasty in the ninth century, where soldiers bore talismans and shields engraved with tigers.

This year is the year of the water tiger, meaning that along with traits associated with the tiger, the element of water also holds significant meaning. Steve Kory, a professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Culture at the University of Florida, explains that this agent signifies flexibility and the growth of relationships while the tiger symbolizes strength, courage and ambition. This year, dark yin “阴” energy that is typically seen in water helps mellow out the light yang “阳” energy that is seen in the tiger, resulting in a more diplomatic year.

Perhaps the best example of the year of the water tiger is transitioning out of the pandemic, which requires both the ambition and drive of the tiger, but also the flexibility and wisdom of water. With the prevalence of unforeseen circumstances and quick changes, which are common features of tiger years, people have shown incredible resilience and solidarity through world events such as record-high inflation rates, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, monkeypox outbreaks and Hurricane Ian. It can also reflect personal events, such as moving to a new place and adjusting to college life. Moreover, as some aspects of life change back to their pre-pandemic ways and other aspects remain permanently altered, steadfastness and adaptability are two characteristics much needed in the face of new changes.

2023 - Year of the Rabbit

For the coming year, Chinese New Year occurs on Jan. 22, and it marks the beginning of the year of the wood rabbit and the ending of the year of the water tiger. Kory says to expect a more pacified and laid back year, one far less aggressive and volatile than the year of the tiger. Even if the zodiac animal horoscope isn’t a hundred percent true all the time, each year serves as a way to highlight and focus on different qualities present in their respective animals. In 2022, the Year of the Rabbit will focus on

sensitivity, grace and care, something much needed after the Year of the Tiger’s emphasis on pushing forward and adapting.

Reflections

Beyond predicting the horoscope and trends for each year, the Chinese zodiac system achieves an even higher purpose by bringing people together. For thousands of years, people have celebrated Chinese New Year with friends and family by watching firecrackers, eating delicious food and enjoying cultural performances. One of the best ways to immerse someone in a culture is through hearing its folktales and experiencing its traditions, and the story of the Chinese zodiac goes hand in hand with Chinese New Year celebrations. The cultural keystones are classic, widespread and enjoyed by both natives and people wishing to learn more, introducing a common ground for the connection between people of all different backgrounds.

At UF the Chinese New Year show is the biggest performance hosted by the Chinese American Student Association (CASA), and it serves as testimony of strength in the community, even as the show is being held an entire month after Chinese New Year and on a campus that is not predominantly Asian. Jason Gao, the president of CASA, explains that celebrating Chinese New Year is an opportunity “to find a home away from home and foster a welcoming environment where our members aren’t afraid to be who they are.”

Perhaps, just like how the tiger brought together all the zodiac animals, the zodiac does the same for people. Kory says it best, “It’s not in the individual and what it does for us…the power of this stuff is in the collective.”

"Chinese New Year is an opportunity 'to find a home away from home'"

- Jason Gao

Working Towards Inclusion inclusion

Written by Sana Motorwala

The auditorium is abuzz with hushed conversations as audience members excitedly look at the darkened stage, anticipation palpable in the air. Some audience members mention what performance their friends are going to be in, placing a bouquet of flowers in their laps with the purpose of giving it to their friends after. Others are reading over the program, curious about the groups that are performing at the show. All of them were waiting for one thing: the start of the 29th Annual Asian American Student Assembly.

This event, being one of the keystone events under the Asian American Student Union, hosts various dance performances from multiple Asian American organizations. For Nandini Patel and Aleena Rahman, college freshman, AASA is more than a showcase with various dance performances – it is one of the first welcome assemblies that they attended in their first year. Patel stated how she “expected to be disappointed” during the performance and even questioned her own place at the welcome assembly as she was not sure whether she was considered “Asian.” To her surprise, she watched as the Indian Student Association had their own dance. Patel expressed that she was glad that

she was able to see all the South Asian dance teams and believed that they “contributed overall to the electric sort of experience that is [the] performance in the beginning of the year,” with Rahman agreeing with this sentiment. To them, seeing a Desi organization perform at AASA represented their acceptance into the larger Asian and Asian American community.

The Asian American Student Union is an organization that aims to celebrate the beauty of Asian cultures and raise awareness of the challenges faced by the Asian American community. Founded in 1993, AASU, which was then named Asian Student Union, was originally composed of The Chinese Club (now the Chinese American Student Association), the Vietnamese Student Organization, the Korean Undergraduate Students Association and the Filipino Student Association. In 2001, Health Education

The Asian American Student Union is supposed to be a union that is representative of all Asian Americans, howeve; there is a lack of Desi organizations.

“We learn our identity through the eyes of others.”

- Nandani Patel

Model/ Sana Motorwala

Photographer/ Drishti More Designer/ Mercy Tsay

Student Leaders became the fifth suborganization. AASU also hosts three programs, which include the First-Year Leadership Program, Sparks Magazine and Asian Kaleidoscope Month. The formation of AASU was an effort to create a unified Asian American front for increased representation. Despite this, there is a distinct lack of South and West Asian organizations in AASU, undermining the attempt at creating a truly strong, unified front for Asian Americans.

In 2005, ASU changed its name to the Asian American Student Union, with a reformed mission statement that “[seeks] to promote Asian and Asian American Awareness at the University of Florida” and is “dedicated to educating the campus about Asian American issues, history, and culture through creative and stimulating events.” These two terms have come to be associated solely with people of East Asia or East Asian descent, effectively erasing a large demographic of Asians. Part of this ignored demographic are people from South Asia or of South Asian descent, or Desi. This exclusion is also reflected within AASU, as there is no suborganization within AASU that represents South Asian culture. This begs the question, what does the term Asian” or Asian American really represent? Chloe Choi, current president of AASU, said that “being Asian and Asian American is really, really hard to define.” For Choi, “it’s more ‘what is the identity or culture that you seek community in?’” Choi also addressed the way in which South Asian students might feel opposed to identifying as Asian, “when you don’t include all of South Asia in what’s supposed to be an Asian American Student Union, like a giant union of basically anyone who is Asian identifying, it’s going to make people feel like they’re not Asian.”

Nandani Patel and Aleena Rahman, two first-year students at UF, reflected this sentiment. “We learn our identity through the eyes of other people,” Patel said. “The term Asian has a very specific look associated with it…that look does not match the look of a lot of South Asians.” While she does not consider herself to be “Asian,” she finds that she tends to gravitate towards

being identified as “Brown” or “Desi.”

While Lohith Srikakolapu, the current co-president of the Indian Student Association, doesn’t care too much about the proper term used to describe his own identity, he understands why students from South Asia or of South Asian descent choose to not use the term “Asian.” He explained how the term Desi itself is said with pride, “[people] want to have their own distinction…away from like the broad general conception of being Asian.”

create a representative organization of all Asians and Asian Americans. Divyang Bhatt, the other co-president of ISA and Choi both expressed their support for this trial merger between ISA and AASU.

Despite the variation in these definitions of “Asian” and “Asian American,” a commonality shared by Choi, Srikakopalu, Patel and Rahman is that there is a necessity for increased South Asian representation under AASU. An attempt to increase Desi representation is already underway through a trial merger between ISA and AASU. With this, ISA will be given the same treatment as one of AASU’s sub-organizations, and their success under this trial will determine the possibility of permanently becoming a sub-organization of AASU. Choi has expressed her willingness to strengthen AASU’s ties with ISA. According to Choi, ISA was supposed to be one of the original founders of AASU; however, there is no record as to why ISA was no longer included in the founding of AASU. Choi stated, “I obviously want to include the opinion of Desi organizations and Arab organizations, so we do want to change how our logistics are just so we can start inviting more [organizations] to join this umbrella organization.” She stressed how a unified front brought strength in numbers and helped to

Srikakolapu mentioned how he also saw the benefit of ISA becoming affiliated with AASU, but also wants to take a more cautionary approach in becoming part of AASU. One of his concerns was about the reciprocal turnout between AASU and ISA events, stating that “the people of ISA or whatever it might be still might not come to the other events.” He also expressed his dislike for cliquiness and was similarly concerned that ISA affiliation with AASU could have the negative impact of creating divisions within the union, as well as have an impact on ISA’s own members. He felt as if this underscored the idea of a united front, and explained how “solidarity is not there.” Choi acknowledged this concern, emphasizing how historically, the original five sub-organizations under AASU did not have the relationship they have now. According to Choi, the sub-organizations did not like each other. However, they were able to overcome these feelings through time and cooperation, which she believes is necessary in order for ISA to have an equal relationship to the rest of the sub-organizations. Patel also mentioned her opinion on South Asian organizations becoming affiliated with AASU, stating that “I would want to see them as one big organization with all of the sub-orgs together because I feel like it provides more opportunities for people to connect with each other and learn about things and learn about different identities from different countries and stuff like that.”

Focusing on how the affiliation of Desi organizations with AASU would allow for the exchange of culture and more inclusivity. If the trial merger were to be successful, ISA would become a sub-organization of UF and open the door for more organizations to be incorporated into AASU. Having ISA as an organization AASU would increase Desi representation within the larger Asian American community and would signal the beginning of a truly unified front.

“The term Asian has a very specific look associated with it…that look does not match the look of a lot of South Asians.”

- Nandani Patel

The inheritance of language impacts more than just speech — it is the foundation of our identity. The vocabulary and linguistic structure a child is taught to use can affect how they see themselves, their peers and their environment. Language has transcended over time as a powerful tool in culture, politics, art and thought — it is what allows humans to bond with each other and express nuances and experiences that explore deeper aspects of the human condition.

Language Relativity and Its Power

Language relativity is a hypothetical principle suggesting that the structure of a language affects a person's thought process and world view. This principle has been and still is thoroughly researched in fields like anthropology and linguistics. Even

HOW INTO

COMMUNICATION TRANSCENDS WORD THE ART OF LANGUAGE thought and culture

Written by Maite Sastre

so, this concept may be difficult to comprehend at first. How can one combination of grammatical and verbal structures influence thoughts differently than another?

The Inuit people of Canada embody the principle of language relativity well, as they have over 50 distinct words to classify snow and ice — a feature that is not shared with other languages. As the Inuit live in an extremely cold environment, snow and ice affect all aspects of Inuit life — where and how they will build their homes, their work, their culture — and this importance is reflected through language. The Canadian Encyclopedia stated that this difference in vocabulary grants them “a far superior ability to distinguish between [the two] than most languages,” which helps them navigate through their day-today more effectively and to avoid dangerous or inconvenient situations, such as stepping on thin ice or building their homes with the wrong kind of snow.

Dipping south of the equator, into warmer climates, the Gapun people of New Guinea use language in relation to gender in a different way. Don Kulick, a professor of anthropology at Uppsala University, found that in Gapun society, women are “Kroses,” a word that derives from “kros,” meaning anger. They express through language their idea that women bring about anger, while men do the opposite, acting as deterrents of anger and deterrents of the ancestral misfortune the Gapun believe that comes from being angry. Language

reflects and solidifies gender roles for the Gapun, putting women at a lower social position than their male counterparts by directly linking them with emotions and behaviors looked down upon by the community.

Roman Jakobson

Due to the influence of language on culture, the process of learning a new set of grammar rules, idioms, slang, pronunciations and sometimes even writing style is a long and difficult one. “In order to learn a second language you should to some extent get rid of your own culture and be receptive to immersion in a different culture and try to understand the rules of that culture,” said Ann Wehmeyer, head of the department of Japanese Language at University of Florida.

“After you study for a year, you think you know quite a bit but actually you know very little.”

Wehmeyer lived in Japan for three years, where she became fluent in the language and familiar with the culture, and she agreed that the two concepts are connected. Wehmeyer stated that when living in Japan, she learned that they have a different view on emotional boundaries due to its reserved dialogue. She said that while in the country, she was

"Language is a model for the act of creation" -

Photographer/Cami Chan Designer/Leyun Wang

expected to not share much about herself with her peers, especially negative emotions and thoughts. To fully master the language, speakers must pick up on social cues like this one. Much like slang, speech rules are part of cultural communication and thus join language and culture.

Language and History

Beyond shaping thought, language can shape the understanding and nuance of political environments as well as historical understanding. The North Korean government uses language policies to enforce their authoritarian political system. Jae Sun Lee, doctor of philosophy in East Asian languages and literatures, explained that the North Korean government achieves this through a combination of techniques, including “expressions of reverence for the state leaders, and [...] linguistic dichotomy.” The full control of rhetoric about leaders as well as enemy nations makes it so the North Korean government can shape perceptions through language choices.

Language and Translation

T ranslations also get in the way of cross-cultural art appreciation, tangling language and art in a different way.

Wehmeyer, who has taught classes on Japanese translation, said that there are many difficulties associated with expressing the same thought across different languages, but she thinks songs are the easiest to successfully transcend linguistic barriers.

“I like to work with songs [during translations],” she said. “With music there is a clue to the emotion of the song, right? I know that in Portugal there is a typical ballad, [Fado], and in Japanese culture there is a similar one — it’s a clue to what the mood is. So, in some songs even though the language is rather elliptical in some sense, they can be easier to translate than a novel, for example. It’s very difficult to translate novels usually.”

After

Translational work often comes with some loss in meaning, mood or emotion. Finding a word that matches the word being said by a foreign speaker can be challenging and sometimes even impossible. If you try to translate the Japanese phrase “Koi no yokan,” Google will give you “feeling of love” in English. However, Japanese speakers know how much meaning is lost in that threeword conveyance. “Koi no yokan” can only be explained

by a long winded sentence: it is a “premonition of love,” not to be confused with love at first sight, it is the feeling that there is a possibility of you falling in love with a stranger without knowing much about them yet; it is the initial warmth one first feels upon meeting someone they connect with. So much of that feeling is lost in the robotic Google translation and “Koi no yokan” is by no means an isolated situation.

The Japanese word “Amae” is also an untranslatable word that has caused much argument in academic arenas. 'Amae' comes from within psychology and it refers to a kind of dependent behavior that people sometimes carry into adulthood but that is more appropriate for a child,” Professor Wehmeyer explained. “It’s okay if you depend on your friends for moral support and things like that but if you’re a 40-year-old man or a professional that feels lost in the world because they have nobody that they can indulge that feeling with, it becomes psychologically kind of crippling.”

A book by Japanese psychologist Kazuo Katō, titled “Functions and structure of amae: personality-social, cognitive, and cultural psychological approaches explores the possibility that there is no translation for this word in Western languages because the condition is not present in those territories therefore there was no need to label it. Wehmeyer clarified that, by the end, Katō concluded that Western people can talk about the behavior but, at the end of the day, they don’t have a word for it.

As it would be expected, the most untranslatable words are those that stem from intangibles; those that come from feelings deep within people. Whether it is the Japanese “Koi no yoka” or Tagalog “Kilig” or Korean “Won,” all of these meaning-packed words are born from feelings that the speaker needed to let out and all of them will always be exclusive to those who learn the languages they are a part of.

you study for a year you think you know quite a bit, but actually you know very little.

- Ann Weheymyer

Current Asian Representation in the Music Industry

The progression of Asian American representation in the music industry has skyrocketed within the last decade. BTS in itself has broken countless records across the board, as the first Asian K-pop group to appear on Rolling Stone, remaining No. 1 on the “Billboard” World Albums chart for a month, and having countless music videos reaching the most views within 24 hours. Both Joji and Rich Brian have made multiple appearances on the popular interview show “Hot Ones.” 88Rising’s annual Head in the Clouds festival, also known as the “Asian Coachella,’’ has racked in over 30,000 people in attendance for the last 5 years.

Up and Coming Asian American Artists

“Ifeellikemusic,contentcreation,and videocreationreallyhelpedmefully appreciatewhoIwas.”

Rocco George (@roccoyellow), a 19-year-old Filipino American indie/bedroom pop artist from New Jersey, currently based in Los Angeles, emphasized the importance of promoting diversity in the music industry.

Originally born in the Philippines, George mentioned how his parents “put everything on the line” for him and his older brother by immigrating to the New Jersey suburbs. “There’s definitely a time where I didn’t really embrace my Asian culture and I really wanted to be like everyone else. When people made fun of me, I made fun of myself, just to get a laugh out of them.”

George is also part of One Iros Vision (@oneirosvision), an Asian American multi-media collective. “Instead of treating us as some sort of novelty, like ‘you are Asian and that is your brand’, we want it to be that we make good music, and we just happen to be Asian,” he said. “We want to push that culture, we really want to make strides for the Asian American community in terms of really helping the ante for opportunities for Asian American artists and creatives and all that.”

The storm around his most popular song, “spin you round,” which blew up over the summer on TikTok with currently over 4.1 million streams on Spotify, changed his life with major record labels like Columbia, and Warner reaching out to talk about signing. “A hundred thousand videos on an Asian comedy TikTok doesn’t hold the same weight as a hundred thousand views for my music,” he said.

Ethan Ayaya, also known by his stage name “Pluto Koi,” echoed a similar sentiment. While he felt that not much changed when he moved from the

Designer/ Tiffany Vivi Nguyen

Photography courtesy of/ Rocco, Pluto Koi, Zak P, Phillip Vo

Written by Tiffany Fang

Phillipines to the United States at the age of 12, he did mention experiences like being referred to as “the smart one” and not wanting to bring certain Asian meals to school.

Like George, his mother influenced him a lot by helping him feel unaffected by judgment from other people, and he has always felt proud to be Filipino. His parents are very supportive of him and his desire to pursue music, with his father even being part of a band called “Sheila and the Insects” back in the Philippines.

Ayaya’s love for film and music in general has inspired him to create and pursue music. Most well known for his releases of “You’re not Lonely” Ayaya is hoping to pursue music full-time with his most recent release of “Wonderland.”

“Ialwayssaythatitdoesn’tmatter ifyou’regood.Justdoit,because Iwasnevergood,andIjustwent for it.”

Zak Pham (@http.zakp), a 20-year-old Vietnamese American artist currently attending the University of Texas at San Antonio, is known for his soft, indie bedroom music. Growing up in Texas, Pham was surrounded by a lively music scene, significantly contributing to the large role music currently plays in his life, starting from when his mother took him and his older sister to local shows as a child.

Pham started off creating music for himself, and opened up about his struggles with creating music as he felt the pressure of expectations from both his family and the people around him. “That was a big thing I struggled with,” said Pham, “and that made me feel lost with what I wanted to do, if I could even be successful, because I was like, ‘I already have a thing planned out for me, so why would I take a chance on something if everyone thinks I’m going to fail?’ Every day I am proving them wrong, hopefully.”

He emphasized the notion that people should pursue their passions, even if they have doubts or the people around them might not be as keen to accept it. “There’s definitely a lot of Asian artists out there still telling their parents that music is a hobby,” he added lightheartedly. Pham plans on continuing to pursue his music

career while balancing college and taking leads in student organizations, with much more to come.

“If Ididn’thavethebackground andinfluenceofmyparents whenthingsweren’tgoingwell,I probablywould’vequitbynow.”

Phillip Vo (@phillipvomusic), a 22-yearold Vietnamese singer-songwriter now residing in Nashville, Tennessee, aims to give people hope and optimism with his music. He was raised in Mobile, Alabama and graduated from Mobile University. He recently moved to Nashville last year.

Vo’s parents immigrated to Alabama from Vietnam in order to give him a better life than the ones they experienced. “Growing up, I was continuously pushed to work hard,” he explained. “I think that because of the scenario of them moving from another country and growing up with nothing, it was really important to work hard in general, and my parents just wanted me to have the best chance to succeed in life.”

Vo mentioned the anxiety he first felt when entering the music industry, wondering if he would be treated differently because of his race; this feeling quickly faded away from him as he started releasing music that people resonated with.

He got his start on music as a young child by taking music lessons at age six, vocal lessons in middle school, and learning to play the guitar and drums around his friends in his worship class. Growing up in the church with his father as a pastor has significantly influenced both the role that music has played in his life and his approach to songwriting. Vo described his music as songs that “celebrate the presence of beauty in ordinary places,” and he plans on releasing more music in 2023.

Moving Forward: Who’s Listening to Asian Artists?

“Especially with Asian artists, whenever it’s being homogenized or popularized, it’s always Asian people who are talking about Asian people, and it’s rarely non-minority or non-POC people talking about Asian artists, because we are raising ourselves up,” observed Zak.

Any attention towards any type of Asian artist is progress, but there is also a

distinct demographic that formulates these artists’ admirers. Rocco also agreed and noticed the trend, “The truth is, if you really want to be considered a ‘mainstream artist,’ white suburbia has to be bumping you. Like, white girls have to be bumping to your music, and that’s the harsh truth,” he added.

People of color attract POC, and it can be acutely observed when it comes to music made by Asian artists. Although some are exceptions to this and do have a large number of non-Asian fans, there is still a lot of work to be done when addressing the path to mainstream fame and awareness of such Asian American artists.

Rocco, Zak P, Pluto Koi and Phillip Vo are examples of Asian American artists who are making an impact and influencing people, showing young Asian American people that pursuing music or any dream or passion can be done, and the presence of artists such as them are proving to people everywhere that pursuing one’s dreams can be done, a message that needs to be more widespread.

AsiA’s VulnerAbility to ClimAte ChAnge

Written by Samaa Gullamhussein

A Case Study of Climate Change in Four Asian Regions

The Issue

Countries within Asia are sinking into the Pacific, and people are being forced to the edge of survival. Despite this, no one, including governments, corporations and individuals, is doing anything to mitigate the effects of climate change. It is a widely understood fact that climate change is an immense threat to the well-being of every global citizen; however, Asian countries tend to face more severe ramifications than those observed in the Global North, which are countries with a higher socioeconomic status, due to the lack of availability of resources for its people. According to a report titled “Climate Risk and Response in Asia” by the Mckinsey Global Institute, Asia can be categorized into four different sub-groups: Frontier Asia, Emerging Asia, Advanced Asia, and China. All of these regions face the various effects of climate change and are on the verge of a changing climate and rising temperatures.

Frontier Asia

Frontier Asia, which consists of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, encounters devastating increases in heat and humidity, which consequently affects these countries’ habitability. According to Mckinsey, by 2050 the average temperatures in Frontier Asia are expected to rise by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius, making conditions unlivable due to deadly heat waves, extreme precipitation and famine as a result of the inevitable negative effects climate change has on crop yields.

In agreement with this statement are Mozaharul Alam, research fellow at the Bangladesh Center for Advance Studies, and Laurel A. Murray, researcher in the Environment, Politics and Development Group at King’s College London. In their publication “Facing up to Climate Change in South Asia,” they stated that the agricultural industry is the largest source of employment for countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan, and the loss of land due to extreme climate events will adversely affect people’s livelihood, especially among the rural poor. Regions within Frontier Asia are most vulnerable to the water-related impacts of climate change and sea level rise, which can already be observed by the devastating floods in Pakistan.

Emerging Asia

This region comprises Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Similar to Frontier Asia, the countries in Southeast Asia will see increases in humidity by 2050 and heightened exposure to intense precipitation patterns. According to the United Nations, water security includes protecting against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters. However, water is steadily becoming an insecure resource within Emerging Asia due to population growth and rapid urbanization, which are leading contributors to climate change. Additionally, the ability of both urban and rural individuals to work is decreasing significantly as a result of the rise in global warming and environmental heating, as a large portion of the population’s employment are involved with labor-intensive or outdoor sectors.

Photographer /Refat Roja Designer / Srinithi Reddy

Advanced Asia China

Advanced Asia comprises both Japan and South Korea, and they are expected to see slightly lower impacts of climate change in various aspects when compared to other Asian regions. Due to a higher standard of living and considerations as part of the Global North, both countries are wealthy and have the resources to lessen the impacts of climate change on individuals. The affluent nature of both these regions dictates the reality in which the citizens are less likely to experience the impacts of rising temperatures and a changing climate in comparison to impoverished countries that lack the necessary resources to adequately address climate change, or at least they can behave as if it is not an issue. Nonetheless, extreme precipitation risk could be observed in parts of Japan and South Korea as well as a biome shift resulting in surface changes.

Similar to Advanced Asia, China is likely to become an agricultural net beneficiary of climate change, meaning that the region will benefit from climate change in terms of its agricultural sector, with increasing expected yields regardless of a hotter climate due to a lesser extent of agricultural labor. Regardless, risks to infrastructure and supply chains are expected to increase as a result of large-scale precipitation events and typhoons in various regions of China. The impact of climate change on China’s economy is especially significant due to its role in global supply chains. Moreover, due to China’s position as an industrialized nation, it will not experience the effects of climate change as heavily as impoverished countries in Asia will, despite it being the largest emitter of carbon dioxide and exacerbating the issue of climate change to an infinitely greater extent than less industrialized nations.

What are the Solutions?

It is evident that inequalities exist within this issue as the world’s richest 10% are responsible for 40% of global environmental degradation. According to Francis Putz, professor of biology at the University of Florida, there should be a “massive flow of resources to compensate for the damage that we’ve [industrialized nations] done. And what’s worse yet, is the damage that we continue to do.”

the Kansai Research Centre, and Abdessalem Rabhi, associate researcher at Kansai Research Centre, solutions such as “lowcarbon technology transfer from developed countries” can reduce the impact of climate change in Asian countries.

Putz included that rural electrification programs, sanitation programs and small-scale solar panel initiatives that target poorer, rural communities in Asia can aid in mitigating the effects of climate change, especially since “climate change is exacerbated by poverty.” Urban areas also need to be considered, where people are dying from heat strokes due to materials that retain heat that cover natural land, such as asphalt.

In “Technology Transfer as a Measure to Tackle Global Warming in Asia,” written by Yuki Shiga, researcher at

Oftentimes, impoverished countries that have lower levels of per capita GDP are the regions that have contributed almost nothing, yet they are suffering the worst consequences. Emission levels are not going down globally and in the U.S., a hundred million gallons of fossil fuels are burned per day. Despite this, governments and corporations across the world continue to thrive without facing the impacts of climate change. They do so at the expense of the emotional and material well-being of individuals in Asian regions, specifically in Frontier and Emerging Asia, while also profiting off of the regions’ resources and economic output.

Since governments and corporations of the Global North not only contribute a massive amount of emissions but find lucrative business opportunities in the constant consumption and exploitation of natural resources within Asia, it is only just that they provide aid in creating and implementing solutions to the crisis of climate change.

“Climate change is exacerbated by poverty”

- Francis Putz

i live & dream

story of an Asian student lost in the American dream i belongtoan eth e n ci ytironim

The word “melting pot” often reminds people of the United States of America, but Vietnam, where I was born and raised, is a surprisingly diverse place. 54 ethnic groups with unique cultures and languages share the beautiful S-shaped land.

I belong to the Kinh people, the predominant ethnic group in Vietnam, which constitutes approximately 85% of the population. Unsurprisingly, this ethnic group accounts for the majority in the government body and is the representative voice in the press, TV and other multimedia channels.

“Ethnic minorities are losing their identity to the invasion of popular culture”. “The government introduced policies to bring more minority groups to governing entities”. “Are we misrepresenting ethnic minorities due to our ignorance of their cultural perspectives?”

I grew up hearing these phrases thrown around almost everyday on media outlets with total oblivion. Ethnic minorities, in my mind, were none of my business.

Until I went to the U.S. as an international student and suddenly, involuntarily, belonged to an ethnic minority. My priorities and privileges as the overwhelming majority got rid of all of a sudden. My day-to-day conver sations all switched to English, a language I was not entirely familiar with throughout my childhood. I have to survive all on my own without the guidance and protection of my family. Without this support system, I had to build things from the ground up, constructing relationships and navigating my way around, all on my own. The fact that I live in an educational and social system that is built for a predominantly white population is overwhelming. The cultural differences and language barriers sometimes become a huge problem in my daily life, to which people around me cannot relate.

It is with this experience that news and policies regarding racial and ethnic equality started to grab my at tention. My personal perception of social issues would otherwise not have been challenged if I were only in America. Throwing yourself into a world of hostility and shaking off your prevailing identity could change your thoughts and convince you otherwise about beliefs that you might have assumed as the truth.

I belong to an ethnic minority. Tough as it can be at times, it is a life-changing experience.

by Quyen Tran design/ Dan Pham

“AND I AM PROUD TO BE ASIAN, AN ETHNIC MINORITY, AN ASTRONAUT EXPLORING THE VAST REALMS OF THE GALAXY.”

Story provided by the University of South Florida

A feeling I started feeling since I stepped foot in America but has always felt too guilty to admit is the inexplicable feeling of shame about being Asian. The inability to speak my mind because of the language barrier. The silly mistakes I make in my everyday life due to cultural differences. My unique skin tone, facial features, and physical appearance. This desire to fit into the American society and just to be one of them was often so deep that I used to dearly wish I could change the world around me.

I used to blame people for treating me differently, for asking me questions like “Which part of China are you from?”, associating every Asian possible as Chinese, or “Is Vietnam still plunged in war?”, uncannily holding the belief that the Vietnam War is still plaguing my people. Their limited and rigid assumptions about my rich culture made me the more hesitant to bring my ethnicity to the conversation.

I thought the only way out was for the whole world to change, until time passed by and I reflected deeply on my complex feelings. I came to the realization that it was not the world, it was me that needed a change. Hesitant as I was to face the truth, it was my identity I was doubtful about. I brought it upon myself to change my outfit style, to hide my more Asian lifestyle and beliefs and to refuse to speak about my roots as an Asian to look and feel more American in a predominantly white society.

And so I changed. This came in the form of learning to have a deeper understanding of myself as a Viet namese person currently living in America and proudly introducing my unique culture to American friends through the arts of writing to spread knowledge about my home, Vietnam. Embracing my culture by engag ing more with it and sharing about it with my Vietnamese and American friends will help me cultivate knowl edge regarding how I can put it to use and make a good sense of it in the context of conflicting sets of belief dominant in American culture.

I cannot change the world, but I can change the world in me.

It is magical to think how I am just a small speck of dust in this gigantic universe, but I am also the brave astronaut traversing the vast galaxy. I collect the stars of hopes and dreams and explore dark and deep des tinations of the world throughout my adventures. Tears shed in times of hardships and uncertainties crystal ize into beautiful stars in the sky, shining the light to even more victorious and meaningful explorations of the universe inside me.

In America, I discover not only the world around me but the deepest parts I did not know exist inside me. Going from an ethnic majority to minori ty, I was taught the sense of compassion and empathy lacking in myself. Rather than remaining ignorant of the needs for promot ing diversity and inclusivity in policymaking, I have become an advocate myself and developed huge interests in this area in my day-to-day life. Instead of feeling sour about certain individuals’ disregard for my own culture and identity, I use the writing skills cultivated over the years to publish works in magazines and newspapers to spread aware ness and empower those in my community.

And I am proud to be Asian, an ethnic minority, an astro naut exploring the vast realms of the galaxy.

anastronaut exploring thegalaxy

The Power of Names

The Anglicization of Asian Names in America

Written by Aliza Ahmed

What’s in a name? In many Asian cultures, names are an incredibly significant part of one’s identity. They are often chosen as a title for the child to live up to, or as a predictor of their future. However, Asian Americans may have a different experience regarding their relationship with their names. It is not uncommon for Asian Americans to have more than one name they go by. More often than not, they have a given or birth name and a westernized or anglicized name. However, why does this happen?

CHOOSING NAMES

The time and consideration that go into choosing a name for a child are apparent in a majority of Asian cultures. In a Washington Post article, writer Marian Chia Ming Liu stated that Chinese names and the process that goes into choosing them is incredibly meaningful and deliberate. “First up is the family name… followed by a name shared with your generations… Finally, there is the person’s individual name.”

first character will be all from the same generation and will be the same. And then there will be some kind of variation on the second character.” Poceski explained that this tradition of naming creates a sense of continuity while still maintaining intergenerational distinctions between names as well. Korean names also follow a similar tradition, with the family name, or surname, coming first, and then a twosyllable personal name. However, it seems as though the deep meanings behind Asian names are lost when living in America.

ASSIMILATION

The anglicization of names has been a common practice since the first waves of immigrants arrived in America. To prove their dedication to assimilating into American culture, immigrants would typically change their names. In an article in The Inquirer, writer Jason Han recalled, “... less than 24 hours after coming to the United States, I had, without even so much as an objection, let my name be changed to Jason.” Han’s birth name, Ji Seung, had been discarded almost immediately upon his arrival to America, and with it, his own connection to his culture and heritage. “It seems as though to be considered ‘American,’ one must assimilate into ‘American culture’.”

CHANGING FOR CONVENIENCE

Mario Poceski, professor of Chinese religions and Buddhist studies at the University of Florida, spoke on monastic Buddhist names and explained that “if it’s a monastic family, the

Going by a more westernized name rather than an Asian one can be more convenient when it comes to daily life around English speakers. Anyone with a foreign name can attest to the frustration that is hearing their own name being butchered beyond recognition. In an article written by Andrea Y. Wang for The Medium, she states that “changing one’s name is a common reaction to the exhaustion induced by constantly hearing your name mispronounced or having to correct people.”

Model/Raisa Hossain

Photographer/ Carolina Tortorelli

Designer/ Mya McGrath

Raisa Hossain, a Bengali American third-year student at UF, said, “At first, I would kind of be embarrassed by my name because people had a hard time pronouncing it.” Hossain stated that she had never felt the need to change or simplify her name despite this, but this is not always the case.

In an interview with CNN writer Jessie Yeung, Bengali American novelist Tanais revealed that they had to change their name to Tony in the first grade, “I was Tony for the whole year. I hated it, it wasn’t my name.”

In addition to everyday convenience, there are also unfortunate advantages that come with having an anglicized name. The most basic piece of information, one’s name, can affect their chances of getting a job.

“There have been studies – like when companies look at resumes – how the name itself can influence the changes of the person getting interviewed,” Poceski stated. “It’s not a perfect society.” According to a Forbes article on foreignsounding names and jobs, those applying for jobs with white-sounding names were 50% more likely to receive an offer for an interview.

CULTURAL AND GENERATIONAL DISCONNECT

Choosing to go by an English name may have to do with the disconnect some Asian Americans feel when it comes to their cultural identities. Autumn Chung, a second-year Korean American student at UF, stated that she does not go by her Korean name Chee-Hyun because she said it is hard to identify with. There is much to be said about the differences between the experiences of first and secondgeneration Americans and the experiences of their family that came before them, “Both in terms of their old culture and their religious identity,” Poceski stated. “There are certain patterns that can be observed.” Autumn shared that since both of her parents had moved to the United States at a young age, her family had grown accustomed

to speaking English, and “because of that, I never had the ability to become bilingual, which part of myself hates.”

THE BRIGHT SIDE

America is changing slowly but surely. As time goes on, America is becoming less and less predominantly AngloSaxon. With these changes, there may come a time when having an Asian name is not seen as a disadvantage, but as something to be proud of and empowered by. Raisa said that her name allows her to share her background. “They would ask ‘Oh where are you from?’ and stuff like that. So I feel like it helps me talk about my culture to people.” There has been a recent increase in people who had previously gone by their English names beginning to reconnect with their cultures in order to live up to their Asian names. Autumn expressed that, “One day when I hopefully learn Korean, I want to be able to identify with Chee-Hyun just as much too.”

“It seems as though to be considered ‘American,’ one must assimilate into ‘American culture’.”

- Mario Poceski

Culture ultures in Our Music

Written by Juliana Gomez and Hanna De La Garza

Pop music has given dozens of musicians and musical artists license to create content that is widespread, along any cultural or artistic medium that they so choose.

Some of the most influential people in the world are pop stars due to their large-scale platforms. From the Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to John Lennon’s “Imagine,” artists have had the power to create music so influential that it moves nations.

As individuals with a platform, it is important to recognize that they have an implied responsibility to act as role models to others, and this means creating content that is socially conscious and acceptable. So, why is it that some artists have decided to use cultures that are not their own for profit?

The entertainment industry is characterized by constant change and high competition, and these challenges push artists to try new things and incorporate elements that their audience is unfamiliar with. Many have turned to other cultures in order to overcome this, operating under the guise of appreciation.

While it is possible to respect and appreciate other cultures in entertainment and the media, the issue is that a lot of people do not know how to properly do so.

Henna Choudhary, a social media manager at Vox Media, explained how there is a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.

V“Cultural appreciation derives from moral consciousness and a worldly knowledge as well as a desire to spread cultural awareness,” she said. “Cultural appropriation mirrors exploitation when pieces of ethnic identity are snatched without acknowledgement being allocated.”

an impassible perception of Asian cultures, and this perception is based off of stereotypes as a way of fetishizing a culture that is not their own. In a sense, they disregard the reality of Asian cultures and highlight the almost fantastical elements.

Let’s take Nicki Minaj, one of the most famous rappers in the world with a considerable number of accolades and a fanbase of extremely loyal devotees. Her song, “Chun Li,” reached the Top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and she received the award for Best Hip-Hop Video at the MTV Music Awards.

Over the course of the past two decades, there has been a movement toward “Asian aestheticism.” This can be seen in the ways that musical artists glamorize Asian culture through both their lyrics and visuals.

Asia, as a continent, is one of the most diverse areas in the world with more than 40 countries and even more ethnic groups. Astoundingly, this diaspora is often reduced to racial and ethnic stereotypes and specifically diminished even further to the ethnic identities of the cultures that the Western world has made contact with.

Vicki Liang, a graduate from Oregon State University, analyzed the presence of cultural appropriation and Asian fetishization in the fashion industry in her honors college thesis.

She said, if she were to sum it down, orientalism is essentially having

Despite this success, this song has left a stain on her relationship with her Asian fans, as her inappropriate use of traditional Chinese dress and the stereotyped chopsticks in hair, as well as the techno-orientalist aesthetic of the music video have reminded these fans all too well of the ways their culture has been commodified to fit the pop music industry.

It is this treatment of Asian culture that has polarized music audiences the world over, with some stating that these instances are harmless and inoffensive while others detail how harmful stereotypes these adaptations of culture truly are in society.

One can point to Gwen Stefani for another, albeit likely more extreme, example of this hurtful and damaging phenomenon. Her album “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” fetishizes

Japanese culture and

“It is this treatment of Asian culture that has polarized music audiences the world over.”

Photographer/Drishti

More Designer/Lauren Shee

A close look at the ways in which cultural appropriation exists in today’s music scene.

women from Harajuku, a popular Japanese district famed for its citizens’ distinct fashion and youth culture. “Rich Girl’’, one of the more famous songs off the album, is a testament to the materialism of the early 2000s, stating that Stefani wishes to be a “rich girl,” with the ability to buy herself anything she wants. The most alarming part of the song is that one of the things she would like to get for herself is four women from Harajuku so she can dress them up like dolls and give them different names.

In her song, “Harajuku Girls,” the entire song is a mixture of meows, Japanese words and cute-sounding Japanese girls saying English words with accents. Stefani then brought this Harajuku fetish fantasy to real life, using four different Japanese American women as her accessories, enlisting them as her backup dancers on tour and as ornaments for her public appearances and having them contractually obligated to only speak Japanese when with her in public. One of the members even went so far as stating that they were not allowed to speak very much, if at all. Liang said that, fortunately, there has been more societal awareness

regarding the issue of cultural appropriation. Social media platforms and the internet have given people across the globe spaces in which they can voice their concerns over issues that are important to them.

Within the same vein, it can be assumed that musicians and artists do not act maliciously. Most of the time, ideas and concepts are thought up by PR teams, managers, directors, choreographers or a whole mix of the star’s entourage; however, this does not excuse ignorance, and accountability should be recognized when these issues are brought to light.

Despite this movement toward a more positive direction, Liang warned that this rise of “social warriors” can be damaging in that certain individuals are excessively ostracizing anyone who uses something from a culture that is not their own. While it is important to acknowledge what is inappropriate and what is not, many people are simply uninformed on the impact of their actions.

“This is an evolving topic,” Liang said. “There are so many variables to consider and there is really no right answer, even though the internet likes to make things black and white.”

“The impact of cultural appropriation is vastly felt by minority populations when their lived experiences are dusted off by pop culture and their customs become a whole new meaningless entity,” Choudhary said.

Cultural appropriation is an issue that continues to plague Asian American and nonwhite communities. While there is not always a clear line between what is cultural appropriation and appreciation, the recognition of this issue will not only allow Asian communities to feel seen, but it will also create more educated influencers who can produce content that is enjoyable for a wider audience.

“It is not subversive to try another culture on and to take it off when it no longer serves you.”