East Coast Asian American Student Union
Encyclopedia
The East Coast Asian American Student Union (commonly abbreviated as ECAASU) http://www.ecaasunational.org is an intercollegiate Asian-Pacific American advocacy
organization and is the largest and oldest conference in the country for Asian American students. The organization's membership is primarily composed of universities from the eastern United States
while its annual conferences draw students and activists from throughout the United States
. ECAASU was originally established in 1978 as the East Coast Asian Student Union (ECASU) before changing its name during 2005 conference. It currently attracts around 1,500 students to its annual conference. The largest ECAASU was held at University of Pennsylvania (March 4–6, 2010) which was attended by almost 1,700 students. The upcoming ECAASU Conference will be held at Duke University in 2012.
Inspired by the civil rights struggles, Asian American students fought alongside other Third World students at San Francisco State and across the country to demand that the university serve the people and open its doors to students of color. After exhausting all channels of communications, Third World students resorted to rallies, sit-ins, and takeovers that forced the University to open its doors. Thus, Asian Americans won the right to a quality education and enter universities and colleges in significant numbers. Ethnic studies and other supportive programs were established to made education relevant to us.
During the early 1970s, Asian American organizations were established to deal concretely with their specific needs and concerns. Asian American student organizations (ASO's) were formed on campuses throughout the East Coast to address the issues of identity and educational rights. Some Asian American students went back "to serve our community" and formed community organizations to address basic issues of housing and health services.
" in Newsweek and Time. All this came in the midst of wording economy and declining U.S. influences globally.
However, this decade has seen a plethora of changes, winding from the sudden surges in Asian American populations in colleges nationwide, to the scapegoating of Asians in the Clinton campaign scandal and the Lawrence Labs debacle. Even more recently, the Wen Ho Lee
incident has shown that Asian Americans are not safe from racial profiling and stereotyping. In the past eight years, Asian populations in juvenile systems have doubled in parts of the country, and by all accounts the fissure between the haves and the have-nots within our very own community has widened too far. APA’s have also seen a resurgence of Asian American activism, from the gradual strengthening of collegiate groups to the bold organizing of the 80-20 Initiative. With eyes on these trends, ECASU looks to strengthen the East Coast Asian student community, and to bring us to new heights of awareness, activism, and pride in the APA community.
Allen Pan (Yale '08)
Nancy Liang (Yale '08)
Andrew Lee (Cornell '08)
Anjlee Joshi (Rutgers '09)
Michelle Horikawa (George Washington University '09)
Co-Chair - June Kao (NYU '12)
Executive Vice Chair - Melinda Wang (Williams '14)
Vice Chair of Advocacy - Diane Wong(Binghamton '12)
Advocacy Coordinator - Nicole Fink (University of Connecticut '10, '12)
Vice Chair of Communications - Dianna Yau (Barnard '14)
Blog & Media Coordinator - Deanna Seid (Stony Brook University ’10)
Spokeswoman & Outreach Representative - Henna Tailor (Rutgers '13)
Collegiate Fellow - Meher Farooq (University of Florida '14)
High School Fellow - Nisha Pradhan (Hopewell Central Valley HS ’13)
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
organization and is the largest and oldest conference in the country for Asian American students. The organization's membership is primarily composed of universities from the eastern United States
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
while its annual conferences draw students and activists from throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. ECAASU was originally established in 1978 as the East Coast Asian Student Union (ECASU) before changing its name during 2005 conference. It currently attracts around 1,500 students to its annual conference. The largest ECAASU was held at University of Pennsylvania (March 4–6, 2010) which was attended by almost 1,700 students. The upcoming ECAASU Conference will be held at Duke University in 2012.
Mission
- Build and strengthen Asian and Asian American student organizations to serve the social, political and educational needs of Asian and Asian American students.
- Promote the unity of Asians, greater understanding of Asian experiences in America.
- Pursue social, cultural, economic Asian Americans, and multi-racial Asians from different nationalities and backgrounds through, educational, and political equality of Asians and Asian Americans as an under-represented group in the United States.
- Strengthen relations and build coalitions between Asians, Asian Americans, and all peoples of color.
Early movements
The 1960s is often noted as a period of profound social transformation of U.S. society, driven forth by the Civil Rights struggles and the anti-war movement, and fueled by the awakening to the injustice and inequality rooted deep in the contractions of U.S. society. Asian Americans began to critically reexamine their own experiences. Some Asian Americans students, disillusioned and outraged at the U.S. war of aggression in Vietnam, were among the first to organize anti-war protests; realizing that Asian Americans shouldn't be fighting abroad but here at home to better our conditions.Inspired by the civil rights struggles, Asian American students fought alongside other Third World students at San Francisco State and across the country to demand that the university serve the people and open its doors to students of color. After exhausting all channels of communications, Third World students resorted to rallies, sit-ins, and takeovers that forced the University to open its doors. Thus, Asian Americans won the right to a quality education and enter universities and colleges in significant numbers. Ethnic studies and other supportive programs were established to made education relevant to us.
During the early 1970s, Asian American organizations were established to deal concretely with their specific needs and concerns. Asian American student organizations (ASO's) were formed on campuses throughout the East Coast to address the issues of identity and educational rights. Some Asian American students went back "to serve our community" and formed community organizations to address basic issues of housing and health services.
Impact of the Bakke decision
In 1978, the Supreme Court upheld Allan Bakke's claim that he had not been admitted to UC Davis medical school due to "reverse discrimination." To many people, this decision represented an attack on the civil right gains made in the 1960s. It also sparked a huge struggle led by Third World students against this decision. The decision was a statewide challenge that required a new level of organization. Rallying against the Bakke Decision, Asian American students recognized the need for a network capable of providing a broader perspective, mutual support, and the capacity for collective action. This led to the founding of the West Coast Asian Pacific Student Union (APSU), the Midwest Asian Pacific American Student Organization network, and ECASU, with regions in the Mid-Atlantic and New England.East Coast Asian Student Union
The 1980s was generally considered a period of conservatism with the Right on the move in attacking not only Affirmative Action, but also questioning: reproductive rights, language rights, freedom of speech, social services, environment, and "back to basics" in education. It is sometimes considered the "me" generation bombarded with "careerism" without any sense of social responsibility. Asian Americans were touted as the "successful," "model minorityModel minority
Model minority refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. It is most commonly used to label one ethnic minority higher achieving than another ethnic minority...
" in Newsweek and Time. All this came in the midst of wording economy and declining U.S. influences globally.
However, this decade has seen a plethora of changes, winding from the sudden surges in Asian American populations in colleges nationwide, to the scapegoating of Asians in the Clinton campaign scandal and the Lawrence Labs debacle. Even more recently, the Wen Ho Lee
Wen Ho Lee
Dr. Wen Ho Lee is a Taiwan-born Taiwanese American scientist who worked for the University of California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He created simulations of nuclear explosions for the purposes of scientific inquiry, as well as for improving the safety and reliability of the US nuclear...
incident has shown that Asian Americans are not safe from racial profiling and stereotyping. In the past eight years, Asian populations in juvenile systems have doubled in parts of the country, and by all accounts the fissure between the haves and the have-nots within our very own community has widened too far. APA’s have also seen a resurgence of Asian American activism, from the gradual strengthening of collegiate groups to the bold organizing of the 80-20 Initiative. With eyes on these trends, ECASU looks to strengthen the East Coast Asian student community, and to bring us to new heights of awareness, activism, and pride in the APA community.
2007: ECAASU National Board Revival
Following the Yale ECAASU Conference, the National Board experienced a period of revival as well. The National Board itself grew from 2 people to 12 people, occupying 10 board positions. In addition, ECAASU began to apply for non-profit status. New boards were also created, including the Board of Directors (aka Directorate) and the ECAASU Representatives Council http://www.ecaasunational.org/ecaasucouncil.html (which includes about 60 people from 40 schools in 2008). The National Board has also taken steps to create ECAASU events outside of the yearly conference http://www.ecaasunational.org/events.html, including regional fall mixers. Last, the National Board has revived the ECAASU journal, which used to be called Asian American Spirit, now titled Envision http://www.ecaasunational.org/archives_journals.html. Last, ECAASU started the Affiliate Schools Project, an online database of profiles of ECAASU member schools http://affiliateschools.ecaasunational.org.ECAASU Board of Directors
Calvin Sun (Columbia '08)Allen Pan (Yale '08)
Nancy Liang (Yale '08)
Andrew Lee (Cornell '08)
Anjlee Joshi (Rutgers '09)
Michelle Horikawa (George Washington University '09)
2011-2012 National Board Members
Co-Chair - Derek Mong (Duke '13)Co-Chair - June Kao (NYU '12)
Executive Vice Chair - Melinda Wang (Williams '14)
Vice Chair of Advocacy - Diane Wong(Binghamton '12)
Advocacy Coordinator - Nicole Fink (University of Connecticut '10, '12)
Vice Chair of Communications - Dianna Yau (Barnard '14)
Blog & Media Coordinator - Deanna Seid (Stony Brook University ’10)
Spokeswoman & Outreach Representative - Henna Tailor (Rutgers '13)
Collegiate Fellow - Meher Farooq (University of Florida '14)
High School Fellow - Nisha Pradhan (Hopewell Central Valley HS ’13)
East Coast Asian Student Union (ECASU)
- 1978, Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
; Asian Student Unity. - 1979, University of Massachusetts AmherstUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstThe University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
; Learning From the Past to Build Up to the Future. - 1980, Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
; Asian Students Organizing for the 80's. - 1981, Mount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
; Asian Women, Myth and Reality. - 1982, Harvard University; Rising to the Challenge.
- 1983, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
; Asian Students in Action. - 1984, Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
; Asian Americans and the American Dream. - 1985, Smith CollegeSmith CollegeSmith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
; Visions of Asians in America: Aspiration & Responsibilities. - 1986, Princeton University; Asian Students: New Directions...Beyond the Model Minority.
- 1987, Boston UniversityBoston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
; Education in Action. - 1988, Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
; Momentum for Change: 10 Years of ECASU. - 1989, Hunter CollegeHunter CollegeHunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
; Asian Empowerment through Unity: A Challenging Future. - 1990, Smith College; The 1990 Census and Beyond: A Map for Asian American Impact in the United States.
- 1991, State University of New York at Binghamton; Speak Up, Speak Out: End of Marginalization.
- 1992, Harvard University; Changing Faces of Asian American Community.
- 1993, University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
; Lights, Camera, Action. - 1994, Yale University; APAs in the Arts and Media.
- 1995, Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
; Exposing the Plight of Asian Pacific Americans in our Nation's Inner Cities. - 1996, University of Maryland, College ParkUniversity of Maryland, College ParkThe University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
; Building Bridges to our Future. - 1997, University at Albany, SUNYUniversity at Albany, SUNYThe State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
; Where Do Asian Americans Fit in the Black and White Paradigm. - 1998, Cornell University; Leading the Way to the 21st Century.
- 1999, Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
; Coming Together: A Pan-Asian Pacific American Movement into the Next Millennium. http://www.brown.edu/Students/ECASU/ - 2000, Yale University; Stepping Forward: identity, unity, action.
- 2001, Columbia University; Evolution! http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ecasu/
- 2002, Duke University; Strangers in America. http://www.duke.edu/web/ecasu2002/
- 2003, Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
; New Horizons.
East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU)
- 2004, University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
; Awakening. - 2005, University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
; Impact: Our Own Making. - 2006, George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
; Foundations: Deep Roots, Lasting Growth. - 2007, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
; Breaking Through. http://www.ecaasunational.org/archives/conferences/ecaasu2007/ - 2008, Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
; Push Forward. http://www.ecaasu2008.org - 2009, Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
; Distinct Worlds, One Vision. http://www.ecaasu2009.org - 2010, University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
; Behind These Eyes: Impression. Introspection. Innovation. http://www.ecaasu2010.org/ - 2011, University of Massachusetts - Amherst; B.R.E.A.K: Bridge, Revitalize, Equality, Action, Knowledge. http://www.ecaasu2011.org/
- 2012, Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
; Emerging Power http://www.ecaasu2012.org/