Something that inspired me today...

A good friend of mine wrote this as part of her commencement speech at UCLA. I read it today and liked the way she described Asian American Studies and its relevance to society...


"Graduates—as many of you may have experienced as advocates for your degree, it appears that Asian American Studies is one of the most contested majors on this campus. When asked, “What are you studying at UCLA?” I already know what the person is going to think when I respond, “Asian American Studies”. Sometimes I cringe in response because i can feel the oncoming skepticism ready to flood the conversation. “What are you going to do with THAT degree?” “But you’re already Asian American. Isn’t college about studying something you DON'T know?” These two questions challenge the value and relevance of Asian American Studies, two things I will now address in my speech.

What is the value of Asian American Studies? In modern day society, there is a general assumption that college is about spending thousands of dollars every year to invest in post-graduate opportunities for improved living and sustainability. This leads us to wonder: what kind of jobs will we land with a degree in Asian American Studies? Especially during a time like this, with the pending doom of our economy, a financial crisis questions the promise of anything ethnic studies related for the financially secure future. But if there is one positive thing the recession has done, it is make us realize that financial security is never guaranteed. With money evaporating before our eyes, we question the value of the dollar everyday, and return to a core set of values that lie within us—family, community, history. In understanding the history of marginalized people, decentralizing the master narrative and dismantling the power structures that create social hierarchies, Asian American Studies empowers students with the knowledge and critical thinking skills to lead our communities through any crisis to come. The value of Asian American Studies to empower generations of leaders transcends inflation rates.

What is the relevance of Asian American Studies? With Barack Obama as our first black president, are we not in a “post-racial” society? The answer is No, we are not. While we can recognize the great strides we’ve made in our country, race continues to be a reality in our lives, among many other factors, that contribute to social inequality. From the passing of Proposition 8 denying marriage equality to Repatriation Agreements with different Asian countries deporting immigrants and breaking apart families, we as a country still have a long way to go to uphold our creed as the land of equal opportunity. Admittedly, while some people deny race and choose to embrace the passive existence of pure assimilation, we cannot deny the projection of race upon us. We are reminded of this everyday through the media, billboards, television roles, romantic comedies, action films, political figureheads, etc. Let’s admit it, race is a strange thing, and terribly inconsistent; if you look “white”, you will pass with the privileges; if you look Asian, you are Asian. In order to fully realize our potential as individuals in the American system, we must understand ourselves in the context of this socialized, racialized, economy-sized, super-sized, everything-realized country. This is where Asian American Studies proves more relevant than ever. While the classroom serves as a place for personal self-discovery, it is also the intersection of sociology, psychology, political science, public policy, law, history, interracial dynamics and groundbreaking research to uplift entire communities. Let us recall that the birth of Asian American Studies grew out of the fire in students during the ‘60s who demanded an alternative form of truth and knowledge facilitated by the community for the community. Such a grassroots movement was met with much opposition from administrators and elite decision-makers; for even the folks up top recognize the power in personal agency and self-realization to threaten social hierarchies.

Today, we must continue to preserve the existing legacies of our predecessors while creating new ones of our own. However, as the fight continues, new times call for new tools. We are able to take on so many more fronts with advancements in technology as well as the creativity and innovation of our own communities..."