UI-Chicago Students Fight for Asian American Studies

More than 16 years after students demand the establishment of an AA Studies program, UIC students are still waiting

By CAROLINE AOYAGI-STOM, Executive Editor, Pacific Citizen

Political science major Brandon Mita, 21, first took an Asian American Studies course at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) during his freshman year and immediately wanted to learn more about his AA roots. Unfortunately, his interest in AA Studies would have to be put on hold since UIC does not currently have an AA Studies program.

Mita’s unrealized interest in learning more about AA history and culture is something UIC students have experienced for the past 16 years. Since 1990 students here have lobbied for the establishment of an AA Studies program to no avail. But this year the Asian American Coalition Committee (AACC) — a UIC student group — is stepping up efforts and refusing to take no for an answer.

“Many administrators and faculty already know the Ethnic Studies arguments and verbally support it, but they have failed to do anything about it.” said Mita, 21, chairperson of AACC. He added, “Asian American Studies is not just for Asian American students. It’s for everyone.”

The AACC has produced a detailed proposal on the need to establish an AA Studies program at UIC and have demanded immediate responses from university leaders. They have also circulated petitions and are planning a campus-wide sit-in Mar. 29 to publicize their efforts.

The group has set forth a detailed timeline for the university. By the fall of 2008 they would like to see the creation of six faculty lines to develop and teach courses in an AA Studies program. By the fall of 2010 they want the establishment of an interdisciplinary major within an AA Studies program.

So far many students and professors have come out in support of an AA Studies program at UIC.

“I am very supportive of student efforts to establish AA Studies,” said UIC Assistant Professor Mark Chiang, one of only two professors who currently teaches AA Studies courses at the university. “Over the last two decades, student demands and activism have spurred the establishment of most of the new AA Studies programs across the country.”

“Asian American Studies is important because … growing up, our entire education of U.S. history was taught from a Eurocentric perspective, completely leaving out the important contributions that Asian Americans and other minorities have made to this country,” said UIC student Jenny Yeh, 22, AACC vice-chair. “Being left out in history allows all of us Asian Americans to feel as if we do not belong here.”

The UIC campus is located in the heart of downtown Chicago and boasts an AA student population of 24.3 percent, the largest minority group on campus. Yet, UIC’s Ethnic Studies Department does not include AA Studies even though African American Studies, Latin American Studies, and Native American Studies programs have long existed.

UIC’s sister university, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) established an AA Studies minor program in 1997 even though their AA student population is half of UIC’s with 12 percent. Even neighboring private universities Northwestern and DePaul can boast AA Studies minor programs.

UIC students believe AA Studies is too important a topic to dismiss and now is the time for their university to catch up with the other institutions.

“Even though it is downright embarrassing that Asian American students have been underserved for so long, it is hard to convince people that this fact is true,” said Heather de Guia, AACC senior advisor. “The administration keeps saying that they need to see that there is student demand, but really they need to be pushed to a limit where they will be inadvertently forced to give students a broad educational system that will benefit all.”

“It’s an issue of priorities — I am optimistic that the university has the initiative and intellectual vision to recognize that building Asian American Studies, and Ethnic Studies as a whole at UIC, is not doing anyone ‘a favor,’” said UIC Assistant Professor Helen Jun. “It’s in the best interests of an urban research university that has one of the most diverse student and local populations in the entire country.”

UIC officials say they recognize the importance of an AA Studies program but current budgetary constraints have prevented them from taking action. They note that two AA Studies faculty members were hired in 2002 and in 2004 an AA Resource and Cultural Center was established.

“Asian Studies and Asian American Studies are a priority of the university but it is a budgetary issue,” said UIC spokesperson Bill Burton, who noted that the other Ethnic Studies programs were developed before the cuts. “The entire campus has suffered more than $100 million in budget cuts.”

But for AACC and many in the UIC community, budgetary reasons are not good enough. Sister university UIUC has 12 core professors in its AA Studies program, and they do this with a budget of $1.29 billion. UIC has a budget of $1.36 billion yet only 1.5 faculty members are in AA Studies.

“Even with budget constraints, many hires are continuously being made, but none are for Asian American Studies faculty,” said Yeh. “Basically, though funds have decreased, the administration continues to fund those programs which they deem important, and it is quite obvious that Asian American Studies is not one of them.”

“The fact that two Asian American Studies faculty were hired at UIC despite these restrictions demonstrates a commitment to the field, but many faculty and administrators at the school seem to feel that Asian American Studies is not a high priority at the moment,” said Chiang. “Part of the reason for this lack of urgency seems to stem from the general perception that the Asian American students are a model minority, and so do not need the kinds of assistance and resources that other students might require.”

Baby boomers of the 60s and 70s may recall the AA movement that helped to establish AA Studies programs throughout the United States. Now such programs are par for the course, especially on the West Coast. UCLA formed its AA Studies program in 1969 and in 2004 the UCLA Department of AA Studies was established.

Yet an AA Studies program may even be more important for AA students here in the Midwest since unlike on the West Coast, they do not have the same opportunities to learn about AA culture.

“The Midwest and the West Coast are entirely different,” said Mita, who believes acculturation is easier to achieve on the West Coast because of the much larger AA population. “In the Midwest there is less opportunity to learn about ourselves. There is only one paragraph [about us] in our history books.”

“I think there continues to be much ignorance and lack of awareness in this region in general,” said Yeh. “Perhaps it is because the Asian American percentages are not as high relatively in the Midwest compared to the West Coast, but we seem to be constantly fighting ignorance and apathy that exists among faculty, staff, AND students.”

Students at UIC hope the Mar. 29 protest will provide an opportunity to gain public support for their efforts to finally establish an AA Studies program at the university. They know they have a fight on their hands.

“I don’t think the administration has felt enough pressure from the students or surrounding community,” said Yeh of UIC’s inaction. “They aren’t scared of the Asian American students here, so they probably don’t believe that there would be any consequences if they don’t adhere to student demands.”

“This has been an internal struggle within UIC. We need to create public visibility,” said Mita, who expects over 200 people to attend the March rally. “This is just the beginning.”

Other Readings of Interest @ IMDiversity

• Building Asian American and Ethnic Studies in the Midwest
  By Sharon S. Lee, U. Illinois-Urbana Champaign AAS
  Challenges, growth prospects, and new opportunities in the Heartland
• Touring UCLA Asian American Studies Center
  By Yayoi Lena Winfrey, AAV Contributing Editor
  'The Movement and the Moment' focuses on the origins of Asian American Studies
• Northeastern University Launches New Asian American Center
  By Adam Smith, SAMPAN
  A Talk with AAC Director Andrew Shen
• U.S. Universities Face Turbulent Times Ahead
  By June Kronholz, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
  All across campus, changes are coming for students, faculty, administrators and parents alike
• National Organizations Serving Asian-Pacific American Students
  By Asian-American Village Staff
  Student Unions, Professional Student Organizations, Asian American Studies, more