Pictures of the last month to come!

As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us - watching to see what we do with this moment, waiting for us to lead.

- President Barack Obama

A crossroad represents a point at which a crucial decision must be made that will have far reaching consequences. As of the 2005 census, almost 15 million Americans identify as Asian or Pacific Islander. While the APIA community has come a long way in terms of overcoming discrimination, fighting stereotypes, having representation in sports, media, politics, business and various other areas of society, we still have a lot to learn from each other and ourselves. We still have a lot that we can accomplish.

The Asian American Alliance at Columbia University will host its second annual ‘Crossroads’ leadership conference on Saturday, April 10th, 2010. All high school students are encouraged to apply. Delegates will work closely with student leaders at Columbia University. We hope to provide delegates with information, history, leadership skills, and a network of peers from which they can benefit from to become the next of generation of leaders.

Date: April 10th, 2010
Time: 10am to 6pm
Location: Columbia University, Lerner Hall
Application: Crossroads Application
Deadline: March 26th, 2010 at 11:59pm

Workshops:

Asian American History: A required workshop for all new conference delegates.  This workshop will explore major events in history that have impacted the Asian American community.  Knowledge of such history will provide a strong background for not only the rest of the conference but for any future undertakings related to Asian American activism.

Asian American Activism: Required workshop for all returning students to Crossroads.  This workshop will discuss activism within and around the Asian American community, events that have transpired, and how APIAs have responded.

Leadership Training: The second required workshop; this workshop will engage all delegates in a leadership activity that will challenge and develop their leadership skills and styles.

Electives: (4)

• Are Asian Americans Sexy? How did you first learn about sex? Your parents? Your friends? School? Television? How has your education about sex shaped how you view sex and sexuality today? This workshop will explore the ways in which Asian Americans have come to view sex, how these views are influenced by the media, what this means for future of sexual outlooks and portrayals, and finally try to answer the question: are Asian Americans sexy?

• The New Decade: Asian American Representation: Can you name three Asian American politicians? Do you feel your congressman truly represents your interests? 2010 will be an important year for Asian Americans. The Census will be another indication for how the United States government prioritizes Asian Americans in terms of funding, programming, etc. Come learn about the current state of Asian American representation in the United States, from Asian American leaders, organizations, the communities that support them, and the implications for the future.

• Anti-Asian American Hate: Last December, 26 Asian American students were targeted and attacked at South Philadelphia High School by a group of other students. In 2005, Huang Chen was murdered while delivering Chinese food in Queens, NY. He was only 18 years old. These are only two of many instances of hate crimes and hate incidents that have targeted the Asian American community, the history of which goes back many years. Have you ever heard of Vincent Chin? This workshop will discuss as Asian Americans as targets of hate, why such events have persisted over time, and how the Asian American community can respond appropriately.

• Asian Americans YouTubers: Nigahiga, KevJumba, Community Channel, David Choi, Happy Slip, Pyrobooby, TimothyDeLaGhetto, Michelle Phan, Bubbiosity, WongFu Productions, mychonny, Cathy Nguyen… the list goes on. The number of Asian American rising stars on YouTube has grown exponentially ever since the launch of the site a little more than 5 years ago. However, for over a century, Asian actors have been trying to break into the mainstream media in Hollywood, and for many decades, Hollywood executives have been reluctant to cast Asian Americans in prominent roles. How does the recent proliferation of Asian YouTube stars go against this Hollywood pattern? How do you think that this will affect future Asian American visibility in the media?

So we ask, why? What is it that our healthcare systems overlook? What do these statistics tell us? And why is health disparity a little known bullet on the Asian American agenda?

Asian Americans will grow to comprise over 5% of the American population in the upcoming years and yet the Asian American voice is one of the most neglected minority voices in the United States. Health disparities are a topic households try to avoid, and the lack of sufficient national research studies done to support the present Asian American population is a cause for concern. Panelists will include Dr. Dennis Kuo M.D, Rebecca Sze FNP, MSN, MPA, Alexandra Belcher MPH Candidate, Sel J Hwahng, Ph.D, Ming-Der Chang, Ph.D and Dr. Shobha Krishnan M.D.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us at aaa@columbia.edu.

We look forward to see you there.

Facebook Event

And a special welcome back to Annie, our event adviser who has been in Hong Kong the last semester, and everyone in our general body who is returning back to Columbia this semester.

We are meeting today on the first day of the semester and we are getting geared up to plan some awesome events. We are focusing on health issues this semester, with a forum on Asian-American health.  And of course, don’t forget that this year is our fifteenth anniversary… stay tuned!

Have a wonderful second first day, and see you at our next event.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST, 7PM, ROONE ARLEDGE, IT’S GOING TO BE AN EXPERIENCE YOU’LL NEVER FORGET.

Buy tickets at TIC (general admission - $10) or at Lerner Ramps (VIP - $15 - less than 30 left)!!!

cultureSHOCK 2009: Lost & Found

Our Webmaster is Yufei Liu, SEAS ‘12.

Our new OCMs are:
Angel Wong
Cindy Gao
Emily Chen
IhnSeon Park
Lucy Wang
Yalan Wu

Check out their bios here!

We, the executive board, are very excited and happy to start working with everyone. And we, the whole board, can’t wait to start working with our general body. It’s gonna be AAAwesome.

Yay AAA 09-10!

P.S. We are definitely hitting the ground running - we are particularly inspired by this article and another article on Angry Asian Man. Columbia University was named Best University or College for AAPI students - and AAA got a special place in the article.

Personally, I love the shout-outs to Aretha, one of our chairs last year, and to Crossroads: AAA’s Asian American leadership conference for high school students. But there is much more mentioned in the article.

But regardless, we’re really pumped up for this year - and we are glad to have such passionate, dedicated and AAAmazing board members collaborating on the board this year!

What is an OCM, you may ask? Go here for an explanation.

Download the application!

Please don’t forget to join us at our General Body Meeting on Sunday, September 13. Check out the details on Facebook.

Incentives: Free food, and viewings of awesome videos.

Leave us a comment if you have any questions, concerns, comments, or simply AAA love.

Yay!

Chair: Kevin Zhai - SEAS ‘12
CC/SEAS/GS Vice Chair: Alysha Chan - SEAS ‘10
Barnard Vice Chair: Ai-Lin Shao - BC ‘11
Secretary: Belle Yan - CC ‘12
Treasurer: Steven Wong - SEAS ‘12
Political Committee Chair: Laura Ly - CC’12
Service Committee Chair: Sahil Shah - SEAS ‘12
Event Adviser: Annie Tan - CC ‘11

We will be interviewing for the historian, social chair, and webmaster positions and we will announce those positions ASAP.