As promised, to kick off the school year right, Angry Asian Man and APAs for Progress are profiling the best colleges and universities for AAPI student activism.

Thanks for all the submissions from all around the country.  We evaluated a lot of nominations and scored entries using the information we received.  There’s no ranking of the top ten, since we know every school offers something a little bit different, which we’ll be highlighting.  Over the next two weeks, we’ll be profiling the top ten best colleges and universities for AAPI student activism in random order.

We’re starting today with Dartmouth College. 

Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Founded: 1769
Private university
Enrollment: Approximately 4,000 undergraduate students
% Asian/Pacific Islander: 15%
Interesting fact: All students from families with an annual income less than $75,000 go to Dartmouth for free!

I've grown to love the struggle and bite of the Asian community, as small as it is, to combat and win the small battles, from streetside name-calling to deeply ingrained prejudices on our campus. As a community, we have endured so much and always rose above the hurt and ignorance to move forward. You won't find your typical Asian community at Dartmouth, but definitely one that is ambitious, persevering and worthy of celebrating. – A student nominator

Overall, the judges were impressed by the availability of opportunities for AAPI students to learn about AAPI issues, projects and events students have coordinated, and evidence of AAPI student organizations maintaining coalitions with other students of color and other students working on progressive issues.

Dartmouth's motto is “The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness,” which is probably appropriate for describing the racial demographics in the surrounding area.  There’s not a whole lot of diversity in the rural area, but the college provides a good amount of resources for AAPI students to learn about AAPI issues and to develop their skills as social justice leaders.  Nora Yasumura serves as the Pan-Asian Advisor in the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, and works with students to coordinate the Pan Asian Council (a coalition of AAPI organizations for campus advocacy and leadership development), the Diversity Peer Leadership Program, and the Asians in America Identities Retreat.  Other programs include a First Generation College Network, a Pan Asian Recruitment Project, and a Pan Asian Wellness Initiative, which focuses on mental health, and other student initiated projects to address gender and social class issues.

Some AAPI activist projects at Dartmouth include a project to mentor trans-racially adopted Asian children in the local area, a bone marrow drive, a successful campaign that established the Pan Asian Resource Room on campus, and ongoing efforts to institutionalize Asian American Studies.  Some past speakers that have recently visited campus include: Helen Zia, Maxine Hong Kingston, Gary Okihiro, Captain and Chaplain James Yee, Valerie Kaur, Mari Matsuda, Frank Wu, Shilpa Dave, Margaret Cho, David Choe, the Slant Performance Group, and Lisa Lowe.

On top of all of this, Dartmouth’s President is Dr. Jim Yong Kim.  Very few colleges and universities can boast about having an Asian American President.

Way to go, Dartmouth!  Keep up the great work!