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CITIZEN

The National Publication of the Japanese Antonsane Citizens League

www.pacificcitizen.org

A Full-on CRAASH at Hunter College

CRAASH (Coalition for
the Revitalization of Asian
American Studies at
Hunter) — their message is
in their acronym.

By CAROLINE AOYAGI-STOM
Executive Editor

Olivia Lin, 20, is solidly ground-
-d in her Chinese American identity.
After all, she. was born in New
York’s Chinatown to immigrant par-
wnts from Hong Kong and immersed
n the Chinese culture. Yet it wasn’t
intil her freshman year-of college
hat she had her Asian American
dentity “aha!” moment.

Back in 2006, Lin enrolled in her
irst Asian American Studies
‘rogram (AASP) course at City
Jniversity of New York’s (CUNY)
[unter College. It was the first time
ae heard about the brutal murder of

2RAASH members talk strategy.

Vincent Chin, the waves of AAs
arriving in the United States, and the
history of the Japanese American
World War II internment.

What she learned inspired her to
delve deeper into the issues, after all
this was a part of her own personal
history. So Lin, a media studies
major, made up her mind to minor in
AASP. But she soon learned she was
out of luck: the minor had been
frozen due to a lack of interest and

See CRAASH/Page 13

CRAASH
(Continued from page 1)

funding.

“How can there be no funding for
an academic program? You offer a
miserable minor and then you freeze
that?” said Lin, recalling her anger
and frustration.

Inspired by the activists she had
read about in her AASP course, Lin
began spreading the word about
AASP’s demise. Before long she
was meeting in her dorm room with
acore group of people determined to
help rejuvenate Hunter’s AASP.

The result of those early meetings
was the formation of the Coalition
for the Revitalization of Asian
American Studies at Hunter
(CRAASH) in April 2007.

“This has a lot to do with activism
in the Asian American community,”
said Lin. “Someone says the N-word
and the whole African American
community is in your face. The same
is done to the Asian American com-
munity and nothing happens.

“If you have Asian American
Studies, you educate people to do
something and speak out. This ties
into so many things, that’s why it’s
so important.”

A Program in Turmoil

Lin soon learned that the frozen
minor was just the tip of the iceberg
when it came to AASP’s woes. For
several years now the program has
not had a department director, there
is no permanent office space and
besides $500 for supplies, the pro-
gram has zero funds allocated in this
year’s budget.

How could this have happened to
a program that was created in 1993
after students demanded the forma-
tion of an AASP? With an AA stu-
dent population of 26 percent,

Hunter is still the only college with-
in the CUNY system to offer AASP
courses.

“We’re one of the most diverse
colleges in this country, we have a
huge Asian American student popu-
lation,” said Jessica Lee, 21, of
CRAASH and a political science
major. “Asian Americans are rising
but we are struggling to be heard and
seen.

“This program is unique because
it came out of student protests years
ago. We want to revive that strug-
gle.”

CRAASH has spent the past ie
semesters rallying their fellow stu-
dents together. So far they’ve gath-
ered 1,000 petition signatures, creat-
ed a popular Facebook.com group
page, and started an ongoing e-mail
campaign.

Hunter President Jennifer J. Raab
has yet to respond to CRAASH’s
inquiries but some of the students
met with Dean Shirley Scott last fall
to air out their concerns. So far, the
students say they’ ve received only a
lukewarm reception.

“It’s been a really antagonistic
response,” said Chris Eng of
CRAASH, a 19-year-old English
Literature major. “From the very
start we’ve tried to be very profes-
sional, courteous, and every single
time they have been indifferent.
They tell us it was only meant to be
a program” not a full-scale depart-
ment.

The students believe much of the
problems stem from the administra-

tion’s lack of knowledge of the dif-.

ferences between Asian Studies and
AA Studies. They also believe the
school’s assertion that there is not
enough interest in the AASP pro-
gram is resoundingly false.

“Every single class is full to the
brim; every chair is taken,” said Lin.

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NATIONAL PAGE.4

Mar. 21-Apr.,3, 2008

“Tt’s an endless cycle. The Asia
American Studies Program has n
budget so you can’t offer any ne’
courses. The program sucks so ther
is no student interest, no studer
interest so the program sucks.”

President Raab did not respond t
Pacific Citizen's requests for a
interview. Dean Scott declined t
answer questions and _ instea
referred the PC. to Hunter’s medi
-relations department.

Small Steps

So far CRAASH’s efforts seem t
be having an impact, if only a smal
one. By 2007 Hunter students wer
once again able to minor in AASP.

“Nothing brings people togethe
like a crisis,” said Jennife
Hayashida, AASP’s current part
time program coordinator an
instructor.

She sees more interest now in th
AASP and students have rallie
around the efforts of CRAASH
More faculty members are als«
showing their support of the pro
gram, even attending some of thi
student group’s meetings.

With zero dollars budgeted fo
AASP, Hayashida is looking for out
side grants and funding but her lim
ited hours have made it difficult
Although she has been able to organ
ize some AASP events — including
a Q&A with “Finishing the Game’
Director Justin Lin last year — muck
more still needs to be done.

“I love my job but my hands are
tied,” she said. “We need to find new
instructors. It’s hard to build a pro-
gram with a constantly changing fac-
ulty.”

“The students are really motivatec
by the program; they get very little
of their history from anywhere else,’
said Professor Margaret Chin whe

See CRAASH/Page 1€


16 mar. 21-APR. 3, 2008

CRAASH

(Continued from page 13)

supports the efforts of CRAASH.
“Our campus is extremely diverse
and many of the students feel they
want to learn abut the various groups
-in the U.S.”

An East Coast—West Coast
Dichotomy -
When Jackie Fernandez, 20,

decided to leave California State | i
when I tell them what is happening

University, Northridge (CSUN) to
attend Hunter she knew she would
see fewer balmy days. What she did
n’t know was she would also be giv-
ing up her beloved Asian American

Studies courses,

“I went to CSUN and took: so
many Asian American Studies
courses. Now I know it’s something
I took for granted. I never thought
Asian American.Studies would be so
few and far between. It’s a joke,”
said Fernandez, a film and media.
major.

“This is New York City, this is not
Middle America, and we are fighting
for Asian American Studies, We are
fighting for the education we were
promised.”

AASPs on the West Coast flour-
ished after the student strikes 40
years ago demanding ethnic studies.
At colleges like the University. of

| NATIONAL PACIFIC Scmze

California at Los Angeles, estab-
lished AA Studies departments have
a number of full-time faculty mem-
bers with burgeoning budgets.

full-time AASP faculty members.
‘Most of the teachers in the program

teach in other departments. Many of
the AASP courses are also funded by
the English department. |

“Tt’s the twilight zone. Most peo-
ple from California don’t believe me

here,” said Hayashida, who is origi-
nally from the Bay: Area and attend-
“ed UC Berkeley.

CRAASH: is now planning an
April 16 conference at Hunter enti-
tled: “Strengthening Education:
Empowering Asian American
Studies.” A number of speakers have

| been invited and the group hopes to
strengthen their current campaign.
“Our end goal is to see CRAASH
die so the Asian American Studies
Program can survive on its own,”

| said Lin.

At Hunter there are currently no-

are adjuncts or professors who also |

Olivia Lin (left) and Jackie Fernandez take CRAASH’s message
to the airwaves. The two members were recently interviewed by
Falloutcentral.com to discuss Hunter College’s Mer

But until then, the students plan to
keep on fighting. .

“The administration hopes to hold
off so they can wait until we gradu-
ate and then leave,” said Fernandez.
“But we are not going to stop.” Hi

The CRAASH conference willbe
held April 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the
Hunter College campus. -

For more information, e-mail: -
HunterCRAASH @ yahoo.com.