Editor's corner/ Over a cup of tea
Heidi M. Pascual*
Publisher & Editor
* 2006 Journalist of the
Year for the State of
Wisconsin (u.S.-SBA)
    The Association for Asian American Graduate Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison held
their first-ever workshop titled, “Asian American Activism in Practice; Learning from Each Other” last
fall. It was a hands-on learning experience as the participants, in four break-out sessions, discussed the
following topics: media portrayals, the impact of immigration reform, racial quotas in school
admissions, and racially motivated hate crimes. Each session/group was given a scenario (based on
true cases) pertaining to the topic. Participants reflected on their own feelings individually, put together
their ideas, and decided how they could, as a group, address the issue or how they could advocate for
a “cause.” Most of these youth were so enthusiastic and seemed ready to act on the issues raised.
    I was so impressed by this exercise that told me one thing: these Asian American students are fully
aware of current issues and feel that Asian Americans need to be involved. For instance, the scenario
about minority scholarship eligibility in a theoretical university defined “underrepresented” groups as:
African American, Hispanic or Latino American and Native American (or Alaskan Native). Asians were
excluded because of the general sense that Asian Americans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,
“have achieved a high level of success,” and therefore shouldn’t receive any scholarships. The group
agreed that this general sense is wrong and unfair to Asian Americans who truly deserve to also receive
scholarships. (In the University of Wisconsin, “underrepresented groups” include Southeast Asians such
as Hmong, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Laotian. No other Asian groups are on this list.)
    The participants of the four groups who were faced with “unjust” scenarios toward Asian Americans
came up with lists of actions to take, which included communicating to proper authorities such as
legislative bodies, issuing media releases, and collaborating with other groups that may have similar
sentiments about certain issues, or may be sympathetic to the cause.
    As an observer, I’d say this was a big first step toward understanding Asian American issues and why
they should be addressed, not by some other group, but by us. The fact that this was conducted by and
for Asian American students made it so special. I hope that these students continue these discussions
and invite to the forums not only graduate students but undergraduates as well, because in the world of
activism, more is always better, especially when people need to take to the streets or gather signatures.
    The evaluation summary of participants after this particular workshop told me that the students worry
about whether or not all Asians/Asian Americans can unite toward a cause. I’d say it only takes a spark
to start a fire. These graduate students and their friends have created that spark. They just have to keep
it alive and work very hard to get others to work with them. Count me in.
Asian American activism