Scholarship Opportunity for Asian Americans!

The National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP), through the generosity of Verizon, is offering six (6) scholarships each worth $4,500 to Asian American students with the most innovative ideas on how to create, support, and nurture more leaders within our Asian American communities. The scholarships total $27,000.
Read more and find out how to apply : http://www.naaap.org/scholarship/

The deadline is January 31st '09!

Hapa Happeningz

Hapa Perspectives is a documentary by Shannon Sun-Higginson '10 who conducted a series of interviews with different students on campus who identify as being "Hapa" or part-Asian. Their personal stories reflect the complex nature of identity formation, the salience of race in society, and the unique student body we have at Wesleyan. Check it out HERE and feel free to comment!



www.pridecomics.com

An e-mail I received... what say folks?

*** Is this something that we want to see happen at Wesleyan soon?***

Dear Sumana,

My name is Eric and I’m a member of Tim Be Told's management team. Tim Be Told is an Asian American rock band based out of Charlottesville, Virginia. They would love an opportunity to play for AASC at Wesleyen.

The band plays a rock/soul driven brand of pop and has opened for major label acts such as OK Go and Sparky's Flaw. They have played at many universities including NYU, Columbia, OSU, UVA, VCU, and Marymount University, among many others. The band’s music is played and sung through the band members’ perspectives as first generation American-born Asians, and we like to think that other Asian Americans can really relate to the music.

I was hoping that you would consider bringing Tim Be Told to play a future event for AASC, whether it be in the Spring Semester, next Fall, or any other time. They are quite an inspiring band and put on an incredible show! Go Cardinals!
Best regards,

Eric Macalma

P.S.: I appreciate your time and thought you may enjoy listening to the band’s music at www.myspace.com/timbetold. You can also watch some of their live videos on YouTube! :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g09aP91CdY - Full Band Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPtPSTYBu0s - Acoustic Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCpPWTdX5fc - Acoustic Video

Holler at Chu

The Associated Press reports that Barack Obama has chosen Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu to be his energy secretary. Dr. Chu is a strong advocate of alternative and renewable energy research and is one of three scientists who shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 for work in cooling and trapping atoms with laser light. He will be the first Asian American to lead the department.

As the son of Chinese immigrants, Prof Chu said in his autobiography that he was once considered the 'academic black sheep' of the family because he only performed adequately at high school while almost all his aunts and uncles had PhDs in science or engineering. Ha.

So here’s the crazy thing -- the Associated Press reports that China's media has been going wild over the fact that Obama has selected a Chinese American for the post of U.S. energy secretary. The state-owned China Daily cited Chinese academics as saying that Chu's ethnic background will help ease future cooperation between China and the United States. Apparently, Chu’s picture has been printed all over the front pages of China’s major newspapers.

I’m so fascinated by China’s excitement over Chu. I guess I’ve never really thought about how, as the AP phrases it, China takes pride in the achievements of the “vast Chinese diaspora.” I’ve thought a lot about how Americans are so connected to the idea of “the homeland,” but not so much about how the descendents of a diaspora exist in the imaginaries of the "homeland’s" people. Why is the Chinese media is so eager to assume a connection to Chu because of his Chinese ethnicity? Does the Chinese media believe that because Chu is Chinese American, he necessarily has a dual connection to China and the United States?

Submit to [Skittles]

From the [Skittles] Art Exhibit Planning Committee:

BE THE ART: you want to see in the world!

[Skittles] is an annual exhibition of student art held at Wesleyan University's Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. The project's objective is threefold. First,the exhibition calls attention to ongoing elitism in the contemporary world of fine art; second, it provides visibility for student artists working both in and out of Wesleyan's art department; and third, it coalesces a community of artists and allies around shared interests and goals. Works submitted need not be of an explicitly political nature, or even directly pertinent to [Skittles]'s greater mission. The exhibition presents an unconventional show in the conventional space of Zilkha Gallery—a gesture of nuanced critique that invites critical discussion, reflection and involvement. [Skittles] celebrates community and a wide spectrum of artistic expression.

If you have any general questions regarding submissions or the show please contact skittlesartshow@gmail.com

Mabuhay Auditions Heads Up

The Mabuhay Committee is reminding students that auditions for the once-a-year, Wesleyan Asian/Asian American Show are coming up in February! For best chances, students interested in participating should start planning/choreographing now. Please contact Amy Louie at alouie@wes for additional questions/concerns.

Round 1 Auditions:
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Sunday, February 08, 2009

Round 2 Auditions:
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, March 01, 2009

All auditions are held 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM at Fayerweather Theater Rehearsal Hall.

'Mabuhay' means 'Long Life' in Tagalog [Philippines], and is also the name of Wesleyan's annual Asian/Asian American show held in Crowell Concert Hall during April Awareness Month. From Taiko drumming, Bollywood dances, to spoken word, this completely student-created and student-organized show is something you do not want to miss! This year, the Mabuhay planning committee will be working with many Asian/Asian American groups in hopes of representing and making visible the vibrancy of the Asian/Asian American community that exists on Wesleyan's campus.

a plug for hyphen

So I thought I'd share a new favorite finding of mine...

Hyphen Magazine

Not only does this non-profit publication have a clever name, but I've also found its magazine and web content, photography, graphic design, and message to be exceptional and super great. Claiming to be a magazine "about Asian America for the culturally and politically savvy", many articles and artistic components promote creativity, and social awareness that explores the fluid, constantly evolving notion of Asian America. It does so rather nicely without trying to be "color-blind" or "self-exotifying". So I recommend you take a gander.

The following taken from their website:


Because it shouldn't be hard to find substantive and well-researched articles about complicated issues that affect Asian Americans in a single magazine devoted to us.

Because we're tired of reading celebrity profiles in publications that tell us what to buy, where to travel, and how to eat.

Because we're bored with first-person essays about discovering our roots. Hello, can we stop talking about our roots, which we found a long time ago thank-you-very-much, and move on? Can we talk about people doing interesting things because they're interesting, not just because they're Asian American and always making statements about their identity?

Because we feel excluded when reading only about New York and California — what about Texas and Minnesota and Kansas?

Because we'll yawn if we see another interview with the same three Asians the mainstream approves of. We want to hear about emerging artists, writers, filmmakers, performers, and musicians.

Because we're Asian American, not Asian.

Because when we scanned the newsstand, we couldn't find ourselves. Now we can.