Dear Readers...

Define Asian American.

This is a term that has probably stumped even the writers of Webster's Dictionary. Exactly what is it about the simple two-word term "Asian American" that makes its meaning so incredibly complex?

Literally, an Asian American individual can be considered a person residing in America with roots that trace back to the large cities, small towns, and rural villages of the continent of Asia. However, like the roots of a tree, the roots of Asian heritage spread in a multitude of different directions ranging from the southeast corner of Asian to the far east. To blur the great diversity that lies within the Asian American community within this single term without preserving the nature of each consituent would be grossly simplifying a category of peoples distinguished by its many vibrant colors.

Thus the mission of GenerAsian@NYU is born. GenerAsian began as a big dream with a little plan: 3 girls--2 of which thought they would be working on a 4-page newsletter about community service--and no guaranteed funding. GenerAsian@NYU would have seemed to be just a vision at this point. A short-sighted vision at that.

However, in our first year, GenerAsian stated its mission as a voice for the whole Asian American community at NYU. We strove to be a medium that could harbor the creativity of NYU students and convey these original expressions to the rest of the college community. The result? A bright silver 38-page magazine with everything from the history of tea to thoughts on Asian Heritage Month at NYU.

This time, after several [hundred] cups of black coffee, five hours of sleep a week, and overexhaustion of brain cells, the GenerAsian team Fall 2000 team has put forth the second copy of GenerAsian (Vol. II, Issue 1). And we just have to say, it is pretty darn amazing how much ingenuity and innovation students of today are capable of--especially on caffeine and sleep deprivation.

As a young publication still in the process of development and establishment at NYU, we hope to continue pursuing our mission. Furthermore, being a solely web-based publication for this school year, we were faced with many comments like "Just on the web?" and "You mean, there's no hard copy?" and just simply, "Oh." But despite a slew of disheartening responses, we in fact have great faith in the nature of the webworld and its ability to allow us to further our mission. Why? In observing Asian American student culture across the NYU campus we have discovered the great diversity that lies under the common umbrella category we simply call "Asian." While focusing so much energy on defining "Asian American," we overlook the multi-operational definition of the term "Asian" itself. With so many different clubs celebrating their own respective identities and heritage, it is no wonder the task of unifying and accurately representing the many voices of the Asian American community as a whole remains to be the greatest challenge that we face in an age and culture where individuality is celebrated.

During the past several months of exploring all new horizons in technology and learning about the many facets within the Asian American student community on campus, we have discovered that in a time where the moon has already been walked on and people have already been found to be able to survive nearly 62 hours encapsulated in ice (i.e. David Blaine's daredevil stunt in Times Square), there still seems to be a great number of places left to be explored.

By "clicking here to enter," the goal of GenerAsian's mission has seemed to become many steps closer. With easy links, convenient exchange of materials across campus and beyond, and of course, funky graphics, the web is a place of so many nooks and crannies. Last year, GenerAsian was born, but this year it seems like we are born again. So...take initiative and let your voice be heard...

Happy e-reading!

Sincerely,

Evelyn Kim & Yun-Xian Ho
Co-Founders/Co-Editors-in-Chief