AAMP Mentor James Li is named to the All League's 2nd Team!

Congrats to  James Li for being named to the 2nd All League Team!

http://www.uicflames.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/042712aaa.html

Continuing Advocacy for Asian American Studies and AAAS 2012 Conference Highlights

“What do we want?!?”

“ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES!!”

“When do we want it?!”

“NOW!!!!”

It’s been only a few years since students echoed these chants in UIC’s quad in support for an Asian American Studies (AAS) program. While current students may be content in a recently created ASAM minor and program that was introduced in the fall of 2010, continuing advocacy for ASAM is needed in order for the program to flourish.

Prof. Malchow awarded Silver Circle teachers award

Paul Malchow, Assoc. Professor in Biological Sciences, was awarded one of the UIC 2012 Silver Circle teaching awards. See a slide show of the other awardees and the writeup that mentions his holding weekly office hours at AARCC to make himself more accessible to students.

UIC News - 2012 Silver Circle Awards

UIC News - Profile: A day in the online life of student blogger Milie Fang

UIC News profiled Milie Fang who is one of the five student bloggers at the "I am UIC" blog. She also is a tutor for English 070 which is an English as a Second Language course, and the tutoring program is funded by the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution grant.

UIC News - Profile: A day in the online life of student blogger Milie Fang

Honorable Mention: "Transcending Gen{d}erations" - Christian Alfaro

            The construction of gender is altered and complicated by culture. One aspect that heavily influences culture and social constructs like gender is the family. Let us deconstruct the framework of families within a bicultural context, specifically looking at my Filipino American family. As a first generation American-born Filipino, I have noticed having two cultural identities fuses two contrasting constructions of gender roles within the family structure.

           Dad comes home from a long day at the office to find mom reaching into the oven to check if the ham is done. Their son is outside playing catch with the neighborhood kids and their daughter is inside her room writing about all her aspirations in her diary. While this seems like something straight from 1950’s, this vignette is the quintessential white American family. My family is far from this white picket fence, apple pie eating family. My mama works full-time as a physical therapist, the sole financial provider of the family and comes home to my papa, a stay-at-home dad, who manages the home and provides as emotional and mental support for the family. The “breadwinner” is usually attributed to the man of the household and house maintenance to that of the woman. In a sense, my parents switched gender roles that American parents typically assume.

        

         Growing up in a family where my parents have assumed each other’s role led me to believe at the age 5 that the boundaries of a gender system are not distinct as some may speculate. Rather than accepting a binarist view of classifying sex and gender into two distinct and divided roles and identities, my parents laid a foundation before me that sex and gender identities can cross, mix, and lie on a spectrum, demonstrated by their expression. At 5 years old I knew about my sexual and gender fluidity. My parents at the age of 5 went through a similar experience where both of their households in the Philippines were strictly matriarchal, which is surprisingly common in Filipino families, with their mother as head of the household. The culture they grew up in informed them of their own identities and roles. Gender and sexuality was and is rarely talked about within my family, but growing up as a very observant little boy, my parents indirectly influenced my to perceive that variation in gender and sexuality transcended systems, boundaries, and generations.

-Christian Alfaro

----------------------------------------------- 

I am an undergraduate sophomore at UIC, majoring in Gender and Women’s studies and minoring in Asian American studies and Art History. At the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, an institution committed to making connections between past issues and contemporary social justice issues through programs, I work as a museum educator and as a librarian for the Seed Library. I identify as an Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), a bisexual male, a student at UIC, but also as an activist and firmly believe that these multiple identities inform me of the education and work I want to pursue as well as the diverse change that I want to make in the world.

3rd Prize: "Survival of the Skittish" - Ronak Shah

Tiger moms and Bengal tigers. To the outsider, this is what life may have been like for my grandfather in India. It would be unfair to attribute too much of my grandpa’s success to his environment, however, I can reasonably say he became a product of his environment in the best way possible. My grandpa grew up in a very Darwinian culture where competition started at a young age and success meant everything. He quickly realized that education and money were the most consistent arbiters of success in his environment. By age 22, my grandpa graduated at the top of his class as a civil engineer, was married and had a newborn son, was running his ailing father’s business and was helping raise his younger siblings. At age 22, I still expect to be complimented when I wash the dishes without anyone telling me to do so. I have not faced the types of struggles my grandpa went through, yet my struggle seems to be one of living up to expectations of great men such as him. As a first generation Indian-American, I’m constantly reminded how much my parents and grandparents went through. As I get older and the pressure is ever mounting to follow in the footsteps of such personal heroes, I wonder if I have what it takes.

            At a school teeming with diversity, UIC has many first generation students. I’m sure the majority of them have heard similar stories of the struggle from their parents and grandparents. One could easily think that the age of heroes is gone because we live in a time where celebrities, athletes and reality TV stars serve as our role models. I don’t subscribe to the belief of being a part of a generation devoid of heroes because we all have a chance to accomplish something great regardless of when we are born. This is our environment and this is our chance to rise up and succeed. Instead of being encumbered with the family and societal pressure I face, I try to use it to make me a better person. My grandpa spent much of his earnings on philanthropy and has given countless low income students in India scholarships to attend college. Although he faced seemingly insurmountable odds as a low income child in India, he was able to overcome them and he wanted to enable other children to do the same. These are things I want to follow in my grandpa’s footsteps for. Without his hard work and perseverance, I would not be in a position to be able to succeed today. I’m not going to be an engineer like him, but that doesn’t mean I can’t follow his examples of hard work and generosity.

- Ronak Shah

----------------------------------------------- 

I am a senior at UIC who is majoring in Psychology and graduating this spring. I serve on the executive board in Sigma Beta Rho Fraternity and Pre-Law Society and have also been a member of the UIC Model U.N. and Mock Trial teams. I spend my free time playing guitar, reading and learning how to cook.

2nd Prize: "Generational Divides" - Krupa Sandhinti

           My maternal grandparents reside in a small town in South India. For much of their lives, they worked in a small farm, growing crops and raising seven children. Born in the 1940’s, they lived at a time that was, at once, trying to hold on to the traditional way of life but also hurdling towards modernization, to electricity and construction. By the age of 22, my grandparents had gotten married, had 4 children, and settled down into a life of farming. Although their lives were seeped heavily into the upbringing of a traditional South Indian family, where the mother stayed at home and looked after the house work and children while the father went outside to work in the fields, they nonetheless recognized the need for adapting to the new rules that were becoming established throughout India. Gone were the days when learning science and mathematics was meant only for the wealthy. No longer would the bright fluorescent iridescence of a light bulb be limited to just one part of the world. A different century was being created and my grandparents wanted to be a part of it. So foregoing the direction set by their own upbringing and that of generations past, they sent their children to schools, encouraging them to learn and study hard so they would know things that my grandparents would have never imagined.

            At 22, my life is strikingly unrecognizable from my grandparents. Whereas their ship had already started on a chartered sail by this age, mine is unchartered. Instead of family and children, my focus lies on the acquisition of education. Rather than being in a society that was faced with following the changes that lead to modernity, I live in a society that will lead the rest of the world into the next century. Instead of worrying about the weather and how it might affect the crop growth, I spend my days worrying about the next paper and the next test.

            
            My grandparents lived in the east. I grew up in the west. They knew what the course of their entire lives would be like by the age of 22. At 22, for now, my life is unsettled, fluid, and more able to change directions and set sail in unlikely directions. I believe this is true of most Asian-American experiences. Most of my Asian-American peers are first or second generation immigrants. Like mine, their grandparents were often farmers in the countries of the east. That there exists a striking difference in the way my generation and generations past have led and are leading our lives suggests that Asian-American experience, as a whole, is a changing entity. The experiences of our parents and grandparents and their adjustments to the changing world in embracing education and commending hard world is what allow my generation to be where we are now, 22 years old, able to see the whole world around us. 

- Krupa Sandhinti

----------------------------------------------- 

Hi. My name is Krupa. I emigrated from India. My major is in biology and I am currently a junior.

 

1st Prize: "Eating Your Identity: Thoughts over Mac & Cheese" - Hai Vu

           It's funny how profound a bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese can be. I'm eating a bowl of Mac & Cheese in the kitchen as my mother putters about preparing dinner. She turns her nose at my food but says nothing, pivoting around to spice her pot of Vietnamese bun bo hue. The aromas in my mother's kitchen are heavy and peppery, the smell of Vietnam on an evening when the taste of fresh mint tossed in noodle soup, pungent shrimp paste spooned into crab stew, and sweet ginger syrup drizzled hotly over slabs of silky tofu hangs palpably bitter and sweet in the twilight dust. It's funny and sad how these images contrast with my pale ochre bowl of noodles, with its processed franken-cheese and macaroni noodles that had grown soggy because I had used too much water. That doesn't stop me from eating it, though, even as my stomach rumbles to the smells around me rather than the taste in my mouth. It's not an unpleasant taste, but it is bland compared to my mother's vibrant cooking. I finish my bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese, scrape the crusted cheese from my ceramic rice bowl, and drop it in the sink.

            The excerpt above is taken from a short story I had written two years ago, when I was 20 years old. I wanted to tell a story about how the simplest actions in a person's daily life represents an experience that questions identity and culture. Food, as an integral part of culture, enhances the differences Asian American children face growing up in the United States with immigrant parents. My father grew up during the Vietnam War, eating rice mixed with sweat and blood and bitterness and regret. My mother grew up eating earthy greens foraged from fields heavy with death and pickled peppers as spicy and salty as her tears. I grew up in the comfort of America, eating burgers and hot dogs at my convenience. The Asian American experience I know is one of privilege and opportunity, something my parents never had. My conflict is the struggle to balance the traditions of my parents and their culture, and the conditions of my Western upbringing that mark me as American. I've learned to embrace my ethnic heritage the same way I've learned to enjoy the differences between burgers and noodles, but I am not defined by it.

-Hai Duong Vu

-----------------------------------------------

I am a senior majoring in history and minoring in Asian studies as well as English at UIC. I am of Vietnamese descent, born in Vietnam and raised in the United States from a very young age. I am also a drinker of coffee, reader of books, stalker of news, seeker of adventure; amateur social thinker, all around dreamer. Being Asian American is something that I had never thought deeply about until my family trip to Vietnam in 2008; I had always considered myself as quintessentially more American than anything, as many Asian American children are wont to think at some point, I think. But I was wrong. The visit to my parents' homeland, my birthplace, was eye-opening; Vietnam was – is – an impoverished country, yes, but charmingly rustic and teeming with a brilliant, familiar vitality I never knew I missed. It was this knowledge that inspired me to write, sweaty and ensconced under sticky mosquito nets in my grandmother's rural farmhouse. I hope my experience can help others with their own revelations about what it means to grow up with the duality of being Asian American.

AARCC Essay Contest: Students Let Their Voices Be Heard

The AARCC essay contest awards The Kamal Kishore Kapur Memorial Prize annually to an undergraduate student at UIC for an essay sharing a perspective on Asian American experiences. The prize is made possible each year through the generosity of an anonymous donor who is an avid supporter of AARCC and the role it should play in giving students a stronger voice. The essay contest prize pays tribute to her grandfather, Kamal Kishore Kapur.

Kamal Kishore Kapur was born in a small town in North India and was the sixth of his parents’ nine children. He joined the Indian Railways at the age of twenty-one, two years before the Indian independence from the British and the Partition of the country. Although he was able to work his way up the ranks in railway service to retire as station-master, throughout his life he just made enough money to make ends meet. He led an ordinary life, but he had unflinching belief in education and its power to transform people’s lives and render them extraordinary. He could only afford to send his children to make-shift schools with thatched roofs, but because of his faith in education, his children achieved great academic and professional success and have gone on to occupy important positions. He instilled in his children and grandchildren the idea that finding one's voice is transformative and that academic reading and writing play an important role in finding that voice. He consumed politics with a passion and recognized that ultimately finding one’s voice is a political act. He passed away in February 2006. In his memory, The Kamal Kishore Kapur Memorial Prize honors undergraduate students’ voices that engage with social and political issues of Asian American experience and that seek to transform the worlds around us.

This year’s essay prompt was: “Transcending Generations”

Compare your experience at [an your AGE of choice] with that of your [parents or grandparents at that age]. What does the comparison reflect about Asian American experiences?

The 2012 winners of the Kamal Kishore Kapur Memorial Prize are:

Hai Vu for “Eating Your Identity: Thoughts Over Mac & Cheese” - First prize of $150

Hai is a senior majoring majoring in history and minoring in Asian studies as well as English.

Krupa Sandhinti for “Generational Divides” - Second prize of $100

Krupa is currently a junior biology major.

Ronak Shah for “Survival of the Skittish” - Third prize of $50

Ronak is a pre-law senior majoring in Psychology.

Christian Alfaro for “Transcending Gen{d}erations” - Honorable mention

Christian is a sophomore majoring in Gender and Women’s studies and minoring in Asian American Studies and Art History

I want to acknowledge and thank the members of the 2012 judging committee for developing the prompt and judging the entries on an anonymous basis: In addition to myself, the judges were Jeffrey Alton, Visiting Assoc Dir of AARCC; Jessica Canlas, Asst Dir of Communications in Pharmacy Advancement and member of the CCSAA; Jill Huynh, Advisor in Honors College; Catherine Ifurung, AARCC Grad Asst for the Mentor Program AAMP; Connie Luo, Undergraduate AARCC Advisory Board member; Surbhi Malik, PhD student in English and Instructor of ASAM 125, the Introduction to Asian American Studies; Venkat Murali, alum and former AARCC staff member; and Liz Thomson, Asst Director of Gender and Sexuality Center and AARCC Advisory Board member.

I hope you enjoy reading the winning entries on AARCCorner!

-Karen Su, AARCC Director

Asian American Awareness Month KICKOFF!

On Wednesday, April 4th the AAAMonth Planning Committee with the support of SAFC, AARCC, and CCSAA hosted the annual AAAMonth Kick off!  This year we had special guests Julian on the Radio as our host MC, DJ Illusive on the ones and twos, and Chicago's own John Vietnam as our headlining performer.  There was even a special guest appearance by Jeremy Calimag!

There were a host of student performances as well, the sisters of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi did a stroll, Filipinos in Alliance's members did three performances- a clever mash-up and strong vocals from FIAliwan, the traditional tinikling dance from FIA Cultural, and FIA Modern did an amazing, high energy dance that had the crowd going!  PRIMO dance follow suit, and kept the crowd lively for special guest Jeremy Calimag.

Last but certainly not least, rapper John Vietnam hit the stage and did a great set.  He even turned the standard iphone ring into a beat, and backed up by DJ Illusive, he went off the top and spit some dope rhymes for a very appreciative audience.

This year's AAAMonth Kickoff was a great success!

Jeremy Calimag

Left to Right: Our MC, Julian on the Radio, DJ Illusive, and headliner, John Vietnam, posing with Billy, our  Campus Outreach Coordinator

What is RJ? Find out and lend your voice!

Take the Chicago-NAPAWF Reproductive Justice Survey on-line for a chance to win a gift card!

Hi everyone and thanks to the AARCC staff for letting me guest blog today. I’m Joy Messinger, a proud alum of UIC’s Jane Addams College of Social Work. I work in the sexual health field and am part of the Chicago Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, otherwise known as NAPAWF-Chicago.

This past Thursday, March 1^st, AARCChat hosted a Reproductive Justice Community Conversation with NAPAWF-Chicago and the UIC Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Asian Americans. If you missed the event or weren’t able to come because you had class, keep reading to learn how your voice can be heard and included!

The Reproductive Justice Community Conversation at AARCC was part of a yearlong project funded by Chicago Foundation for Women’s Silk Fund to explore the needs & priorities of AAPI women and girls in the Chicago area. With this project, NAPAWF-Chicago also hopes to gather information about how AAPI women and their allies define reproductive justice and view its importance in their lives.

Thursday’s event was well attended by a diverse group of undergraduate students, graduate students, and staff from UIC’s various schools and departments. Most attendees were interested in learning about reproductive justice (RJ) but were not very familiar with the concept, something that I found exciting. For someone like me, who is surrounded by RJ at work and in my community activism, it was a great reminder of why NAPAWF-Chicago is doing this project: to not only increase awareness of RJ but to also consider the many ways that it might not be a familiar term.

During the discussion, attendees shared what reproductive justice meant to them. Answers ranged from abortion rights to negative media portrayals, from questioning gender roles to justice during the birthing experience, from recognizing same-sex relationships and LGBTQ identity to building solidarity with other women of color. For a group who admitted to not knowing a lot about RJ before Thursday’s event, I thought they were particularly insightful when talking about concepts that are part of the RJ core. It was also great to have everyone’s input about the important needs and priorities of Chicago’s API women and girls, including culturally relevant domestic violence services, immigration equality, and legal assistance.

As I said earlier, just because you weren’t able to attend doesn’t mean your voice can’t still be heard! The NAPAWF-Chicago Reproductive Justice Project continues through May and we have an online survey you can participate in too. Even better, everyone who takes the online survey will be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or fun NAPAWF swag!

If you have any questions about NAPAWF-Chicago’s Reproductive Justice Project or want to learn more, don’t hesitate to contact me at jmessinger@napawf.org.

Great News for Filipinos In Alliance (FIA) annual Battle of the Bamboo

I just thought I would share that FIA's Battle of the Bamboo, an annual traditional Filipino dance competition got some very well deserved international press... From the Republic of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs!!  Check out the link here!

I can say I was at this event, and it is easily the most intense, most serious, most fun Fil-Am dance competition I've been to, hands down!  Seeing the pride of the performers, the dedication they put into this event, and the huge crowd was an impressive sight!

Congrats again to FIA for hosting an amazing event!

Asians and Asian Americans in cartoons

This morning I had a thought for a potential event to host here at UIC.  The event would focus on Asian and Asian American cartoon characters.  Why?  Because cartoons are very influential to their intended audience and like any form of media, they hold up a mirror to where the society's perceptions are at the time.  I figured that if AARCC put out a "List of Asian and Asian American cartoon characters", I could pull the list, find some clips, and host a program on what these cartoons taught us, or what they were meant to teach us.

Without using a search engine (ok, ok, only to spell their names correctly!), I tried to think of a list of Asian and Asian American cartoon characters.  I specifically left out anime/manga related characters (i.e. Goku) as they are Japanese in origin and adapted to the American palate.  Here is what I was able to come up with:

For Asian Americans:

Kahn Souphanousinphone "Connie"Jr.- Lao American in King of the Hill
Jubilee- Chinese American in the X-Men animated series
Quick Kick- Japanese American in G.I. Joe
Tricia Takanawa- Japanese American in Family Guy
Kai-Lan- Chinese American in Ni Hao Kai-Lan
Jake Long- Chinese American in American Dragon: Jake Long

Asians in American cartoons:

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon- The Simpsons
Toshi Yoshida- American Dad
Hadji - Jonny Quest
Jack- Samurai Jack
Kahn Souphanousinphone- King of the Hill
Minh Souphanousinphone- King of the Hill

I know this list is not exhaustive, but I would be interested to see if there are characters that I totally missed!

Indian Food in Chicago!

Having lived in India for over 10 years and having a grandmother  who is an excellent cook, I have had the privilege of enjoying great traditional Indian food throughout my life. Before I divulge into my three favorite Indian restaurants in Chicago, I want to first talk a bit about Indian food. India is an ethnically diverse nation which is divided into various regions which fall into the following four areas of South India, North India, East India and West India. And thus the food from each of those parts varies immensely. South India, which is where I immigrated from, is known for its vegetarian food and having rice as a staple during all meals. Some traditional items include Dosas (very thin lentil pancakes), Sambar (a tomato based lentil soup) and Vadas (deep fried savory fritters made with lentils, flour or potatoes). North Indian food is typically food offered in most Indian restaurants in United States. A few examples include butter chicken (chicken cooked in a cream tomato butter sauce), the ever famous naan, and the well known dessert of gulab jamun (deep fried donut soaked in rose syrup). The other typical entrees such as samosas, biriyani (Indian style rice cooked with spices and meats) and tandoori are available in all parts of India and the taste varies based on which part of India the meal is consumed.  

Now that I have provided a basic background on Indian food, here is a list of my three favorite places to go visit! 

1. Udupi Palace – Located on Devon Street, this place is known for its delicious vegetarian south Indian food. I would recommend ordering Masala Dosa, Masala Chai and of course the Gulab Jamun for dessert! 

http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/udupi-palace/menu 

2. India House – Located in the heart of River North, this restaurant serves excellent meat dishes. As I can handle spicy food, I usually order Basil Lamb, Paneer Makhani (a blend of spinach with cubed cottage cheese) and Baingan Bartha (a spicy eggplant curry). However, if you want some entrees a bit less spicy I would recommend Chicken Makani aka Butter Chicken with naan. Bonus: They offer a great lunch buffet daily!

http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/india-house/menu 

3. Sabri Nihari – This restaurant is excellent as it incorporates Pakistani influences in preparing the food.  Located on Devon Street, this place is known for its kabobs! Order some basmati rice to go along with Sabir Nihari (tender beef cooked in a great curry sauce) and Bihari Kabob (tender pieces of meat roasted in a clay oven)

http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/sabri-nehari/menu

While there are many options to get great Indian food through out Chicago and the suburbs, the above ones are my favorite. Hope you will take some time this weekend to go visit one. Do not forget to leave comments on your favorite Indian restaurants or how your experience was at one of the three places. Happy Eating!

- Apoorva Maddi, AARCC  Staff

The Yin Seeesters' Take On "Lin-Sanity"

Former AARCC staffer and her sister team up to give us what's been missing: "the Asian American female sports fan voice!" I really appreciate how they DON'T write "the obligatory 'why Jeremy Lin means something to me as someone who is also of Asian descent' article."


Read here!
How to Watch Sports With Your Female Friends Who Happen to Like the NBA: The Jeremy Lin Edition

White House Initiative On Asian Americans and Pacific Islander's "What's Your Story?" Contest

We have all known someone who has inspired us, or has done inspiring things.  The White House AAPI Initiative hosted a call a while back looking for people to submit their story on how they are making an impact in the community.

Here is the video and link inviting you to vote for a winner.  If you have a minute, please support those in our community who are making a difference, and help them get the recognition they deserve!

Interview With My Bully: When I confronted my bully about racism

Author Marie Myung-Ok Lee's piece on Salon's "Interview With My Bully":

Interview With My Bully: When I confronted my bully about racism

Jeremy Lin matters to Kyle

Local columnist Jae-Ha Kim gives her Asian Am take the Jeremy Lin phenom.

Jeremy Lin matters to Kyle

The Jeremy Lin Effect

I saw this today and I think its hilarious. I really hope that Jeremy Lin can continue to be an impact player. It is so good to see such a positive reaction to Lin's current success.

UIC Basketball

On January 19th I braved the frigid cold to watch the UIC Basketball Double header vs. Butler. Full disclosure: I am a UConn alumni, therefore men's and women's basketball is very near and dear to my heart and influenced why I saw this game in particular.

To backtrack, Elvin and I went to the "Ring of Fire" basketball kick off in the Quad earlier in the day. It was fun, there was a DJ, the UIC cheerleaders and dance team (who were very peppy despite obviously being cold), and I spun a wheel and won a small basketball toy. We were also able to enjoy free cocoa with marshmallows, very helpful since it was in the single digits.

When I got to the game, the women were already in play. I was shocked to find that tickets were very affordable and it was open seating. I was more shocked to find that there were maybe 50 people in the stands! I was able to sit pretty much court-side, which was awesome. Our women's team is very good! They play with heart and hustle, my favorite things in a team. Especially #40, S. Green- she was on fire. They trounced Butler, 77-42.

The men's game started and I had to relocate from my court-side seat to a half court seat. Again, I was surprised that I was even able to, at the door before the game, get such a great seat for a very affordable price. The game had a lot of people there- the majority of the 1st tier seats were taken and the student section was pretty full. I was happy to see an AAMP mentor at the game, trying to amp up the home crowd.

Sadly, he UIC men didn't fare as well as the women. The Butler D was playing really well, and we were struggling to get open shots. Despite their best effort, the men lost 57-49.

Even though it was very different from my UConn days, the UIC basketball experience was still a lot of fun. I bought the program book, which I display in my office, and I have the ticket stubs 0n display as well. I am looking forward to catching more games, and with our new coaches, I'm confident we will become a contender in the Horizon League.