Nearly 1,200 students from more than 90 universities across the country descended upon Lerner Hall this weekend to discuss what it means to be Asian-American.<\/p>\n
The opening ceremony of the East Coast Asian American Student Union conference featured prominent speakers from the Asian-American community as well as performances from student groups. Popular YouTube comedian David So and musicians Jason Chen and Clara Chung also performed. <\/p>\n
Norman Mineta, political activist and former secretary of transportation, urged students to pay attention to the United States’ policy debate about immigration reform.<\/p>\n
Most of the discussion surrounding immigration reform was focused on immigrants from Mexico, he said. Asian-Americans, he added, were often left out of the dialogue.<\/p>\n
\u201cImmigration debate is happening in this country, but those debates seem to forget that we’re here,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWherever you’re from,\u201d he said, \u201cthe bottom line is that this current debate will have profound effects for the Asian American community both today and in the future. A neutral observer simply does not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
MSNBC news anchor Richard Lui emphasized the need for a leader in the Asian-American community comparable to Reverend Al Sharpton’s role in the African-American community.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, when ESPN published an article calling Jeremy Lin a derogatory term for Asian Americans, Lui said he wanted to invite a guest on his show for a segment on the story. The problem, he said, was finding the right guest.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite my involvement in the community,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn’t think of that lightning rod\u2014that guest that stood out as a symbol of the community’s heart and soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wondered to myself, \u2018Where is the Asian Al Sharpton?’\u201d<\/p>\n
Calvin Sun, CC ’08 and a member of the national board of directors of ECAASU, discussed the need for struggle in the fight for equality.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything that we have in this country,\u201d he said, \u201ceverything that we take for granted was born out of someone’s struggle. It’s tough simply being Asian-American, and to be taken seriously as a group of people who are tired of being so fucking polite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though it’s tough, he said, it’s worthwhile because it brings about the change necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet’s embrace tough and let’s embrace struggle,\u201d Sun said.<\/p>\n
This year’s ECAASU conference theme was \u201cWithin, Across, Beyond.”<\/p>\n
Derrick Fu, CC ’13 and one of the directors of the conference, said that ECAASU was a unique opportunity for Asian American students to come together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most powerful thing about ECAASU is that we can bring people together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’ve been the oldest and largest Asian-American student conference for the past 36 years.\u201d <\/p>\n
David Su, a private at the U.S. Military Academy, said that it was interesting to come to Columbia and be surrounded by so many Asian-American students because West Point does not have a large population of Asian Americans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like what Norman Mineta said about taking action and how you think of actions now and how they affect the community in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tina Kit, SEAS ’13 and co-director of the conference, said that the goal of the conference was to allow Asian-American students to discuss Asian-American identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want ECAASU to offer a forum for everyone to share their experiences as Asian-American students. It’s a big step toward our goal of looking at Asian Americans not as stereotypes but as individuals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Melanie Gao, CC ’14 and co-director of the conference, said that the ultimate goal of the conference was “to build coalitions and to empower.”<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want our attendees to leave with a great sense of self and greater sense of what they can do for the community,” she said.<\/p>\n
Gao added, \u201cWe want them to leave with more questions than they have answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
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