{"id":11542,"date":"2011-12-13T04:12:05","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T04:12:05","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-12-12T21:12:34","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T21:12:34","slug":"Rutgers-pushes-for-Asian-American-studies-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=11542","title":{"rendered":"Rutgers pushes for Asian American studies program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Protestors chanting \u201cWe are Asian-Americans, we will not stop the fight,\u201d last week on the College Avenue campus were heard in School of Arts and Sciences Executive Dean Douglas Greenberg\u2019s office, but were not greeted with a desirable response.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The march on December 7 to Greenberg\u2019s office on 77 Hamilton St. was part of the Asian American Leadership Cabinet\u2019s ongoing initiative for an Asian-American studies program at the University.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greenberg said he recognizes the protestors\u2019 concerns, but can only do so much under financial pressures.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we do enough in Asian-American studies? Probably not. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a fair claim to say we\u2019re unfair,\u201d Greenberg said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing the best we can with very limited resources. Students surely know what the situation with the Rutgers budget is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 60 marchers wanted to express Asian-American studies\u2019 importance on campus, said Long Pham, an AALC member.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have Asian Studies, but that relates to Asia. We want to know the Asian-American history, the way to analyze the things that have happened to us in the past and how they affect us politically, socially, culturally and economically,\u201d said Pham, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.<\/p>\n

After failed attempts at quiet negotiation, students staged a loud protest to get attention, said Aamir Lalani, co-coordinator of the demonstration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going against the prevailing notion that Asians are passive and not willing to take a stand,\u201d said Lalani, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore. \u201cThat\u2019s in part what I believe has the University resting and not fully supporting Asian-American studies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The University is ranked seventh in the percentage of degrees earned by Asians among public universities in the Association of American Universities, according to the University\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

School of Arts and Sciences junior Anna Phung, co-coordinator of the demonstration, said she believes Asian-American students should have the chance to learn about their history, as there are many students at the University who identify as Asian.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther universities that have Asian-American studies \u2014 their demographic is much smaller,\u201d Pham said. \u201cRutgers has almost 25 percent of students that are Asian-identified, and that\u2019s a gigantic group. But other universities that have maybe 12 percent have wonderful, integrated Asian studies.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Donggu Yoon, a Rutgers United Students Coalition member, said Greenberg did not follow through with his promise to have a faculty this semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just not a priority in their minds. In their minds, it doesn\u2019t concern them,\u201d said Yoon, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. \u201cObviously, the students disagree and say it\u2019s a very important topic.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Greenberg said he has given in to certain demands in recent years and continues to negotiate with students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe presence of such courses in the curriculum is something that we\u2019ve been trying to effect for a long time,\u201d Greenberg said. \u201cStudents have been talking to me about this for at least a year, and we\u2019ve added some courses since then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan Ramones, an AALC organizer, said financial concerns might have caused the University to resist the organization\u2019s demands for Asian-American studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe one of the reasons Rutgers hasn\u2019t implemented Asian-American studies is from a fear of another interdisciplinary subject taking a piece of the pie,\u201d said Ramones, a School of Engineering junior. \u201cI want to assure them that having Asian-American studies won\u2019t steal money from other departments<\/strong>.\u201d
\n
\nPham said an Asian-American studies program might help bring more money into the interdisciplinary department.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnother program would actually help out the humanities department in general,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would provide more opportunities and more potential for new projects that would accumulate more funding for the humanities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenberg said even if he had the means of establishing a concentration in Asian-American studies, the choice is not his.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision about whether or not to offer a major or a minor is the decision that\u2019s made by the faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences,\u201d he said. \u201cThe initiative to create such a minor field or major field will have to come from the faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Greenberg was not in his office during the rally on Wednesday, Ramones said he hopes it brought awareness to the campus community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the rally will be successful and get people to notice Asian-American studies and have people to just listen and realize that this is something we don\u2019t have at the University,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The organization plans for more protests toward equal academic opportunities, said Claire Chang, an AALC member.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe, as a collective, that we can do things efficiently without leaving people out of the process,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all have this collective effort to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Lisa Berkman for Rutgers<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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