fight for asian/asian american studies program at syracuse

Received some news the other day about actions to support a proposed Asian and Asian American studies program at Syracuase University, an idea that first emerged over a decade ago, and after many years will finally be voted on next week by the University Senate. Here's the press release:

PROPOSED ASIAN AND ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM TO BE VOTED ON

SYRACUSE, NY -- After years of being placed on the backburner, the University Senate will finally vote on the proposed Asian and Asian American studies program. The voting will take place on March 24, 2010 at Maxwell Auditorium at 4pm.

In light of the upcoming vote, the Asian and Asian American studies program student committee has devised different activities to rally student support and show our unwavering commitment to this initiative. Such actions include:

- Handwritten letter campaign which any student or alumni can participate in by addressing a letter to a University Senator expressing the reasons for the creation of this program

- Student Petition whose signees explicitly state their support of the program

- Piece of the Orange Quad Stakeout where supporters will rally on the quad asking for their fair share of the 'Cuse

Since the idea of this program first emerged over 13 years ago, it has always been a student led initiative. The call to the quad will be the pinnacle event. Taking place on March 23, one day before the vote, students are encouraged to come out and show their support to emphasize the overwhelming need and support of the program.

While the idea for the program emerged after the Denny's Incident, in which Asian and Asian American students were called racial epithets and beaten up while officers stood by, there still has not been a significant development in the creation of this program. With the increasing growth of the Asian and Asian American population, as well as the overall rise in diversity among the student body in recent years, S.U. can only really benefit from this program

For more information, please contact Andrea Wangsanata (agwangsa@syr.edu).

I fully support this action. I'm not a member of the Syracuse community, but I'm certainly in favor of seeing more Asian American Studies programs on campuses that need it. I'm calling on students and alumni to take action and speak out on behalf of this campaign. For more information, visit the Syracuse University Needs a Asian/Asian-American (AAA) Studies Program Facebook group.