LGBT/Pride Week
June is LGBT pride month. We have a variety of queer AAPI's, friends, families and allies posting about their experiences. Thanks to Be DeGuzman, one of APAP's 2009 Unsung Heroes, for coordinating this special week of posts.
To help with our upcoming hate crimes/Vincent Chin week (June 21) or Pacific Islander week (Aug), please let us know. If you have a topic you or your agency would like to coordinate, email us.
This month, to kick off the school year, we’re partnering with Angry Asian Man to bring you a very special list of The Best Colleges and Universities for AAPI Students. Last week and this week, we're profiling the top ten best schools for AAPI student activism (in no particular order). Today's campus is...
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public University
Location: Urbana and Champaign, Illinois
Founded: 1867
Enrollment: 31,000
API population: 12.8%
Interesting fact: Famous Asian American alumni include Youtube founders Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, author Iris Chang, Ang Lee, spoken word performers Kelly Tsai and members of (I Was Born With) Two Tongues, interfaith community organizer and author Eboo Patel, Chinese American Studies scholar Betty Lee Sung, and legendary journalist K.W. Lee.
Even though we’re centered amidst the cornfields of Central Illinois, we’re home to a vibrant AAPI population. - A Nominator
Yes indeed, in the middle of the Midwestern cornfields is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has been a place for Asian American activism since the 1970s. UIUC offers a strong Asian American Studies program and Asian American Cultural Center, which were both created out of community organizing and activism. These spaces offer a lot of opportunities for students to learn about AAPI issues and to grow as community leaders.
In 2004, the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) won their campaign for a building to house the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC), which opened in 2005 with 6,800 square feet!
The AACC now hosts conferences, workshops, performances, organizational meetings, etc. And ever week, the AAC hosts “Food for Thought,” a program geared towards educating students on AAPI-related issues. The lunch and lecture series has featured more than 100 different topics and speakers over the last 4 years of its existence. Lecturers from the past include: Helen Zia, “Vincent Who?” producer Curtis Chin, George Takei, Ang Lee, “Secret Identities” book tour, the cast of “N*gger, Wetb*ck, Ch*nk”, AAPI psychologists, lawyers, professors, and students, and this semester MIT’s Jeff Ma will be visiting our campus. For specific lecturers, visit the archive.
With the AACC as a home base, APAC organizes an annual conference, “UnSEEN, UnHEARD” to empower API students to define their identities and to fight against apathy among AAPIs. On top of their very hectic ongoing activities, UIUC students are now working to get the University to disaggregate ethnic data on AAPI enrollment.
UIUC landed in the top ten with some high praise from Parry Shen who said, “I've spoken at close to 100 different colleges/high schools and this school is by far the best school for AAPI with the best resources and with innovative programming week after week, year after year and they should be recognized for it so that other schools can hopefully adopt this model that Urbana-Champaign has set in place.” That’s some major props!
APAP is a national network of progressive Asian Americans and allies. We count on the support of our members and friends to continue our work of advancing progressive ideas. Please consider joining today.
Membership is just $20 per year and members receive discounts to events and merchandise.
| User | Points |
|---|---|
| curtis | 1581 |
| ebeh | 1161 |
| Madhuri | 790 |
| spamfriedrice | 551 |
| oliveoil | 341 |
| erinjerri | 309 |
| Calvin Prashad | 287 |
| JennyG | 281 |
| jenn | 219 |
| Intern | 120 |
I have always thought that U of I was overlooked outside of the Engineering school, so it feels good to be recognized and praised by so many different people. As an alum, I have come to really appreciate my years there and my involvement in the APA community there. So many things happened, I saw the AACC go up (and was a student intern there for two years), helped to organize the MAASU Spring conference, and made the trip down for Ang Lee's visit :) If any Asian American student has the opportunity to be a part of this community, whether as a prospective student or a current one, take it and don't look back!
I have always thought that U of I was overlooked outside of the Engineering school, so it is really great that it is finally recognized and being praised by so many different people. As an alum, I have come to really appreciate in the past few years my time there and my involvement in the APA community. So many things happened, I saw the AACC go up (and was a student intern there for two years), helped to organize the MAASU Spring conference in 2007, and made the trip down for Ang Lee's visit :) If any Asian American student has the opportunity to be a part of this community, whether as a prospective student or a current one, take it and don't look back!
As a UIUC alum who takes pride in the many APA activities and programs offered on campus, let's not forget to mention all the many APA organizations/clubs and individual students on campus that took the initiatives and worked together to make these changes--and continue to make these changes happen. There are also the faculty and staff members of the University who also had the same visions and are great leaders/mentors themselves! The Cultural Center alone took decades of student activism and dozens of student organizations to accomplish and I for one am blessed to have benefited from all the resources, programs, and staff members :)
Whoo hoo! As a UIUC alum from back in the day (preceding the AASC, back in the 1980s), it's wonderful to see a Big Ten school with a healthy history of Asian American activism and leadership being included in the Top 10. I agree with the comment that there are and have been an amazing number of groups and students who over the years have made UIUC a terrific place for Asian American activism, particularly noteworthy in a small town in a not-particularly urban or diverse geographic setting.
Wow! Congrats APA's at UIUC for keeping the tradition of student activism strong, vibrant, and healthy! I recall my days there during '89-'94 when we didn't have the AAS Program nor the AACC and all its wonderful events! In fact, seeing Karin Wang's name above reminds me how she was one of the first people (as a AAA VP then President) to teach me about Asian American issues in the post-Vincent Chin era. Back then, we really had to teach ourselves the issues, and I certainly found inspiration by those politically-aware leaders before me. Of course, I was privileged enough to follow in their footsteps and be part of an active movement of student leaders, activists, and supporters who wanted to bring institutionalized programs and facilities to serve the significant number of Asian American students at UIUC. Anyways, I'm so pleased to see how far they've gone, although I know that in the Midwest, there will always be more equality issues for APAs to continue standing up for. Congrats! And keep up the good work!
Congratulations to the students and faculty who were not only able to maintain, but expand and innovate programs that will have a lasting impression on all that participate. It's not easy to keep that momentum going and for a culture that focuses on education but not rocking the boat, it's a significant change in mindset. Again, a well-earned congratulations to those that organized and supported this effort!
This is indeed my dream college, isn't it!! free ads |job listings|tempurpedic
Ohhh.. I wish I could be a student once again!!
shower cubicles
Post new comment