New Bulletin from UC Davis: API Community Rallies at Teach-In
by Roopa Raman, Special Contributor

The Asian and Pacific Islander students of University of California at Davis have recently been affected by a whirlwind of emotions and situations, causing them to initiate a protest promoting Asian-American concerns. These actions have led to the current state of hope within the community and increased pressure toward the administration to satisfy those demands.

On February 8, 2001, five hundred students marched toward Mrak Hall in one of the most defining events of UC Davis history. Led by the API community, a diverse body of students called for a proactive response from the school administration regarding recent violent incidents against Asian Americans. Their demands for action include mandatory diversity and multicultural education, increased number of language and cultural classes, Student Affairs Officer positions in the Asian American and Native American Studies programs, and expansion of the Cross-Cultural Center.

These action items were initiated by the Council for Asian Pacific American Affairs, which was originally formed in 1992 and was revived this academic year in response to the Arlington Farms incident and other incidents involving violence against Asian Americans.

Theresa Montemayor, a Student Affairs Officer who divides her work hours between the API and Native American communities, stated that the CAPAA was formed to assess the "state of the API community and to communicate this state to Student Affairs."

Immediately following the teach-in, the supportive UC Student Regent and speaker, Justin Fong, invited student members of CAPAA to meet with Chancellor Larry Vanderhoeff. Chancellor Vanderhoeff politely applauded the student effort and turnout of the teach-in, but gave no affirmation of CAPAA's assessment of the community needs. This detachment from community concerns was echoed in a CAPAA meeting that evening with Vice Chancellor Carol Wall and her staff.

The motivation for the teach-in resulted from the Asian Pacific Islander Leadership Conference that took place at the UCD Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory in late January. Student leaders and CAPAA members inspired participants through workshops and discussions about the recent violent incidents against Asian Americans, and the discrepancy between campus services for the community and the community's real needs.

During the activism portion of the conference, senior Edgar Chen led a workshop identifying the next steps the group should pursue to continue the passion they felt that weekend. He declared there would be an UnAPIthetic CommUNITY meeting where further information would be provided. Close to forty students attended the meeting and signed up for roles they would be taking at the teach-in at Mrak Hall. At a meeting the following weekend, chairs of all committees met to discuss the event. After four more days of planning, the event was ready to roll.

About ten speakers representing different arenas rallied at the teach-in, which lasted about an hour and a half. Victor Hwang, managing attorney at the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, discussed his experiences working with victims of anti-Asian violence. Professors Wendy Ho and Kent Ono spoke on behalf of the Asian American Studies program, discussing the need for a greater range of cultural classes on campus.

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