ECAASU 2006

marduk

Sarnie Clown!
So this past weekend I was down in Washington D.C. at George Washing University for the East Coast Asian Americans Student Union (ECAASU) conference. Did anyone happen to be there this weekend?

For those of you that weren't there, there were some great talks. The opening keynote speaker was by Dat Nguyen, the all pro linebacker of the Dallas Cowboys. He talked about what it was like being the first asian to have a huge role in the NFL. Also, I got to meet him. It was sick.

Another great talk was on human trafficking. The name of the talk was called "Modern Day Slavery: Human Trafficking." For those of you that only think this happens in developing countries, I just want you to know that it happens here in America too. Everyday so-called "mail ordered brides" are brought into the US and forced into servitude. Also, a recent major case involved this guy deceiving over 100 vietnamese women into coming to "America to earn better wages" just to put them to work in sweat shops in America Samoa. For more info on this, look up Boat People SOS.

Overall, I thought the conference was good. Aside from Human Trafficking, here are some other topics we can talk about here in Shoutouts. If you want to discuss some of these topics, copy and paste them to the top of your response so that others will know what you're talking about (if it's not obvious).

Being Multiracial in White America and in the "Motherland"
-What does it mean to be half asian and half white? How would a "hapa" identify themselves? More Asian, more American, more what?

Starting Conditions: How the Cultural Capital of the Model Minority Myth Affects Black and Asian Americans
-This one is especially interesting to me. A lot of people would foolhardily say that Asians, as a minority group, are well off and do not need any special help like blacks and hispanics. However, while Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans are closest to economic equality with whites, many Southeast Asian refugees live below the poverty line. Think about the asian stereotype. Is it hurting us more than helping us?

And one final topic...

Fetiishes and Race Traitors: Myths and Realities of Interracial Relationships
-Some asian groups promote interracial relationships while others would call anyone who do "race traitors." For example, the Thais seem to follow this trend of favoring pop stars who are half thai and half white. What do you guys think? Also, what about interracial relationships? Is it now chic for a white guy to date an asian girl? Is that trend actually happening?

Anyway, something for ya'll to chew on. Also, if anyone was there, I still can't believe that Yale won the bid for the 2007 conference...
 
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