Midwest Asian American Students UnionMAASU

October 2011

Friday, November 11th, 2011

4:00PM - 8:00PM Registration (Location: TBA)8:00PM - 10:00PM (MAASU Mixer/Tentative Movie Screening)

Saturday, November 12th, 2011

8:00AM Registration continues (LCA)9:00 - 10:00AM Opening Ceremony/ Opening Address (LCA A1)10:15 - 10:40AM Small Groups I 10:50 - 11:50AM Workshop Session 112:00 - 1:00PM Workshop Session 21:00 - 2:15PM Lunch (On your own)2:20 - 2:45PM Small groups II (ECC/BOA/M-Rep Meeting) 2:50 - 3:50PM Workshop Session 3 (ECC/BOA/M-Rep Meeting) 4:05 - 4:30PM Small group III4:30 - 6:00PM Free time6:00PM Banquet doors open6:30 - 7:45PM Dinner8:00 - 9:00PM Keynote speaker/Entertainment 9:00 - 10:00PM Closing Remark

SCHEDULE

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Apply to be a small group leader at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7T6S8RCUIC Students: apply to be a volunteer at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PM2DDFZ

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Announcements&Reminders

Want to have your event be featured in our newsletter? Have ideas for new content? Contribute to our newsletter! e-mail the Public Relations Co-Chairs at pr@maasu.org

e-mail tech@maasu.org to join our listserv!

Become a Member School Today!

2011-2012 Membership Fees:1 year - $75 (expires after Spring Conference 2012)2 year - $140 (expires after Spring Conference 2013)3 year - $200 (expires after Spring Conference 2014)

Fill out the form found at maasu.org/membership and mail to:

Midwest Asian American Students Unionc/o Danielle Masuda6515 Wydown BlvdCampus Box 1250St. Louis, MO 63105

Follow Us Online!

[website] maasu.org[facebook] MidwestAsianAmericanStudentsUnion[twitter] OfficialMAASU[tumblr] MAASUnews

Vanessa Teck is a junior studying intercultural communications and digital media studies at the University of Denver in Colorado. She is currently in a study abroad program at Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in Vietnam, and Pannasastra University of Cambodia for the fall term.

Meet Our Second Public Relations Co-Chair!

objective:

MAASU Mixer will allow membership or non-membership schools to have the chance for MAASU to come to their school. Upon arrival of school MAASU will help develop topics that the host school find most important with current APIA issues. During the mixer there will be a chance for students to network and better acquaint themselves with the mission of MAASU.

sample itinerary:

12:30pm – Doors open 1:00pm – Open circle; Mingling / Introductions 1:20pm – Welcome / Introduction of schools 1:30pm – Team building activity 2:00pm – 2-3 Small ice breakers 2:30pm – MAASU ECC presentation 2:50pm – Break / Snack 3:15pm – Optional local faculty or student advisor speaker 3:45pm – Group dinner

goals:

1. Campaign for Leadership Retreat & Spring Conference. 2. Promote Executive Coordinating Committee. 3. Help the host school focus on topics that are important for their school (i.e: collaboration between diverse groups, social justice, APIA advocacy) 4. Build stronger network & communications between host school and MAASU. 5. Help spread MAASU’s voice and mission.

APPLY TO HOST A MAASU MIXER

If you have more questions or want to host a MAASU Mixer please contact programming@maasu.org by filling out the form located on our website at http://maasu.org/maasu-mixer-interest.

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ECC Programming

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[Opportunity] Apply to be a blog intern with South Asian Americans Leading together. Find more information on their website at http://bit.ly/sXhzQb

[Scholarship] Apply for the 2012-2013 Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund scholarship by January 13, 2012. Find instructions at http://www.apiasf.org/scholarship_apiasf.html

[Internship] OCA is now accepting applications for Spring 2012. The deadline is December 16th, 2011. Find the application on their website at http://bit.ly/uRh2Tw

[News] Not only are Asian Americans the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S., but the number of Asian American voters are also on the rise. Read the article at http://bit.ly/w2gplC and check out the report by the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice athttp://www.advancingjustice.org/pdf/Community_of_Contrast.pdf

[News] Thousands of Japanese American World War II veterans were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011. Approximately 19,000 veterans from the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and members of the Military Intelligence Service were bestowed the nation’s highest civilian honor.

APIA Digest

Asian American Center for Advancing Justice

A Community of ContrastsAsian Americans in the United States: 2011

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This report was made possible by the following sponsors: the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, Cyrus Chung Ying Tang Foundation, and Bank of America.

The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Cyrus Chung Ying Tang Foundation

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Experience

Hello, my name is Leona Thao and I am a fourth year senior at Oklahoma State University majoring in Management. I had the

great privilege of being an OCA 2011 Summer Intern placed at the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. where I met many incredible and truly inspiring young advocates and activists among my internship group from all over the US (California, Washington, Minnesota, Arkansas, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia). I have a passion for social justice, especially in the APIA community and felt that OCA was great way for me to expand on that. Being a part of OCA and the internship program was a great opportunity for me to learn and grow as an individual on a personal, educational, and political level. My experience taught me a lot of things which I grew from. From my experience, I truly enjoyed the program because it provided an inclusive and safe space for the interns to discuss different topics and issues we thought were important and affected us. My adventure in DC especially through the OCA program provided me with a lot of insight about topics I was not very educated on or exposed to, and the discussions among the interns definitely challenged me to think critically, which I loved. With all that I learned from my experience, I have taken back with me to create more positive change in the APA community.

OCA was founded in 1973 as the Organization of Chinese Americans but now distinguishes itself as the acronym OCA because it has diversified into an organization that is inclusive to all Asian Pacific American (APA) heritages. With currently over 80 chapters across the nation, OCA aims to embrace the hopes and aspirations of APAs in the United States. It is a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of APAs through its many goals: advocating for social justice, equal opportunity, and fair treatment; promoting civic participation, education, and leadership; advancing coalitions and community building; and fostering cultural heritage. OCA offers many great opportunities for young students interested in learning about social justice through their internship program. The internship is an enriching student leadership development program offered year-round at the OCA National Center located in Washington, D.C. Students from all over the country are brought to Washington, DC to intern for a federal agency, Congressional office, or partner nonprofit. Students have the great privilege of learning about national issues and policies that affect APAs, all while receiving a stipend. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg about OCA, so for more information please take a look at their website at http://www.ocanational.org/

OCA INTERNSHIPPROGRAMA TESTIMONIAL BY MAASU ECC’S VERY OWN COMMUNICATIONS CO-CHAIR, LEONA THAO

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APIA STUDENT LEADERS

As university students, we face many challenges, not only within our academic careers, but also outside in our extra-curricular activities. More often than not, our passions for these involvements push us to pursue further contributions to these programs and organizations. Some of us may even take on more than one role in different organizations. Ideally, our superb time management skills will allow us to accomplish all our ambitions in the short time we hold reign. It is unfortunate that life is full of variables; not everything will run as smoothly as we want it to. On my university campus, a group of leaders from the Asian Pacific Islander American community convened to talk about our dreams and goals, as well as problems we see in the community. The words that came up the most often were along the lines of community, support, leader, unity, and communication. We wanted

to be a strong community comprising of unified leaders, who would provide support to one another, but lack of communication both within each individual organization and externally, proved to be a challenge. A few also brought up the topic of spreading ourselves too thin, burning out as a result of overzealous ambitions that do not agree with our body and minds. So what can we do in order to achieve this vision while balancing the pressures of being a student? In terms of creating a supportive, unified, community, we, as leaders, need to set an example. By reaching out to other organizations and attending their events with the enthusiasm we show our own events, we show the community that we are passionate about not only our own organizations, but the APIA community as a whole. We present a unified front in standing up for the betterment

of the whole community. As much as executive officers would like to take charge and direct the movement of the organization, communication between members, the officer boards, and e-boards, would be far more effective if a group worked as a team. From discussion forums to opinion surveys, it is important to continuously assess and reevaluate our accomplishments, and goals we have set for ourselves. This is by no means a manual on how to be an APIA leader on a college campus. Rather, it is a composition of both personal thoughts and consensuses from a coalition of APIA student leaders. We find many individuals share similar concerns without addressing them, and we believe these issues should not be ignored.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Send in your opinions to pr@maasu.org!

ANONYMOUS

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The Midwest Asian American Students Union is a 501(c)(3) non-for profit organization that was started in response to a need for political unity among Asian American students in the Midwest. By 1990, there were more than 20 universities in the Midwest that had formed Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) organizations. Some had been around for years; some were in their infancy. Students felt there needed to be an organization that would support the growth of these organizations and organize APIA students in the Midwest for political activism, and MAASU was formed to fill this responsibility. MAASU works to recognize the needs of the APIA community by assisting schools with the establishment of APIA student organizations, promoting leadership among students, addressing educational needs and rights of the APIA community, and developing a channel of communication among APIA student organizations in the Midwest.

The Midwest Asian American Students Union strives to be a leader within the Asian Pacific Islanders American (APIA) community.

The objectives of the Midwest Asian American Students Union are:

•To serve as a resource for schools interested in the establishment of APIA student organizations, APIA cultural centers and/or Asian American Studies programs.•To promote leadership among APIA students through programs including, but not limited to, the Fall Leadership Retreat, and Spring Conference.•To address the educational needs and rights of the APIA community.•To develop and maintain a channel of communication for APIA student organizations in the Midwest through e-mails, monthly newsletters, and networking opportunities.•To assist and encourage APIA students to work toward social change, by providing a forum for social consciousness.•To unite the APIA community across multiple identities.

About MAASU

Mission