Pan Asian Council holds successful leadership workshop

Last month, Asian cultural and political associations on campus came together for a strategic meeting to discuss the efficiency and success of their executive board structures in achieving their stated goals and missions.

The Hong Kong Student Association (HKSA), the Tufts Association of South Asians (TASA) and the American Asian Alliance (AAA) were among the groups that attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Pan Asian Council (PAC).

“PAC is a group that currently consists of leaders from multiple cultural groups on campus," Dennis Chen, a senior and council member, told the Daily in an email.  "We meet once a month to discuss certain issues as well as try to form a more cohesive group overall.”

Chen explained that the retreat gave the attending groups the chance to revise their often outdated executive board structures.

“The purpose of the PAC workshop was to give an opportunity to the clubs to review how their club works and evaluate the club’s functions," he said. "The workshop consisted of reviewing club constitutions/missions/goals, club structures, leadership models and how PAC can work effectively."

Council member Betty Fong, a sophomore, said that between 30 to 40 people were present at the meeting, which was structured with two goals in mind.

“[The first goal was] to look over existing constitutions and mission statements ... [the second goal was] to look at the structure of the e-board -- the officer positions offered and the maximum effectiveness of the current structure that e-boards have,” Fong said.

The meeting also tackled issues of inclusion and the question of large e-boards, Fong added. Groups formed small break-out sessions during the second part of the meeting to discuss these topics and other issues they faced.

“[The event was] definitely successful because all groups contributed and came out with a better idea of what they wanted their mission, purpose and structure to be in the future," Fong said, adding that the retreat provided an important opportunity for first-years and sophomores to learn how to plan efficiently and solve structural issues in group organization.

Overall, Chen described that the event was a success. 

“[The] meeting achieved an open forum that allowed clubs to share issues that they were having and also to re-establish club goals,” he said.

Given this year's success, the PAC is planning on following up with the groups and is hoping to repeat the leadership workshop next year, according to Fong.