Ilyse Kramer Staff Writer

In an effort to explore the often complicated duality of the Asian American identity, Vassar’s Asian Students Alliance (ASA) will hold a conference entitled “Asian Americans: Exploring the Other End of the Hyphen” from March 31 to April 2.

The three-day conference will be open to the College, as well as other area colleges. Invitations have been extended to 16 colleges. The annual conference will include workshops, speakers, performances.

The topic for the conference changes each year, and this year it stemmed from an on-going discussion of the idea of an Asian ‘motherland’ and its problematic connotations.
“Many Asian people consider Asia their ‘motherland,’ while others align themselves more closely with America,” said ASA Co-President Sonia Chandra ’08.

Referring to the conference’s title, ASA Co-President Angela Lam ’08 said, “I have been asked many times what we are referring to with the words ‘other end of the hyphen.’ This is a question that I encourage.”

The conference will focus on the Asian diaspora and explore the Asian and Asian American identity, while also addressing issues pertinent to student groups on campus such as hunger, women’s rights, social and economic justice, creative expression, and multiracial visibility. While the conference will be primarily concerned with Asian-American identity on a broader scope, Chandra believes the conference will also reflect student concerns regarding issues that pertain specifically to Vassar.

Although the conference will focus on Asian American identity, ASA has worked to promote the event’s accessibility to the entire campus. According to Chandra, the workshops and lectures will address broader themes such as domestic violence that are important to Asian and non-Asian students alike. “The diverse topics discussed will engage all students, because they will show that Asian-Americans must deal with the same issues as everyone else,” said Chandra.

The conference will also feature a variety of speakers. “We are very fortunate to have such an amazing range of speakers,” said Lam. These speakers will include Hip-Hop journalist Oliver Wang and Associate Director of Liberty in North Korea Hannah Song. The Director of Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) Socheata Poeuv will discuss her documentary on the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia. Activist Ishle Yi Park, from HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, will hold a workshop and perform on Saturday.

Registration is available through the ASA website amee.diskobox.net/asa_conference06. Registration is free and a Filipino dinner will be served for $3.

Additional reporting by Lauren Sutherland, Assistant News Editor