Tufts' celebration of Asian American month kicked off yesterday during an "Empowerment through Visibility" rally on the Campus Center patio. The 12 Asian student organizations at Tufts are attempting to increase their sense of unity and visibility in the community through a series of events this November.
Organizers of Asian American month feel that in the past, the Asian-American community has been divided into different culture groups and has lacked pan-Asian events. "I think a lot of times people overlook us and don't really see us as a community. It's important to show them that we do have a voice and we do participate in things on campus and that we are a part of the student body just like everyone else," said Allison Lord, the Student Coordinator for Programming at the Asian American Center. "Asian American month really gives us a chance to vocalize all of our opinions, beliefs and needs and to shows Tufts all we have to contribute."
The kickoff event consisted of speeches by students and professors to the crowd about issues such as Asian-American identity, unity, and awareness on campus. "It wasn't really a rally, because rally has kind of a militant connotation to it. It was a gathering and a way to kick off Asian American month," Asian Christian Fellowship member Martin Hsia said. "It was surprisingly well attended considering that it was cold and rainy."
"It was the first large pan-Asian event at Tufts, and it was a huge success," Lord said. "I would like to encourage people not only in the Asian community but others to come to our events, support us, and really see what we're about."
Nationally, Asian American month traditionally takes place in May, but the Tufts groups chose to hold it in November, taking into consideration May's shortened academic calendar. Throughout this month, the various student organizations and several Tufts departments will be hosting events including a fashion show, karaoke night, movie night, and Asian Community at Tufts (ACT) club night. Also, a food fair will be held in the Campus Center next Monday. The culmination of the month's events will be a culture show towards the end of November.
Organizers from the Asian American culture groups on campus hope that the month will serve to unite the members of their groups, many of which represent regions thousands of miles apart, into one community. "One of the important parts about it is to get Asians involved and together so that they can realize that they do have commonalties and share similar experiences," Lord said.
Hsia also hopes that the awareness month will encourage Asian Americans to speak out about their experiences with prejudice and stereotypes, especially in light of the recent slew of hate incidents on campus.
Organizers hope that uniting the community will foster more collaboration among students and faculty to deal with Asian American issues. There is currently no Asian-American Studies major or minor and there are few classes that deal with Asian-American literature or interests. Hsia said that Asian-American students are concerned about the lack of full-time Asian-American professors as well as a decrease in the number of incoming freshmen who are Asian American.
"I think it's important to get more classes so that we can learn our history and so that others can learn our history," Lord said. "We're here, we're not going anywhere, and we're American too."
Lord said that coming together is necessary to give Asian Americans weight to lobby for curriculum changes. "We need to unify the group. Once we do that, then we can work on pushing for things that we all need," she said. "It's kind of hard to go to the administration and push for things when you don't have anyone to back you up. But hopefully this month will change that."
