Workshops (sat 1-2 pm)*

*certain workshops will repeat at 3 PM

Activism Against Sexual Assault
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 007
Sopheak Tek, Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA)

Hooking Up, Kicking It—whatever term you use to define a relationship—the key thing is that it should be healthy! This workshop will be an engaging dialogue to tap into the impact of hip-hop, slang, cultural identity and partying on relationships among young Asian American men and women.

Art, Media Representation, and Social Responsibility
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 112
Jeff Yang, journalist and founder of A Magazine, author of “Asian Pop” column about Asian Pacific American media issues; Eric Byler, film director of “Americanese,” “Charlotte Sometimes,” “My Life Disoriented”

Pioneer journalist Jeff Yang and award-winning filmmaker Eric Byler will lead a group discussion designed for future artists, filmmakers, journalists, and other professionals in the media industry. As people of color, how much should our identities shape and inform the content of our work? What responsibility, if any, do we have to be advocates for our communities, and to be socially and politically engaged citizens? Byler will screen one of his YouTube movies that went “viral” during the run-up to 2006 midterm elections— a wake-up call to the APA community, featuring actor Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost”). And, he will discuss his role in the historic Asian Pacific American grassroots movement that lifted Democratic Senator Jim Webb to victory over the incumbent Re-publican Senator (and former Presidential hopeful) George Allen.

Asian American Adoption
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 209
Kaila Queen, YKAMP Director

Although many Asian Americans struggle to come to terms with their identity as both Asian and American, the struggle can be particularly complex for Asian American adoptees. After World War II, the United States and other countries have opened their doors to thousands of children from Asian countries such as South Korea, China, Cambodia and Vietnam. This workshop will investi-gate the issue of adoptee identity through a panel discussion with adoptees, adoptive parents and adoption experts. We will discuss what is lost and what is gained for all involved in the process of international adoption.

Asian Americans in the Workplace – What We Need to Succeed
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 204
Dr. William A. Howe, Education Consultant, Connecticut State Department of Education and Past President of the National Association for Multicultural Education

How does one retain his or her Asian American identity successfully in the workplace? What skills, behaviors and attitudes are needed to fit into the culture of the American workforce? This interac-tive workshop will focus on what Asian Americans are not taught in schools to prepare for suc-cessful careers. Discuss this topic with Dr. William Howe, who has been an educator for almost 30 years in the US and Canada and who has made four trips to China and one to South Africa to study multicultural education.

Asian American Stereotypes
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 103
Marvin Chun, Yale Professor of Psychology

Analyze hidden and overt stereotypes towards Asian Americans. How are we affected by these ste-reotypes? What are the stereotypes that we do or do not realize exist? Discuss how to recognize and fight these stereotypes, attacking the issue from its roots.

Asian-interest Greek Life: What is the appeal?
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 203
Alice Siu, National President, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc.; Christina Lee, National Vice-President, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc.; Dennis Ngin, Pi Delta Psi Fraternity, Inc.

This workshop on Asian-interest Greek organizations is designed to be informative and interactive. During this workshop, presenters from various Asian-interest Greek organizations will discuss the current status of the Asian-interest Greek community at colleges and universities, within the gen-eral Greek community and in the US. The workshop will also cover the history of Asian-interest Greek organizations and, more importantly, include an interactive discussion of the value and ap-peal of these organizations.

Breaking into Television, Film and Theatre
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 318
Sri Rao, writer, producer, director, Sri and Co.

Sri Rao is a writer-director-producer based in New York City. An alum of Penn’s Wharton School, Sri quit his corporate career as a management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton and pursued his lifelong dream of being a writer-director. Today, Sri owns a film and television production compa-ny with offices in New York and Philadelphia, where the company maintains a 50,000-square-foot soundstage. Sri’s most recent project is the television drama series, “What Goes On.” Sri wrote, di-rected, and produced the series, which follows the lives of five teenagers growing up in a suburban neighborhood. “What Goes On” is slated to premiere in 2007 on MTV’s new cable network, The N. In this workshop, Sri offers his advice and answers your questions on breaking out of the corporate world and breaking into the world of television, film and theater.

Children’s Television: Reaching the hearts and minds of the smallest members of our community
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 212
Angela Suchin Leaney, SVP Creative Director, Nick Preschool and Parents

Everyone understands that our children determine our future. What are we doing today, to set them up to realize their dreams and be the leaders of tomorrow? This workshop will cover how one company is setting out to establish a place where an asian-american creator with a story to tell can connect with both an Asian American and mainstream audience. Hear how via the new TV series and web presence—Ni Hao, Ki-Lan!—Nickelodeon is building on its existing relationship with its audience by extending the repetoire of stories, characters, cultures and experiences that it shares with young children and their families.

Civilian and Military Career Opportunities in the Coast Guard
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 102
Moderator: Lieutenant Antonio DonisPanel
Members: Lieutenant Commander Greg Carter, Ms. Jennifer Leung and Mr. David BentonThe panel will discuss how you can become a part of Team Coast Guard.

Come hear about intern-ships, summer positions, health and dental benefits, paid vacations, full-tuition and -salary paid positions in the CSPI program, and more! In addition, panel members will discuss their career and successes in the Coast Guard.

Community Service
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 011
Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, CAPA

Community Service in the 21st Century is not just about soup kitchens and toy drives anymore. Today’s altruistic young professionals are sophisticated Asian American community leaders who are experts in their field. One of the most anticipated events in NYC is the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival in May, organized by the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA). This year, the organization is in its 28th year of providing a venue for Asian American performers to showcase their talents on a concert style stage. CAPA strives to advocate the rights of the Asian American community through the arts and through working with other community groups to raise aware-ness of relevant issues. Meet this group of young professionals who produce this wonderful festival. At the end of the workshop, the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans will hold a trivia and raffle. Get a chance to win 1 of 3 iPod Shuffles.

Denying the Immigrant Dream
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 203
Scott Lu, Program Director for US Students Association & Student of Color Campus Diversity

Since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Asian immigrants have faced discrimination. In terms of students, a new law in 1996 denies post-secondary benefits to undocumented students like federal financial aid and in-state tuition. With the current state of immigration policies, we need, now more than ever, to ensure that un-documented students have the ability to attend our nation’s universities and colleges. In this work-shop, we will discuss federal and state campaigns that guarantee education as a right, not simply as a privilege.

“Divided We Fall”: A Post-Film Dialogue
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 213
Valarie Kaur, film producer and director; Sharat Raju, film producer

A post-film discussion led by filmmakers Sharat Raju and Valarie Kaur. The workshop invites audience members from the Friday night film “Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath” into a deep dialogue about post-9/11 America through the stories raised in the film. Through guided activity and open discussion, we explore the impact of racial and religious discrimination, share our own experiences and insights, and imagine ways in which we can affect change in our communities and our nation. For more on the film, visit http://www.dwf-film.com

Fashion Design
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 104
Mary Ping, Fashion Designer, Mary Ping and Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Mary Ping shows us footage from her last New York Fashion Week ready-to-wear line and speaks about her path breaking into the fashion industry. With a degree from Vassar College and a back-ground in fine art and sculpture, Mary Ping interned with couturier Robert Cary-Williams in New York and with Anna Sui before launching her own line in 2001. Mary Ping has received Ecco Domani¹s Liquid Style Award for new designers, and the 7th on Sixth / UPS Delivers Fashion¹s Fu-ture Award, with which she had her official Bryant Park NY Fashion Week debut with her Spring 2006 collection. Her Slow and Steady Wins the Race line is a sociological consideration and decon-struction of fashion icons. Mary Ping will relate her experiences and answer questions about creating designs and working in the fashion industry.

From Campus Activism to Politics
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 002
Nathan Shinagawa, county legislator of Tompkins County, New York

The APA community has struggled for generations for a place at the political table by strengthening critical perspectives through academia and the arts, building non-profit organizations and grass-roots alliances, and battling racism and injustice through community and campus activism. Growing from the foundations of these efforts, new possibilities have opened up for generations of APAs who have blazed a trail into the electoral arena. Many not only benefited from these movements, but learned their skills through their own experiences as student activists in the Civil Rights movement, the fight for Asian American Studies, and other ongoing struggles that continue today.This workshop will examine the personal stories of several APA elected leaders who started as cam-pus activists and then entered public life. Participants will also learn how to use their own experi-\ences to construct a personal, political narrative that will help them succeed in grassroots organizing and win political campaigns. This workshop will be presented by Legislator Nathan Shinagawa of Tompkins County, NY, who successfully ran for county-wide office while a student activist at Cornell University in 2005.

Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 202
Gabriela Villareal, National APA Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)

Human Trafficking, a modern-day form of slavery, is a serious problem that plagues many individuals both domestically and abroad. Join Gabriela Villareal, the Coordinator of National Train-ing and Technical Assistance for Safe Horizon’s Anti-Trafficking Program, to discuss the issue of Asians, and especially Asian women, who are trafficked into the United States. This workshop will also discuss opportunities and challenges in increasing the voices of APA women advocates and survivors in U.S. public policy and participation in organizing efforts.

LGBT Issues in APA Communities and on Campus
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 013
Pauline Park and William Nguyen, gender rights advocates

There are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people in every Asian and Pacific Is-lander (API) society and in every Asian Pacific American (APA) community, but LGBT APIs and APAs face invisibility and ignorance in their communities of origin. What are the special challenges facing LGBT/queer APIs who come out in their ethnic communities? What are the multiple op-pressions that often prevent queer APIs from accessing education, health care, and social services in their communities and outside them? What are the challenges for queer API organizing on campus and off? This workshop will be facilitated by William Nguyen, an undergraduate at Yale University, and Pauline Park, an openly transgendered woman living in New York City who chairs the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), a transgender advocacy organiza-tion based in New York City.

Stage Presence
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 206
Mia Katigbak, National Asian American Theatre Festival/Company

This year, the first ever National Asian American Theater Festival will present 21 companies and 15 individual performers from across the United States. It will be benchmark in the history of Asian American theatre in the country, laying the foundation for a sustainable Asian American Theatre presence nationwide. The Festival’s vision is for a mutual support system where the wide range of Asian American cultures can explore both the differences that demonstrate the richness and complexity of Asian American experience as well as the commonalities that make them American. Mia Katigbak will discuss the path the National Asian American Theater Company has taken leading up to this historic event.

Violence towards APA’s in Education
1pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 003
Khin Mai Aung, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) lawyer

Violence against Asian Americans dates back hundreds of years. In the new century, Asian Americans still face some of the same challenges, racism, and fear. A couple of years ago, a student in Bos-ton was beaten to death simply because of his race. What can we, as college students, do to fight for these students’ right to live without fear? Join Khin Mai Aung, a lawyer from Asian American LegalDefense and Education Fund (AALDEF) to discuss current efforts to fight this issue.

Why Are Harold and Kumar Friends?—South Asians and Asian Ameri-cans in the U.S.
1pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 208
Shilpa Dave, Brandeis Professor of American Studies

Many people ask, “Why are Harold and Kumar [from the 2004 film ‘Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle’] friends?” What do South Asians have to do with Asian American Studies? Who are South Asians? Are they really Asian American? What box do you check? This workshop discusses the different aspects of the pan-ethnic identity “Asian American” and how South Asians engage, contribute to, and challenge Asian American stereotypes, movements and communities. Using me-dia clips, history, and literature, we’ll talk about issues that link South Asian Americans and other Asian Americans in U.S. history and in contemporary times.

APA Voter Registration Drive--Why and How
1pm & 3pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 009
Christine Chen, Jeannette Moy, and Brian Redondo, APIA Vote; Eric Byler, filmmaker, will join at 3pm

Who says Asian Americans have no political power? Casting stereotypes aside, Asian Americans have emerged as key players in the political arena as elected officials, campaign organizers, and uni-fied swing voters. In the 2006 elections, Asian American voters provided the winning votes in numerous close races, and thus changed the landscape of the U.S. Congress. This two-part interactive workshop seeks to show that Asian Americans are not apathetic and disjointed, but rather a unified force with rapidly growing political power. We will discuss everything from grassroots organizing to block voting to other issues important to our community. We will also provide participants with the skills to organize political power on their own campuses and to gear up for 2008! Come to Part 1 for a discussion of where we are as a community, and then return for Part 2 at 3pm to plan for where we’re going!

Flipping Your System
1pm & 3pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 205
Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL)

Leadership happens at every level of life. The question lies with where and when you exercise that leadership: with yourself, your family, your friends, your team, your school, your city, your coun-try, your people, or your world. Find out the who, what, why, where, when, and how of leadership. The workshop will include everything you need to know about leadership in one hour and an exer-cise on discovering the leader in you.

Identity through Creative Writing
1pm & 3pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 204
Jerry Nguyen and Justin Hayase, Jook Songs, Yale’s creative writing and spoken word group

Jook Songs is Yale’s premier Asian American writing and performance workshop. It fosters a greater sense of Asian American cultural identity through autobiographical writing and performances that get members in touch with themselves and their goals. In this workshop, delegates will engage in writing exercises that focus on personal identity as well as cross-cultural dialogue on issues includ-ing race and stereotypes. The goal of this workshop is to show delegates the value of writing and expression in the development of one’s identity as an Asian American and as a functional member of society.

Liberation Arts: Protest, Power and Asian American Studies
1pm & 3pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 210
Rachelle Cruz and Nafisa Ferdous, Ethnic Studies Activists, Sarah Lawrence College

The Third World Strikes at San Francisco State University kickstarted a national movement for Ethnic Studies in the 1970s. Asian American students, people of color, and their allies organized to gain a rightful place in academia that would honor their histories, struggles and voices. Today ethnic studies programs at college campuses throughout the nation lose (political) fire, funding and ferocity. It is crucial to continue to fight for their survival. Thinking outside the box of identity politics, this workshop seeks to explore campus organizing opportunities and strengthen the net-works between existing Ethnic Studies efforts. Organizing tools and strategies, such as multiracial coalitioning amongst student-of-color identity groups and power mapping, will be introduced and discussed. In addition, students will share their personal experiences in the fight for Ethnic Stud-ies and for resources to further discussion with other student activists beyond the workshop space. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas and stories from their respective colleges. Facilitators Nafisa Ferdous and Rachelle Cruz have been active and successful in the Ethnic Studies fight at their college.

Searching for an Asian American Pop Culture
1pm & 3pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 205
William Lee, Producer of “The Five Points”

This workshop will discuss whether a paradigm of APIA pop culture exists, the various ways it has been (erroneously) defined over the past decade, and its relevance to today’s Asian American social and political movements. This workshop will discuss new and current trends within the Asian American arts and entertainment communities. This workshop will also explore the “Asian American arts ghetto,” a mentality that has prevented Asian American artists from crossing over to a more mainstream audience. The founders of “The Five Points” (http://www.nycfivepoints.com), a weekly variety show based in New York City’s Chinatown that regularly features Asian American performers, will discuss how Asian American artists can achieve crossover success. We will also highlight the strides these artists have made in the development of an Asian American music scene.

The Triple A: Asian American Activism on Campus
1pm & 3pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 006
Annette Wong and Steven Tan, College APA Activists

Think racism doesn’t exist on today’s liberal campuses? Think again. Quotes such as “Asian girls are like New Orleans levees; they only stay tight for so long” and “Asian guys have no game” can litter your campus publications. This workshop will provide an opportunity for student leaders to share incidents of campus racism and discuss appropriate response measures to such a sensitive issue. Along with a reactive discussion to racism, the workshop will provide leaders with proactive ideas to help spread Asian American awareness and prevent future acts of racism.

Poetry Workshop: Weird Privilege
3pm: Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC) 105
Alvin Lau, Slam Poet

Alvin Lau is a performance poet, Chicago native, and writer of poetry and prose. An avid com-petitor in poetry slams, he has been a two-time national youth poetry slam champion, grand slam champion of the historic Green Mill, and a three-time individual finalist in national competition, currently ranked 2nd in the country. Over his career, Alvin has been the opening speaker at the Asian-American Film Festival, and a featured poet on Amnesty International’s Spoken Word Tour. He also filmed for the fifth and sixth seasons of HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam.” Through a series of improv and writing exercises, students will discuss and write on the subject of privilege from oddball (and occasionally sinister) perspectives, such as a piece of furniture from an episode of MTV Cribs or a computer monitor watching its owner die of dehydration from playing too much World of Warcraft. Bring a pen, paper, and a funnybone.

Student Haters!— Examining Government Policies in Financial Aid
3pm: William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 203
Jennifer Pae, President of US Students Association & Students of Color Campus Diversity

The politicians we elected into office will vote on two pieces of legislation this coming session. Historically Congress has not prioritized programs like Work-Study, Pell Grants, and Perkins Loans, and have made significant funding cuts to these programs. We also see cuts to programs that spe-cifically target people of color and low-income communities. In this workshop we will talk about some of the major cuts that are taking place now and how higher education and students’ needs are constantly forgotten. Join USSA in our national fight to make education a right for all people.