3rd annual 5pan spring conference 2009

If you're a student in the 5 College Pan Asian Network (Amherst College, Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst) and beyond, you might want to mark your calendars and check out the 3rd Annual Spring APIA Issues/Leadership Conference on Saturday, March 7 at Mount Holyoke College.

This year's conference theme is L.E.A.D. - Learn, Education, Act, Demonstrate! According to the conference organizers: "Basically asking for our audience to first learn about APA issues, educate others, and act upon the issues to truly demonstrate their knowledge on APA issues." It'll be a day-long event of workshops, speakers and entertainment. There are thirteen workshops confirmed:

Workshops presented by faculty members from the 5 Colleges:

• Floyd Cheung (Smith College) - Asian American Activism through Poetry
  
• Karen Cardozo (UMass Commonwealth College) - "But My Parents Want Me to Be a Doctor! When the Model Minority Myth Hits Home"
  
• Robert Hayashi (Amherst), Iyko Day (Mount Holyoke), Sus (WWII Veteran), and Ms. Yasumoto - Internment and Relocation of Japanese Americans
  
• CN. Le (UMass Amherst) - "Globalization: Economic and Cultural Development and How it affects the Asian/Asian American identity"
  
• Kimberly Chang (Hampshire) - "Stories my father told me: Growing up as a Second Generation American... Writing in the Cracks between History and Fiction"
  
• Sujani Reddy (Amherst) and Diana Yoon (UMass Amherst)- Immigrant rights and Social movements.

Workshop Presenters beyond the 5 College Area:

• NYC's Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund- Voting Rights in the Asian American Community.
  
• Nate James Bae Kupel (Sticky Rice Project from Boston/President of Boston Korean Adoptees) - Korean/Asian Adoptees: Exploring issues of Transnationalism
  
• Qing Jian Shi (Asian Task Force) - Domestic Violence in the Asian American community
  
• Tyson Rose (UMass Amherst, UALRC Director) - Liberation and Youth Leadership Development
  
• Asian Americans and Greek Life (UMass Amherst SYZ, LPE, PDP, and KPL) - Powerpoint Presentation and Student Panel Discussion
  
• Yoojin Janice Lee - What is Leadership and how do you become a leader? (Leadership Workshop)
  
• Eric Byler and Annabel Park (Independent Asian American Film Director/Screenwriter/Political Activist) - New Media Activism and the American Democracy

And it's all free of charge. Oh yeah, I'll be at the conference to deliver the keynote address. So if you happen to be in western Massachusetts that Saturday, come on out and say hello. I'll try to make it interesting. For more information about the conference, go here, or visit the Facebook event page here. And of course, to register, go here.