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Those wishing to minor in Asian studies or have a concentration in Asian American studies might have a difficult time fulfilling their requirements. Students will be vying for places in the only two Asian American studies courses offered next semester, after the University discontinued some of the electives being offered.
Students gathered in O'Neill Plaza at the third annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) Festival with petitions in hand, asking for support for the development and expansion of the Asian and Asian American studies programs.
The event showcased tables with representatives from nine different clubs, as well as performing groups such as Against the Current, Synergy, KSA Music Act, and CSA Lion Dance. Missy Eng-Wong, coordinator of the APAHM Festival and A&S '08, said the event was meant to be inclusive, as it celebrated Asian and Asian-American cultures.
"The purpose of this event is to share our culture and heritage in a very accessible way. It's a benefit for the whole community," Eng-Wong said. "It's not just about the Asians, it's about the community as a whole."
Asian and Asian-American students make up over 10 percent of the Boston College student body and yet, Eng-Wong said, they are often overlooked. Every year the Festival seeks to raise awareness of these cultures, but this year the event served an additional purpose as students voiced concerns regarding the nonexistent, or at best limiting, Asian and Asian American studies programs.
While professors Rebecca Nedostup, Chiwen Bao, and Ricco Siasoco and a number of students spoke on a stage in front of O'Neill Library about the current program and the need for expansion, students asked for people to sign the petition requesting the development of Asian and Asian American studies programs and the establishment of a separate department to support them. Students have collected 1,777 signatures and will continue to circulate the petition in the coming days.
The idea for the petition was sparked when students discovered that Cultural Identity and Asian-American Experience, a popular psychology class, wouldn't be offered after this fall because the professor who teaches the course, Ramsay Liem, will be taking a leave of absence. Due to the limited availability of faculty, there are no professors who would be able to take over the class, said Wells Huang, one of the organizers of the petition and LSOE '08.
"It's a damn shame that BC says it cares about the community and yet it's cutting down on its Asian and Asian American programs," Huang said.
Another class that would count as an elective in the Asian American studies concentration, Filipino American Experience, taught by Siasoco, is also no longer being offered every year despite his willingness to teach it, which concerns Monica Guen, a leader of the petition and A&S '08. Although Guen is not specifically focusing on Asian or Asian American studies, she said that these classes contribute to the quality of scholarship at BC and help students grow as they become more culturally aware.
"I feel like it's important for ethnic studies to be pushed because it's important for our growth as a person. I'm advocating from an Asian-American perspective, but I also think it benefits BC as a whole." Guen said. "These classes are amazing. I want as many people to take these classes as possible."
Guen and the other advocates are asking that two fulltime faculty members be hired to lead the development of an Asian and Asian American department, as well as an increase in the number of classes so that the track may eventually evolve into its own ethnic studies program. In light of other ethnic studies programs such as African and African diaspora studies, Latin American studies, and the recently established Islamic Civilizations and Societies, the group thinks it only makes sense that a comparable Asian and Asian American studies program be developed.
"We are the largest AHANA group, but we don't have our own anything," Huang said.
Huang said it was important to have diverse faculty and diverse programs to serve a diverse student body. After taking his first course on Asian literature as a freshman, he realized that there was much more to his heritage and history than had been addressed in his previous education, and that BC should continue to expand its cultural and ethnic diversity in its academic programs.
"I'm spending 50 Gs a year to come here, they should be using that money to hire faculty who look like me," Huang said.
Expanding ethnic studies programs benefits the individual student as well as the entire BC community, Guen said. The program is currently limited and what is already offered is often not overtly highlighted by the administration, so students like Guen enter as freshmen and may not discover that these classes are being offered until they are an upperclassman.
"We need to address everything that encompasses Asian-Americans, which is very broad, but BC thinks we can cover it in two classes," Guen said. "And is there a demand [for these courses]? Well, that's the point of today."
Eng-Wong said that while the Festival and petition were meant to empower students and raise awareness about the need for expanded programs, it was also about building on what had already been established and growing together as community.
"It's about becoming a community and saying we care. And that's what the petition is about," Eng-Wong said. "We have some great programs already and all we ask is that we continue to move forward."
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