More than a week into the annual Asian American Month, a mix of discussions, sporting events and celebrations has descended on campus with the goal of spreading awareness about Asian-American culture and issues confronting people of Asian descent.
The Asian American Center (AAC) and Asian Student Union (ASU), which consists of 10 student groups, are coordinating the events.
"We are a very diverse community, with many different issues confronting us, yet this month is a way to celebrate our culture and heritage, and an opportunity to provide programming to educate the campus community," said Linell Yugawa, director of the AAC.
The month's events range from musical and artistic performances to films, discussions and sporting events.
The culinary-focused Asian Hydration kicked off Asian American Month on Nov. 3. Sponsored by the ASU, it featured a wide range of Asian beverages for passers-by to learn about and sample.
Many programs will take on a more serious tone. The November celebration comes after two high-profile, racially charged incidents rocked the Tufts campus this year.
In April, a white student drunken ly yelled racial slurs at, and got into a physical altercation with, a group of Korean students practicing a dance; in September, an Asian freshman drawing on stereotypes parodied a campaign poster of another freshman of Asian descent who was running for a student government position. Both occurrences led to significant debate, censure and media coverage on and off campus.
While programming has not changed this year because of the incidents, Yuguwa said that some of discussions may address these incidents and related topics.
"While I believe there are issues raised from the incident that are worthy of further discussion, we will likely address those more specifically at another time," she said.
Meanwhile, a viewing on Nov. 18 of the notorious "Notorious C.H.O.," to be followed by a discussion, will explore perceptions of sexuality among Asian Americans.
Clay Harmon, a graduate assistant at the LGBT Center, organized the program.
Harmon said that after watching Margaret Cho's movie on Asian-American sexuality and its perception, he wanted to "help the Tufts community learn about multiple facets of all Asian-American experiences, not just one Asian-American experience."
He continued, "If we can break down some preconceived notions that people may have about Asian-American attitudes involving sex and sexuality, then people can start to think about this issue more critically instead of just succumbing to whatever stereotypes they think they may or may not have."
A discussion about stereotypes with Ryan Takemiya, the executive director of the San Franscisco Bay Area arts collective RAMA, took place last night in Pearson Hall.
"We talked about stereotyping and why people stereotype, where they come from, how they start and evolve and change over time, how we can respond to them in manners that are constructive and lead to enhanced discourse that is beneficial to everyone and that repairs more then it harms," said senior Robert Siy, the Asian American Alliance's community representative on the Tufts Community Union Senate.
"When we talk about race in America, it typically centers on the black-white dichotomy, and we often forget that America is a melting pot of many races and cultures," Siy said. "Asian-American issues aren't always covered in the mainstream media and discourse."
One such unexplored topic is the variety of Asian ethnic backgrounds represented in the United States.
Dentistry student Jen Chau, of Chinese and Ashkenazic Jewish descent, is the executive director of Swirl, Inc., a national organization that uses community building, education and action to focus on race.
Chau will discuss her perspectives on race, racism and mixed-race identity on Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in Pearson Hall 104.
The origins of Asian American Month came about 30 years ago, when Tufts christened a weeklong celebration in May of Asian customs and traditions, calling it Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. In 1990, the event expanded into a month-long festival of Asian culture and civilization and is now celebrated in November at Tufts.
Siy said the entire university community could benefit from this month's programming.
"There is definitely something that you can get out of the many events, regardless of whether you are Asian or not," he said. "You learn a lot when you step outside of yourself, and I'd encourage everyone to do the same with Asian Americans."
