Asian American rally celebrates diversity

The Asian Community at Tufts (ACT) kicked off Asian Heritage Month yesterday with an Asian American rally that trumpeted the theme of united diversity and focused on the need to break racial barriers on campus.

The goal of the month is to increase campus awareness of the rich heritage of Asian-American and Asian students. ACT culture representative Kelly Condit expressed hope "that people can learn to cross color lines _ everything lines _ to make this university a better, safer community."

"We are all privileged, educated young people of the future and we must realize that one can not celebrate diversity if one does not understand the people," she said.

The theme of awareness and knowledge as a means for change in the community was suggested as a feasible course of action.

"As citizens of the world we must seek to fulfill a global obligation. We must ask ourselves, 'How?' Why are we at this college?" Meena Sharma of the Tufts Association of South Asians (TASA) said. "This is not just a stepping stone on the corporate ladder."

Sharma implored listeners to mobilize the strong support of the existing community and to "change the face in the mirror from one of diversity to one of unity."

The rally is just the first of many events planned for Asian American month. A food fair will be held at the campus center today, and sushi-making workshop is planned for next Thursday. Several films with Asian American actors and themes will be shown each week. The month-long festival culminates with the Asian/Asian American Culture Show on Thursday, Nov. 21.

At yesterday's rally, speakers shared thoughts on their experiences with identifying as Asians. While many felt as freshmen, that their concerns and problems were unique, one Asian Peer Educator said that she had also had difficulty identifying herself as an Asian.

Having grown up in "white, middle-class suburbia," Sonya Jairaj considered herself as simply American. However, during the course of her first two years at Tufts, and with the help of the Ex-College course Untangling the Asian-American Web, she "came to recognize [herself] as an Indian-American woman living in America," she said.

Many of the speakers also emphasized building unity within the Asian community at Tufts. Karen Lynn, a freshman in the Taiwanese Association of Students at Tufts (TAST), praised the council of Asian groups that has formed this year for its efforts to build ties within the Asian Community.

Aaron Chiu, a senior in ACT said he never before realized that many of the groups shared the same concerns.

"Each individual in this room has some quality that is different, yet we are all a part of the mosaic that is this community," he said.

Even though speakers expressed frustration that past efforts at breaking down racial barriers had failed, they said not to point fingers but rather take responsibility and action.

Yoonji Kim, a junior in the Korean Student Association (KSA), urged attendees to leave their comfort zones. "Whenever you see racial cliques in the dining hall or hear of a group feeling uncomfortable going to a culture house, realize that we can only win the fight against racism if you first win the battle within yourself, the battle to not become angry, bitter, or biased," he said.

As an example of a diverse community, Casey Wong, spoke of his home state of Hawaii and how cultural connections there can supercede ethnic boundaries. A member of the Hawaii Club, he said Hawaii is "a living, breathing Mecca of diversity." Although Wong admitted that there are prejudices, there also "is less polarization of ethnic groups," than on the continental US, he said.