The Year Might Be Winding Down, But The AAYS Initiative is Still Going Strong!
[5.27.2009]
On Friday, May 22, 2009, members of the Asian American Youth Spectrum Magazine enjoyed their final dinner together of the semester with guest honoree Dr. Larry Shinagawa of the University of Maryland's Asian American Studies Department. The dinner was a great success: Dr. Shinagawa's presentation was both inspiring for our members who heard him speak for the first and reinvigorating for the members who had met him this year at ECAASU. Thank you Dr. Shinagawa for attending our event! Thanks to all the members who came out in support of AAYS. And, our graduating seniors, best of luck as you head off to your respective colleges next year!
AAYS was recently featured in the Epoch Times for the work that we did this past year. Our trip from the ECAASU conference this year at Rutgers University is also featured! Click here to view the newspaper!
We have lots in store for AAYS in the upcoming months as we begin our fall planning. What's in the pipeline? We're not only working on our final publication these couple weeks, but we're also planning some great service work with the Census Bureau and other opportunities for AAYS members.
The website (and AAYS for that matter) will be undergoing some changes in the next couple months, most noticeably our new schedule, downloads, and the change in leadership.
Stand by for more updates!
Asian American Youth Spectrum: The Years in Perspective (2007-2009)
[3.14.2009]
A revisiting of Asian American Youth Spectrum's activities from the year 2007 to the year 2009. Included are the following events: ECAASU 2008 at Cornell University, ECAASU 2009 at Rutgers University, AAYS Leadership Workshop March 2009, AAYS Senior Citizen Visit 2008, Interviews, Dragonboat Festival 2007, Meeting with Dr. Larry Shingawa of UMCP Department of Asian American Studies, Montgomery County Asian American Heritage Festival, AAYS Saturday Meetings, and much, much more!
Featured Writer: Judy Yang
[11.8.2008]
"I grew up in Los Angeles, where there is a big population of Asian Americans. At home, I talk in Chinese with my parents and grandparents, continue practices they had back in Asia, and all the close friends we had contact with were Asians. At school, I talked in English, was active in class to always have my voice heard, and made friends with all sorts of people. It wasn’t until many years from then that I realize a majority of my friends had the same skin color as I did. At that point, I was completely clueless about the fact that I was somehow different in comparison with some of the people around me. " Read more...
Race Against Time Workshop
[11.4.2008]
However adamantly racial idealists may deny it, race plays an enormous role in
shaping society and individual opportunities. In our Race Workshop, the Asian
American Youth Spectrum will present and not explain, but explore the ways of
defining race outside of skin color as well construct an action plan on how to
best respond to racial issues within the community.
The seminar will address whether race is a package of cultural differences or
merely a manifestation of human adaptive traits in response to geography and
climate (ie: variations in skin tone); the effect of race on modern society,
such as: its impact upon the 2008 presidential election, affirmative action, and
the development of ethnoburbs; and how one's personal outlook and sense of
racial identity contribute to the level of political activism and efficacy
amongst Asian-Americans.
Applications for Fall 2008
[08.19.2008]
Click here for the Fall 2008 Application!
Hey guys, the Asian-American Youth Spectrum's new semester is underway! Our last semester was a huge success, and it presented us with experiences and problems alike. From this, we have a few points to share as we restructure and expand this youth movement:
1. Complete the application form as soon as possible for the new semester. This is a new semester, so everyone must submit an application; please be sure to check your email frequently as well for any further updates.
2. We are always looking for new members -- recruit those that are interested and dedicated.
3. There will be an AAYS "veterans" meeting for previous members, and an informational meeting -- the date and location of these will be announced later.
AAYS is truly entering a stage of rapid growth, and with this upcoming year, expect big changes and great progress. Be ready for future updates, and we hope to see many old and new faces!
Meetings are going to be Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00, near Rockville Town Center (Exact location TBA). More details will be out shortly.
Click here for the Fall 2008 Application!
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Continued | Featured Writer: Judy Yang
[11.8.2008]
I grew up in Los Angeles, where there is a big population of Asian
Americans. At home, I talk in Chinese with my parents and grandparents, continue
practices they had back in Asia, and all the close friends we had contact with
were Asians. At school, I talked in English, was active in class to always have
my voice heard, and made friends with all sorts of people. It wasn’t until many
years from then that I realize a majority of my friends had the same skin color
as I did. At that point, I was completely clueless about the fact that I was
somehow different in comparison with some of the people around me.
I was in Taiwan for middle school, where everyone had similar ideas about
foreign people. We pictured all of them as people with blond hair, beautiful
blue eyes, and a big smile showing shining bright teeth. Two years ago, I moved
into America once again, with no awareness about how people are going to think
of me. I had the simple idea of “I’m going to make a lot of new friends.” I was
put into an 8th grade geometry class, with three-quarters of my classmates being
Asians. One day, I was five minutes late for class, and seeing there were no
open seats, I sat down at a triangular desk in the corner of the classroom. When
the bell was about to ring for lunch, my teacher made a statement about how
Asian I was for managing to work on the two-legged table the whole class period.
I responded with a weak smile, confused about the logic in her sentence.
Back then, I still didn’t have any deep thoughts about my culture identity, but I was slowly having some of the opinions people have about Asian Americans embedded into my mind. After a few years of influence in school, I started to understand some kind stereotype existed. I never bothered to pay attention to these stereotypes, since I considered myself to be different because of my unusual background I take pride in. It sometimes offended me when others categorize me as an “Asian”, someone that was usually a step ahead in math, passive, and had strict parents that were always keeping a close eye. It startled me when most of these characteristics fit me perfectly. But sometimes, I feel confused about exactly how I want others to think of me as. I was in science class when one of my classmates came up to me and asked for help in math that I had learned the previous year. I really couldn’t remember anything from last year, so I apologized for not being able to provide any help. He replied without hesitation, “How could it be? You’re supposed to be Asian!” Blanking out, I didn’t know how to respond to him. I felt the fury about him using “Asian” in this situation, but at the same time, I was mixed-up about why I felt ashamed for not living up to being “Asian”.
I wonder if it was because a sense of
cultural pride I had. It never came to be pleasant when someone automatically
assumes something about me because of being Asian, but I slowly started to
accept the fact that if stereotypes still existed, most people would see me that
particular way until they got to know more about me. And since I believe that
most of the times stereotypes start from the realization of cultural
differences, I see little possibility in completely wiping out stereotypes
toward Asian Americans, because just as I have my “Asian pride”, it isn’t so
easy for people to throw away what they have always believed in.
