Student Cultural Groups: Asian American Students Association

At Cornell University, students have had the opportunity to pursue the academic program of Asian American Studies since 1987. On the other hand, while Princeton has certificate programs in African American Studies, Latino Studies and American Studies, it currently does not have a program in Asian American Studies. This is what the Asian American Students Association seeks to change.

“We work closely with the Asian American studies professors (currently Professor [Anne] Cheng and Professor Beth Lew Williams) to provide student input in the ongoing push to create an Asian American studies certificate program,” AASA co-president Cailin Hong ’17 said in an emailed statement.

“Our primary focus now is having a solid core of 2-3 courses in Asian American studies offered consistently each semester,” she said. “Despite the decades-long challenge, we hope to help Princeton catch up with the rest of the country and play a role in Asian American studies more broadly.”

Hong is currently an Associate Design Editor for the Daily Princetonian.

According to Hong, the political group traces its beginnings to the 1970s, when Stanley Kwong, the director of the then-named Third World Center (today known as the Fields Center), started holding dinners with Asian-American students. The earliest documentation of AASA’s official presence is from 1984.

“Our objective is to facilitate conversations about the Asian American identity on campus and bring awareness to AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) political issues,” Hong said.

The group hosts a variety of events, including an annual “café night” held at Café Vivian at Frist Campus Centerto dispel misconceptions about Asian-Americans. The group also engages in activism and service outside of campus.

“This year we edited personal statements for Hmong students at a Teach for America school in Wisconsin,” Hong said. AASA has also worked with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund to conduct poll-monitoring that helps prevent voting discrimination in New Jersey.

According to co-president Belinda Chen ’17, the group currently has a core membership of 20 members, a broader affiliation of 60 members and 200 students on the AASA listserv.

“The perennial challenge is to get more students to understand and engage in our political advocacy and we're huge supporters of the post-Ferguson movement to increase racial awareness, sensitivity and competence at Princeton,” Hong said. “The biggest challenge we’ve had is really challenging the image of AASA as an East Asian cultural group [and not as a political group for Asian Americans].”

AASA continues to be a pioneer in the field of Asian American studies. According to Hong, the group recently launched “Unfound,” the only undergraduate Asian American studies research journal in the United States.

“We're really proud of the progress we've made in Asian American studies and with the activism we've led this past year,” she said.

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Correction: Due to incorrect information provided to The Daily Princetonian, an earlier version of this article misstated the name of the former director of the Third World Center. His name was Stanley Kwong. The 'Prince' regrets the error.