{"id":37529,"date":"2014-09-30T14:23:34","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T14:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mixedracestudies.org\/wordpress\/?p=37529"},"modified":"2019-10-22T00:41:16","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T00:41:16","slug":"exploring-identity-the-asian-american-experience-at-harvard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/?p=37529","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Identity: The Asian American Experience at Harvard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exploring Identity: The Asian American Experience at Harvard<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Harvard Crimson: The University Daily since 1873<\/a>
\nHarvard University
\n2014-09-25<\/p>\n

Maia R. Silber<\/strong>, Crimson Staff Writer<\/p>\n

While last year\u2019s \u201cI, Too, Am Harvard\u201d focused on identity and belongingness on a multiracial campus, Harvard\u2019s AAPI students will also examine these concepts within the context of their own community.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is a Saturday night, and it is raining\u2014two factors counting against attendance at the talk co-hosted by Harvard\u2019s Asian American Brotherhood and Black Men\u2019s Forum. But a surprising number of people have filtered through the double doors of Boylston Hall, filling the plush red chairs only vaguely oriented around an old-fashioned projector. Stragglers lean against the shade-less windows, their elbows forming perpendicular angles with the droplets pounding on the other side.<\/p>\n

Really, it\u2019s no surprise that neither weather nor the opportunity cost of missed social engagements has deterred the audience; the talk centers on the buzz-worthy issue of affirmative action. Both campus groups have invited an alumnus who\u2019s an expert on the issue for two short presentations, to be followed by a Q&A.<\/p>\n

Gregory D. Kristof \u201915, the education and politics director of AAB, a campus organization whose mission statement cites dedication to brotherhood, service, and activism, introduces AAB\u2019s alumnus. Kristof focuses on the third part of AAB\u2019s mission\u2014the group\u2019s discussions of discrimination and race-relations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can only make so much progress if we only discuss these issues among AAB\u2014among Asian Americans,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

As discussions about race and inclusiveness<\/a> have moved to the forefront of campus life with the \u201cI, Too, Am Harvard<\/a>\u201d campaign, many Asian American student organizations have launched their own dialogues about issues pertinent to their community. But the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community at Harvard\u2014representing around 24 percent of the school\u2019s population\u2014encompasses individuals of dozens of different national, ethnic, linguistic, socioeconomic, and religious identities. It includes students born here and students born in Asia, biracial students and multiracial students. How can a unified political force emerge from such a diverse and multifaceted population? Is this even a goal to aspire to?…<\/p>\n

…Many students remain unsure as to how to define their own identities. \u201cSometimes I think of myself as Asian, but sometimes I don\u2019t,\u201d said Jacob. \u201cWhen I see an Asian collaboration happening, do I automatically think that we should be included? Not necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAsian American\u201d identities are further complicated by biracial and multiracial heritages. Harvard\u2019s Half Asian People\u2019s Association holds an annual discussion called \u201cSo What Are You Anyway?\u201d…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the entire article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exploring Identity: The Asian American Experience at Harvard The Harvard Crimson: The University Daily since 1873 Harvard University 2014-09-25 Maia R. Silber, Crimson Staff Writer While last year\u2019s \u201cI, Too, Am Harvard\u201d focused on identity and belongingness on a multiracial campus, Harvard\u2019s AAPI students will also examine these concepts within the context of their own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1649,16,2895,125,8,20],"tags":[11216,631,17982,17983,4717],"class_list":["post-37529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anthropology","category-asia","category-campus-life","category-identitydevelopment","category-media-archive","category-usa","tag-harvard-crimson","tag-harvard-university","tag-maia-r-silber","tag-maia-silber","tag-the-harvard-crimson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59076,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37529\/revisions\/59076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}