Winter GM: Model Minority Myth

Our winter quarter general meeting was a joint collaboration with SASA, the South Asian Student Association, in which we discussed the model minority myth. Stacy and Naomi, as well as members from SASA, presented a powerpoint that highlighted the harmfulness of the idea of the “model minority” and the inaccuracy of the term. We then broke out into small group discussions where we talked about our own experiences in how the model minority myth affects us. It was great to see so many people there interested in learning about this topic (and eating samosas)!!

Fall General Meetings

(1) APAC INTRO [10/5/2017] Our first APAC general meeting of the year went great! We talked a little bit about what APAC is all about before delving into Asian-American political engagement and awareness while eating some delicious dumplings.

(2) Asians, Asian-Americans & Hip Hop Culture [11/3/2017] We had a full house for our second general meeting this quarter! We discussed some of the nuances associated with Asian/Asian-American trap music and artists such as Keith Ape and Rich Chigga. On the other hand, we also talked about the use of East Asian imagery in hip hop.

General Meeting: #Justice4AkaiGurley

APAC had our first general meeting of the quarter today! Two of our co-presidents, Naomi and Stacy, did a short presentation on the case of Akai Gurley and Peter Liang, and everyone watched a video by Franny Choi that discussed it. There was a great turnout, and we really appreciate everyone coming and contributing to our discussion. It was also great to see new faces! Thanks for coming out and contributing to the conversation (and eating our dumplings)!! We hope to see everyone at the next general meeting.

Q&A with CAPS

We had great turn out for our collaborative General Meeting with CAPS. Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr. Qianhui Zhang, Director of Clinical Services Dr. David Shor, and student researcher Johan Qin served as our panelists for the night, sharing information about CAPS and mental health specifically in Asian/Asian American communities. To facilitate relaxation, we provided face masks for people to try at home, burned a lavender candle, and shared Hi-Chews.

AAPI Education Panel

Last night, APAC invited a few special guests to take part in an Education Panel geared toward an Asian American Pacific Islander audience. The four spoke on their experiences with TFA, SESP, Weinberg, and AAJC-Chicago. Incidentally, three of the four had been apart of Teach for America and were able to share many insights about the program.

• Kapil Melkote is a Manager of Recruitment for Teach for America in Chicago, and is very involved in TFA’s AAPI Initiatives throughout the country.
• Gulnaz (Gulu) Saiyed is currently a Ph.D student/researcher in the School of Education and Social Policy. Her profile can be found here.
• Rachel Johnson is currently a Ph.D student in the Department of History at Northwestern, with a focus on 20th century U.S. History, looking at the intersections of race, education, and the criminal justice system. Her profile can be found here.
• Kevin Luong is currently a senior at Northwestern University studying Political Science and Asian American Studies. He has been with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago for over a year working on youth organizing.

Fall Intro

APAC exec introduced the club’s mission, history, and activities to several dozen interested students. We enjoyed dumplings over icebreakers and a sample dialogue. Shane Carlin also spoke to us about his time at Northwestern and elucidated on the necessity for APAC on campus.

Shane Carlin, Director of Development for Student Life and Scholarships 

#APIs4BlackLives GM

External President Theanne Liu led a much needed meeting on “non-Black Asian anti-Blackness and building Asian solidarity” and after a presentation, gave the NU community a space to discuss Asian American racism, appropriation, affirmative action, and the topical murder of Akai Gurley by NYPD officer Peter Liang. Attendants productively shared personal experiences, international perspectives, and looked forward to changes we can make.

Bisola and Theanne

Wong Fu Starter Pack General Meeting

In preparation for our upcoming Spring Speaker event, APAC hosted a general meeting to watch Wong Fu videos! We watched classics, like Yellow Fever and Strangers, Again, and newer ones, like Accumulated and Old Is She?! to reacquaint or acquaint ourselves for the first time with their work. Over kimchi dumplings and chips and hummus, we also discussed our relationships with Wong Fu and their portrayal of Asian-Americans.

General Meeting: Asian Americans, Immigration, and Citizenship

Today, APAC held our third general meeting of the quarter. This meeting was discussion-based and revolved around topics of immigration, conceptions of citizenship, borders, and undocumented immigrants. APAC would like to thank everyone who came to the meeting — we found the discussion to be extremely educational and enlightening, and we appreciate the community for always challenging us to think more critically!

General Meeting: Why Should Asian-Americans Care About Ferguson?

Today, APAC held its second general meeting of the quarter. This meeting was discussion-based, in which we engaged in casual critical thinking about the events occurring in Ferguson and also about the protests and political situation and Hong Kong. Many different members of the APAC community brought up issues of for solidarity between communities, the history of anti-black racism in the U.S., Asian-American involvement in political conversations, and the need to be careful when making comparisons between the Ferguson and Hong Kong protests.

Thanks so much for everyone who came to our discussion! We all learned a lot from you, and we hope that conversations like these will continue to happen.

APAC loves critical thinking discussion circles