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Columbia APAHM Columbia AAA NYU Asian/Pacific/American Institute NYU LGBTQ Office NYU Bookstore Cabot Dark Shadows (Universal Pictures) Fusia IW Group, Inc.

NYU Center of Multicultural Education Programs Waa! McDonalds NBC4 New York Samsung Life Insurance in America Terracotta Warriors, Discovery Times Square Tea Kettle Chase Myoung Marquez Elaine Fludgate Jaeil Cho Kevin Huang Susan $-Money Li Angela Chiang Julia Koo Susan Li Brennan Lowe Muneeba Talukder Mary Tang Wen Hao Wang Leesh Zeng Yan Zhang Christopher Zou

SPECIAL THANKS

ILLUSTRATION BY GRAPHIC DESIGN BY PROGRAM DESIGN BY PROGRAM TEAM

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Dear Conference Attendees, Welcome to the 6th Annual New York City Asian American Student Conference (NYCAASC). Thank you for your support. Whether through attending our conference, volunteering, or simply liking us on Facebook, you have made a choice towards strengthening the Asian American community. Every year we are amazed at the support we receive from attendees, organizations, and sponsors. When we stand together, the change we desire becomes that much more attainable. In six years, NYCAASC has grown and changed immensely. We have had a continual increase in attendance culminating in over 600 registrants in 2011. Originally a collaborative effort between New York University and Columbia University, we have expanded to include Hunter College, Baruch College, Fordham University, School of Visual Arts, and Brooklyn College. We have seen the rise of social media transform the way we spread our message. What has not changed, however, is our commitment to providing a free forum for students to discuss topics pertinent to them. Our speakers, all extremely influential in their respective fields, have included blogger Phil Yu, comedian Jen Kwok, director Christine Choy, and many others. The theme for this years NYCAASC is INK: Imagine and Rethink. As Asian Americans continue to emerge beyond stereotypical roles, we invite you to re-claim authorship of your own representations. The experiences of Asian Americans have often been essentialized--portrayed through dichotomies of model minority and yellow peril. However, through new media we have begun to complicate and challenge these stereotypes. YouTube, blogs and Twitter have become platforms for Asian Americans to respond to, deconstruct, redefine, and to critique conventional stereotypes as well as a space to produce images that account for a diverse set of experiences. It is more important than ever for us to think critically, complicate stereotypes, and dare to dream to create a narrative for ourselves. To put it simply, this year we would like to highlight the importance of choice. By building on the achievements of past generations, our presence as Asian Americans has never been so farreaching. Never before have so many doors been open (cliche?). Theater, film, [insert jobs] have become as prevalent as the traditional roles of doctors and lawyers. But it is more than just your choice of occupation that can create positive changes. From political affiliations to music and television shows, your support is essential to the continuing progress of Asian Americans. By voting for politicians that inspire you, tuning into the music that affects you, and watching the television shows with rising Asian American stars you can create small ripples in the institutionalized fabric of society (yeah...) We hope that by the end of this conference you will be given the tools to think critically about issues you have found a passion for. However, to let it all fade away as soon as you exit this building would be a shame. Vote in the next election, attend other conferences, support Asian American artists, become involved in the issues you care about. So what are you waiting for? Its time to start INKing your own story. Sincerely, 2012 New York City Asian American Student Conference Directors
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Mission Statement The New York City Asian American Student Conference (NYCAASC) is an annual gathering dedicated to promoting awareness of Asian Pacific American issues and history among youth. Based in New York City and planned by college students, NYCAASC offers a broad range of engaging workshops and panels that address issues pertinent to Asian Pacific Americans on local, national, and global scales. This conference strives to: SUPPORT an accessible space to convene student leaders, community activists and professionals in the Greater New York City Metropolitan area to engage in meaningful dialogue INSPIRE informed discussions of social, political, economic and historical issues relevant to Asian Pacific Americans CHALLENGE attendees to share their diverse experiences with open minds EMPOWER attendees to actively re-think notions of identity, community and social responsibility

BUILD, ORGANIZE, and TRANSFORM broader movements for social and political change

History The New York City Asian American Student Conference (NYCAASC) is now entering its fifth successful year since the first collaboration between New York University and Columbia University. The driving idea behind its inception was to establish an ongoing dialogue that addressed the different social issues faced by Asian Americans and to celebrate the rich, diverse heritages that fabricate the unique Asian American culture. The first conference was themed Break the Silence: Discover, Inspire, Empower. The keynote speaker was Carmen van Kerckhove, the founder of the diversity training group New Demographic and a contributor to the blog Racialicious. Since the conferences inaugural year, the committee has grown to include students from different schools in the New York area, including Hunter College, Baruch College, Fordham University, the School of Visual Arts, and Brooklyn College. The theme for the second conference was Redefine, in which attendees explored the evolution of the Asian American community and were asked to redefine what it means to be Asian American. The third conference was themed ACT: Empowering Our Generation. This conference focused on mobilizing individuals and communities to challenge and transform injustices faced by Asian Americans. The fourth annual NYCAASC was titled Change in Motion and explored the movement and changes in Asian America, examining the past to inform the present and change the future. Each subsequent conference has increasingly drawn more participants from diverse groups, with our most recent conference in 2010 bringing in more than 600 registrants. We hope to maintain this trend of expansion as we continue to represent the ever-growing, ever-changing Asian American community.
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Workshops Elaine W Truong (Barnard 14) Ilana Zucker-Scharff ( Barnard 14) Rachel Hong (Baruch 12) Wen Bo Xie (Baruch Chiyeung Lau (Fordham 14) Maple Wu (Hunter 13)

Yiru Li (NYU 14) Publicity Johnathan Chen (NYU 15) Julia Liu (NYU Kevin Huang (NYU 13) Wennie Chin (NYU 14) Julia Koo (Barnard 14)

Senior Advisers Gillian Seok (NYU 12) June Kao (NYU 12) High School Liasons Michelle Cheung, (Brooklyn Technical HS '13) Dilys Huang, (Brooklyn Technical HS '13)

Sarah (Chieh) Lee (Barnard 15) Xiu Ling (Tina) Li (Brooklyn Technical HS 13) Muneeba Talukder (Hunter 12) Lily Man (Baruch 12) Xinting Liu (Millenium HS 13) Wen Hao Wang (Hunter 12) Renee Cho Yeon Kim Pakawat Pamornsut, (Brooklyn Christopher Zou (NYU 13) Susan Li (Columbia 14) Technical HS '15) David Cheng (NYU 13) Jaeil Cho (Cornell 12) Ying Yu Situ, (Stuyvesant HS Leesh Zeng (NYU 12) Registration '13) Olivia Hu (NYU 15) Belle Yan (Columbia 12) Julia Yu, (Brooklyn Technical Brennan Lowe (NYU 14) HS '13) Alan Wang (NYU 13) Fundraising Hannah Yan (Barnard 14) Jamie Yu (Barnard 14) Ting Jiang (Hunter Mary Tang (NYU 13) Stephanie Chin (NYU 14) Wai Yang (NYU 15) Yan Zhang (NYU 13) Kevin Teng (NYU 13) Events Ivy Teng Lei (Baruch 12) Sandy Yang (Fordham Aaron Gao (NYU Julie Zhang (NYU
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Carol Jew (NYU 12) Fiona Zheng (NYU David Cheng (Baruch 13) Volunteers Brendan Feng (Hunter 12) Patrick Lee (Hunter 12) David Liao (Hunter Angela Chiang (NYU 14) Logistics Aziz Nawrozie (NYU 13) Stephanie Zhou (NYU Secretary Lisa Zhang (NYU 12)

Kevin Zaw (Brooklyn Technical HS 13)

Participating Schools: Barnard College Baruch College Columbia University Cornell University Hunter College New York University
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9:30 AM 10:30 AM 11:00 AM 12:15 PM 12:30 PM 1:30 PM 1:30 PM 2:00 PM 2:15 PM 3:30 PM 3:45 PM 4:45 PM 5:00 PM 6:15 PM 6:30 PM

Registration & Breakfast Directors Note Track 1 Lunch Keynote Track 2 Talent Show Track 3 Closing

Kimmel Lobby, 400 series E&L

Wendy Xu
Wendy Xu is a small girl of Chinese descent who lives and works in New York City. She has currently finished her undergrad degree of a psych major and a creative writing minor at NYU and is now facing Real Adult Life Consequences. By day shes your average office girl, by night a lazy bum who rolls around drinking tea. Somehow she finds time to draw in between. Her inspirations include Hayao Miyazaki, Tamora Pierce, Gene Yang, Gurihiru, Glen Keane, Avatar, the Last Airbender (NOT THE HORRIBLE M NIGHT SHYAMALAN MOVIE OF COURSE), Craig Thompson, Zadie Smith, her roommates, and of

E&L E&L

E&L E&L

Wen Hao Wang

Wen Hao Wang eats food while watching food--except when watching The Walking Dead. When watching these shows he such questions as: how are racial ideologies being reproduced? As an outlet for his interests, Wen Hao takes part in organizations like the Coalition for the Revitalization of Asian American Studies at Hunter College (CRAASH) and NYCAASC. He also writes for his schools newspaper The Envoy, and has written for The Hunts Point Express, a community newspaper in the South Bronx and The Bridge, an online arts and culture magazine for Hunter. He is a senior double majoring in Media Studies with a concentration in Journalism and English - Creative Writing.

TRACK I (11:00AM Beyond Two Worlds: Transnational Adoptees Chinatown Under Attack: A Look at Gentrifying Chinatowns and -12:15PM)

Community Resistance Coloring the White Collar: Professionalism and Resistance DREAM ACTivism But Where are You REALLY From?: Microaggressions- Subconscious Biases in a Post-Racial World Beauty, Gender, Nation- Deconstructing the Westernization of Asian

TRACK II (2:15PM- INK-ing Possibility: Agency in the Graphic Novel How to Change the World in 140 Characters: Using Social Media 3:30PM) and for Social Good What Does it Feel Like to Be a Problem?: NYPD Surveillance of Muslim Students and Social Justice Groups Racial Melancholia and Asian American Identity Vote 2012: Giving Political Voice to the Growing Asian American Community In the Line of Duty: The Case of Private Danny Chen- Hate Crimes and Why America should care TRACK III (5:00PM- The Uploaded Generation: Asian American Entertainers & YouTube Changing the Culinary Landscape: Asian Americans in the Food 6:15PM) Industry Walk, Talk, and Slam Your Way Through Queering Space An Emerging Idol: Linsanity / Jeremy Lin: What Linsanity Reveals about Race and Beyond
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YanliniDream
Lankan Blood, Manchester Born, Texas bred and Brooklyn steeped, YaliniDream is a Queer facilitator, activist , and performance artist. She conjures spirit through her unique blend of poetry, theater, song, and dance-- reshaping reality and seeking peace through justice in the lands of earth, psyche, soul, and dream. In addition she has
worked with survivors of violence from multiple communities including South Asian Domestic Workers in New York City. She was a long term volunteer with the Audre Lorde Project's SOS (Safe Outside the System) Collective in Brooklyn working to address homophobic and transphobic violence against people of color. YaliniDream is also a trained aerial dancer in corde lisse who loves to fly-- challenging notions of the seemingly impossible.

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Shinhee Han 10:30 AM

11:00 AM 12:15 PM

9:30 AM

Registration & Breakfast Directors Note Track 1

Kimmel Lobby, 400 series E&L

12:30 PM 1:30 PM Lunch grams to college and graduate students for E&L the past twenty four years E&L 1:30 PM 2:00 PM at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Barnard ColKeynote 2:15 PM 3:30 PM teaches about Asian American mental health at the Center for Race Track 2 3:45 PM 4:45 PM and Ethnicity at Columbia University. In addition, she has a private Talent Show E&L
practice in New York City and is a founding member of the Asian lege, Columbia University and Newschool University. She writes and

Shinhee Han, Ph.D. has been providing counseling and outreach pro-

5:00 PM 6:15 PM Women Giving Circle, funding Asian American women artists integratTrack 3 ing social Closing equality and justice to their work. E&L 6:30 PM

Sondra Morishima
Sondra Morishima is the Legislative Aide for California State Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani. Sondra currently serves on the board of the Asian Pacific Islander Capitol Association (APICA), a nonpartisan, non-profit organization comprised of legislative staffers, lobbyists, advocates and other Asian Pacific Islander (API) professionals in the Capitol community. She is also co-chair for the Sacramento chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Womens Forum (NAPAWF), the only national, multi-issue API women's organization in the country dedicated to building a movement to advance social justice and human rights for API women and girls.

Tarry Hum
Tarry Hum is an Associate Professor of Urban Studies at CUNYs Queens College and Graduate Center. Her research focuses on the socioeconomic processes and outcomes of immigrant incorporation in urban labor markets, related dynamics of immigrant settlement and neighborhood change, and the consequences for urban inequality, race and ethnic relations, political representation, urban planning, community definitions and economic development. Hum received a Masters in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Urban Planning from UCLAs School of Public Poli-

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Beyond Two Worlds: Transnational Adoptees Speakers: Elizabeth Raleigh, Pauline Park, Kristen Pak, Lee Johnson* (pending) Room: Transnational adoptees are often both inherently belonging to and excluded from two spheres of the world. On one hand, they benefit from being raised in environments that are often socioeconomically affluent compared to their native ones, while at the same time are given opportunities to become aware of and engaged in any ethnic or cultural identities they wish to partake in. However, on the other hand, adoptees are physically and innately displaced from their heritages and inherent identities, while also marked as different or separate from the backgrounds they are brought up in. The result is a unique crisis in the negotiation of the self. This workshop aims to explore the factors influencing transnational adoptees, and particularly Asian adoptees in America, in their search for their beings. What is there for adoptees to claim as their own? How do adoptees negotiate complex notions of nation, self and Asian identity? Chinatown Under Attack: A Look at Gentrifying Chinatowns and Community Resistance Speakers: Bethany Li, Alice Feng, ManSee Kong, Esther Wang, Tarry Hum* Room: Lower income communities of Chinatown are being squeezed out of their homes and forced to fight against gamesmanship and subversive tactics of so-called affordable real estate developments. In essence, the nature of this conflict is altering the makeup of this historically and culturally traditional neighborhood. This workshop will look at the constantly evolving struggle between entrenched residents of New York Citys Chinatown and the housing economy surrounding them. Is there a need or obligation to maintain the deep roots of Chinatown when considering its residents, or are building owners and landlords not responsible for anything but their own welfare? Are residents fair game in the jungle of the housing market, or should special considerations be taken into account in their long -standing cases? And what, then, should the role of college students be? Are we mere spectators in this ongoing battle, or is there a larger and more immediate impact on us and therefore room for us to join the fray?
Coloring the White Collar: Professionalism and Resistance Speaker: Sondra Morishima
Room:

Pauline Park
Pauline Park is chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), a statewide transgender advocacy organization that she co-founded in 1998, and president of the board of directors of Queens Pride House, which she co-founded in 1997. Park did her
B.A. in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her M.Sc. in European Studies at the London School of Economics and her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana. She was the first student at any University of Illinois campus to win a Fulbright Fellowship for France.

Sabrina Fong
Sabrina Fong is the Civic Participation Fellow at the MinKwon Center for Community Action. She helps with various civic engagement projects at the MinKwon Center, which believes that low-income, immigrant, and Asian American community members should not be disenfranchised, but instead should be empowered, informed, and active in holding our elected officials accountable. She recently graduated from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter, where she studied Political Science and Asian American Studies.

Shawn Lee
Shawn spearheads all of the movement and fundraising campaigns for The Supply. Through social media and engaging with global supporters, Shawn is responsible for getting people to not only know about the issue but also to enact change.

Whether you're in a Goldman Sachs elevator or meeting with a politician, everyday interactions at work are influenced by a set of accepted social beliefs under the umbrella of "professionalism". This workshop will examine the structures of workplace culture and how professionalism, like any other "-ism", shapes the way we view ourselves and our work. What about corporate culture have we normalized? How does it define
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Kheedim Oh
Kheedim Oh is the founder of Mama O's Premium Kimchi. He started Mama O's Premium Kimchi in 2008 after suffering a serious kimchi craving. He found the commercially available kimchi not up to this standards. After asking his mother to teach him how to make it and many trips back and forth on the Chinatown bus to Maryland, Mama O's Premium Kimchi was born. Originally starting out of his kitchen, Mama O's Premium Kimchi can now be found at foodie meccas such as Zabar's and Murray's Cheese as well as the North East Whole Foods.

our idea of success? And how do we as Asian and Pacific Islander Americans position ourselves in this framework? From this understanding we will identify the very real impacts of professional culture on the work we produce, and explore ways to deconstruct this established system.

DREAM ACTivism Speakers: Emily Park, Fatima Shama, Katherine Chua, Camden Lee* Room: The New York State DREAM ACT (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) would allow undocumented students who meet in-state tuition requirements in New York to access state financial aid for higher education. Though the current version of the DREAM ACT was not included in NYs 2013 election budget, the issues and tangible benefits for immigrants in America are as strong and relevant as ever. This workshop will explore the roots of the DREAM ACT movement at the local, state, and national levels and how students have played a major role in the Acts successful passage in California, Texas, and New Mexico. Whats the next step for the New York version? How are Asian Americans situated both within the Act itself and within the larger scope of U.S. immigration policy? Are advancements in the causes of these underrepresented people but a dream, or can we as a progressive voice act on their behalf to make this DREAM a reality?

Mae Lee
Mae Lee is the executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA), a community based organization in Chinatown/Lower East Side. CPA's current programs are the Chinatown Political Empowerment Project, English and Citizenship Classes, Immigrant Rights Project, Shared Stories youth program, Starting Line Youth Peer Mentoring Program, Chinatown Environmental Health and Justice Project. Mae has been involved in leading CPA's work in voter registration and redistricting. She is also a board member of the New York Immigration Coalition (a statewide coalition of immigrant rights groups).

Microaggressions: But Where are You REALLY From? Speakers: David Zhou, Phil Yu Room: Race. It's a complex subject -- especially with questions like Where are you really from? floating around in our everyday discourse. Despite the "post-racial" age we're supposedly living in, the contradictions found in these everyday remarks indicate to many of us that we're definitely not past race, and that issues of power and privilege related to race are still relevant. Everyday, subtle, covert forms of racism, or microaggressions, permeate our everyday interactions to the point where they've become naturalized -- giving the illusion of a society that's so accepting that it feels comfortable enough to make light of racial differences. Microaggressions are subtle and often slip in and out of conversations quietly, in everyday encounters, occupying both public and private spheres comfortably. How does an individual negotiate a form of racism that is hard to even articulate? What does this normalization of these subtle forms of racism say about the American psyche at large? How do microaggressions operate on different levels and across intersections of race, gender, sexuality, class etc.? Come discuss these questions and more with the founders of the Microaggressions Project in this workshop.

ManSee Kong
Prior to filmmaking, she was an organizer and videographer with CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, and as a media educator with Global Action Project, Third World Newsreel, and Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Born in NYC and raised in the most diverse county in the country (Queens!), she is currently a Video Production Fellow at Democracy Now!, developing a feature-length documentary, and working on her MFA thesis film at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program.
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Beauty, Gender, Nation Deconstructing the Whitening Cream Speakers: Kelly Tsai Room: Double-eyelid surgery is commonplace in several East Asian countries. Circle lenses are readily available for any woman who wishes to not only enlarge the size of her eyes, but also change its color from a bland brown to a striking blue. Eyelid tape is often regarded as just another makeup tool, just another way to enhance beauty. These terms appear frequently in Asian beauty blogs, Asian beauty magazines, and conversations amongst Asian women. These terms, combined with more common characteristics like light complexion and thin body, help paint a portrait of Asian beauty standards. Even though it is clear that Western women and Asian women have different physical characteristics, the beauty standard that is upheld for both races is strikingly similar. But is that what beauty is? Is it different from race to race? From person to person?

Kane Diep
Kane Diep is a film director, his feature documentary titled Uploaded: The Asian American Movement explores the ways in which young Asian Americans have utilized new media platforms to increase visibility in music, comedy, dance, and film. Kane has also showcased his shot works at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Mnets Short Notice and PBS Shorts Showcase television programs. Kanes past experience include managing a modern music and performance venue called The Loft where he produced a sold out series titled Luminance consisting of 8 concerts in 2 years featuring a total of 31 artists.

Kelly Tsai
Spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai has been featured in over 450 performances worldwide at venues including the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the House of Blues, the Apollo Theater, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and three seasons of the award-winning Russell Simmons Presents HBO Def Poetry. The author of Inside Outside Outside Inside(2004), Thought Crimes (2005), No Sugar Please (2008), and the CDs Infinity Breaks(2007) and Further She Wrote (2010), Tsai has shared stages with Mos Def, KRS-One, Sonia Sanchez, Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu, Amiri Baraka, Harry Belafonte, and many more. (from Yellowgurl.com)

Kevin Parker
State Senator Kevin S. Parker is committed to restoring the overall quality of life for the constituents of the 21st Senatorial District in Brooklyn. A lifelong Brooklyn resident, Senator Parker has been a Flatbush resident for more than 31 years. Having been nurtured, schooled and employed in the district, Senator Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of this ethnically diverse community that consists of 311,000 constituents in several communities which include: Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington and Borough Park.

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James Hong
James Hong is the Civic Participation Coordinator at MinKwon Center for Community Action in Flushing, New York. In his current position, he leads voting-related outreach, advocacy and education efforts for the MinKwon Center, and has spent much of the last year focused on the issue of redistricting and its profound effect on the voting rights and political empowerment of the APA community in New York. James is currently coordinating New Yorks first APA coalition on redistricting, the Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy (ACCORD), which now involves 13 organizations across New York State seeking better districts for the APA community.

Graphic Novels & Alter-Egos: The Asian American Digest Speakers: Larry Hama, GB Tran, Fred Chao, Wendy Xu* Room: Comics, as a creative medium, are exceptional in its accessibility to children and adults, as well as its potential for presenting widely diverse themes and genres, through its political caricatures, racial commentary and the myth of superheroes. Comics act as a cultural phenomenon that illustrate American fantasies of power, individual identity, and the overcoming of conventions. In this panel, Larry Hama (G.I. Joe), GB Tran (Vietnamerica), and Fred Chao (Johnny Hiro {half asian, all hero}) will discuss the issues they address in their works and share their experiences as graphic novel creators.

Jordan Alam
Jordan Alam is a current Barnard College junior studying English and Psychology. She is currently researching Asian American women and their attitudes towards psychological services here on campus through the Active Minds Foundation and will be overseas this summer in Bangladesh to research perspectives on mental illness there. On campus, she participates in Well Woman and Asian American Alliance and is interested in social justice as it intersects with wellness and psychology.

What Does it Feel Like to Be a Problem?: NYPD Surveillance of Muslim Students and Social Justice Groups Speakers: Senator Kevin Parker, Hena Ashraf, Diala Shamas, Fouzia Najar* Room: Since 9/11 we have seen the civil rights of South Asian, Muslim and Sikh communities infringed upon in the name of national security. While these communities have been subjected to increased surveillance by the state, it has been recently revealed that Muslim student groups and social justice organizations have been surveilled far more exclusively and egregiously than was previously acknowledged. This workshop will highlight the response of New York City communities to this increased surveillance. Speakers will reflect on post 9/11 Islamophobic backlash and how it has mapped Muslim and South Asian communities in New York City as well as across the U.S. They will also address how these communities have organized and created alliances in response to the rise of instances of both de-facto and de-jure antagonism. Racial Melancholia and Asian American Identity Speakers: Shinhee Han, Jordan Alam* Room: This workshop will explore Asian American college students psychological identity formation process as they confront and work through the multitudes of intergenerational losses incurred through immigration. Psychic space that holds our past, present, and future will be examined and discussed in an attempt to resolve these losses through new emerging voices.

Julie Zhan
Julie Zhan is an actor, dancer, and producer. This jack-of-all-trades, intact with a business and engineering background, aims to inspire and empower through the arts. She has worked with Jon M. Chus The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (The LXD) on projects for Glee, So You Think You Can Dance, and internationally. Most recently, UPLOADED, the feature film she produced has been highlighted in the New York Times, toured Princeton University, and is currently in the film festival circuit, along with several short films she has starred in.
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The Case of Private Danny Chen: Hate Crimes and Why America Should Care Speakers: Councilwoman Margaret Chin, Mackenzie Yang, Vicki Shu, Wennie Chin* Room: A 19 year old high school graduate enlisted into the Army to serve his country. Months later, Private Danny Chens body was found dead on a guard tower in Afghanistan. The army initially dismissed the death as a suicide, but through many community efforts led by the Organization of Chinese in America - New York Chapter (OCA-NY) demanding for a fair and transparent investigation of his death, the army was pressured to conduct a second investigation. New evidence surfaced, indicating Dannys superiors involvement in the daily physical abuse of Danny. Eight soldiers are now facing trials for involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. Speakers from the OCA-NY Board and Councilmember Margaret Chin will be speaking about the history of his death as well as the communitys crusade for justice.

Fred Chao
Fred Chao is an illustrator and graphic designer. His clients have included HarperCollins Publishers, First Second Books, Soft Skull Books, and various Disney Magazines. He also wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Johnny Hiro {half asian, all hero}, which was nominated for 4 Eisner Comic Industry awards and included in The Best American Comics 2010 anthology. His comics have also appeared in the Found: Requiem For a Paper Bagcollection. Various prints of his can be found at the Charmingwall gallery. He lives in Brooklyn.

GB Tran
GB Tran is a Brooklyn cartoonist/illustrator whose graphic memoir VIETNAMERICA details his familys journey of survival through the Vietnam War and their refugee migration to the US. VIETNAMERICA has been featured on ABC's World News Now and selected as one of the best graphic novels of 2011 by Library Journal, Kirkus, and School Library Journal. It also recently earned GB a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in nonfiction literature, a gold medal for Sequential Art from the Society of Illustrators, and nomination in this years upcoming Eisner Comic Industry Awards. For a preview of VIETNAMERICA, additional comics, and his illustration work, visit gbtran.com.

Walk, Talk, and Slam Your Way Through Queering Space Speakers: Yalini Dreams, Dennis Chin Room: LGBT organizing emerged strategically in the 1980s. In the process of claiming authorship of such identities, however, specific groups were excluded from the conversation as a result of race, class, and ethnicity. One of such groups included Asian Americans. Two decades later, where does LGBTQI organizing stand? More importantly, where do self identified Asian American lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, and intersex see themselves in the space they occupy? How do LGBTQI activists acknowledge and work on differences both within and outside their communities? And lastly, how do LGBTQI communities challenge power and Culture to make themselves visible, or invisible in society? These are some of the questions we will work on in this workshop.

Hena Ashraf
Hena Ashraf is an independent filmmaker. She likes to create with cameras and stories, and has been making films since her teenage years. She lives in the land of Brooklyn, after stints at the University of Michigan and Londons East End. Hena tends to disappear into her headphones, and also writes and photographs.

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Edward Song
Edward Song started Korilla BBQ, NYCs first mobile Korean BBQ truck, alongside his friends in October 2010. With the goal of popularizing the delicious and naturally healthy cuisine of Korea, Eddie and his team have set out to establish Korilla as the new face of Korean BBQ. The tiger-striped Korilla trucks dish out flame-grilled Korean BBQ meats (Korean style ribeye, skirt steak, chicken, pork, and tofu) in a fast and casual burrito, chosun (play-on-words of chosen) bowl or the notorious Korean taco format. Locations can be found on its website (korillabbq.com) or Twitter (@korillabbq).

Changing the Culinary Landscape: Asian Americans in the Food Industry Speakers: Wen Hao Wang (Moderator) Jason Wang, Edward Song, Kheedim Oh Room: Foodies rejoice! Asian Americans celebrate! Asian Americans chefs, entrepreneurs, and advocates are reshaping the culinary landscape. From the food truck craze to politically-conscious food advocacy, the attention on food gives Asian Americans the space to share their voices and personal stories. Learn what these taste-setters from businesses like Korilla and Xian have to say about Asian culinary authenticity, the passion behind their businesses, and how they have defied the Asian American norm.

Elizabeth Raleigh
Dr. Elizabeth Raleigh is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Asian American Studies Program at Hunter College. She teaches courses in Asian American education, Asian adoption and Asians in America. Raleigh received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Brown University in American Civilization. Her research interests include immigrant families and adoptive families. Currently she is working on a project that examines transracial adoption through a market lens and as a window into racial and ethnic boundaries.

The Uploaded Generation: Asian American Entertainers & YouTube Speakers: Kane Diep, Julie Zhan Room: Five years ago, we couldnt name more than 10 recognizable Asian entertainers in mainstream America. Within a few years, groups of young Asian Americans have rapidly emerged in entertainment based in new media, specifically YouTube. They are taking action into their own hands and redefining how Asian Americans are perceived and valued in society. Kane Diep and Julie Zhan will show exclusive footage from their documentary Uploaded to illustrate the phenomenon, and discuss the current struggles and successes of important Asian Americans in entertainment, for both online celebrities and industry professionals.

Fouzia Najar
Fouzia Najar is a Kashmiri-American from Buffalo, N.Y., and she received a B.A. in History and Media Studies from Carleton College. Currently, within the Integrated Media Arts M.F.A. program at Hunter College, she is developing and producing video projects that address law enforcement's surveillance tactics of New York's Muslim communities.

But Where are You REALLY From?: Microaggressions- Subconscious Biases in a PostRacial World Speakers: David Zhou Room: Every so often, we hear of discrimination in its most recognizable formbullying. We tend to regard bullying as the worst and most harmful way in which prejudice manifests itself in our society. But what about the prejudice we face on a less obvious level? What about the prejudice we face in our day-to-day lives? Every day, somebody encounters a microaggressionan indirect, but harmful remark. These unfriendly comments are subtle and often slip in and out of conversations quietly. When examined, however, a microaggression can paint an enlightening portrait of our society at large. Join Kevin Nadal, one of the leading researchers in microaggressions, and David Zhou, a cofounder of the Microaggressions Project, in discussing the relevance of microaggressions that distort our perception of others and ourselves.
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Jen Kwok is a delightful ukulele comedian who loves to entertain you! Armed with a velvety voice and razor-sharp wit, Jens unique performance style flips stereotypes and takes a twisted spin on everyday life. In college, Jen triple-majored in business, but traded in spreadsheets for punch lines after being named a national finalist in NBCs Stand-Up for Diversity. A prominent member of the Asian American performing community, Jen hosts PBS Asian America and the Asian-American Writers Workshops Open Mic series.

Jen Kwok

Camden Lee
Camden Lee is currently a Digital Strategist at New Partners Consulting Firm, a progressive political consulting firm. At New Partners, he focuses on online organizing, social networking, graphic design, and online advertising. While he was in college, he was a community organizer for the Maryland DREAM Youth Committee. Camden has also worked on Asian American and Pacific Islander issues at OCA and the Asian American Justice Center, specifically focused on immigration and youth empowerment. Camden is a graduate from the University of Maryland with a degree in American Studies and a minor in Asian American Studies.

Bea Guo

Beatrice Guo is an eighteen-year-old singer and artist from Westchester, New York. She is currently an undergrad freshman studying Visual Arts at Fordham University. As this is her first year performing in front of live audiences, she is happy to participate in NYCAASC's Talent Show for the first time!

Chi-Ser Tran
Chi-Ser is the Voting Rights Organizer in AALDEF's Asian American Democracy Program, which seeks to promote fairness in the electoral process and invigorate the civic participation of Asian Americans, especially new citizens and persons not yet fluent in English. By expanding access to the electoral process to Asian Americans, AALDEF improves the quality of democracy for all Americans. Chi-Ser was involved with NYCAASC since its formation in 2007 (2009 Co-Director) and is excited to be back to witness how much it has developed. ChiSer graduated from NYU with a degree in Asian/Pacific/American Studies.

CU Generation
CU Generation is a hip-hop dance group inspired by Korean pop music (K-Pop), which has earned a global fan base in recent years thanks to its nonsensically catchy songs and incredibly beautiful idol groups. CU Generation brings K-Pop to Morningside by taking choreography straight from Seouls hottest singles and adding its own Columbia swag to them. CU Generation continues providing the student body with a mind-blowing cultural experience andpleasurable entertainment. For more information, please contact them at cugeneration@gmail.com

Dennis Chin
Dennis Chin is an organizer, facilitator, and communications professional living and working in NYC. In 2008, he had the honor of keynoting the NYCAASC Conference. Dennis currently works at the Center for Social Inclusion, a policy strategy organization that works to dismantle structural racism. He is also on the Board of Directors for CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities and the Steering Committee for the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY). In his spare time, Dennis trains in various styles of street dance.
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CU Taal

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CU Taal, founded in 2001, is Columbia University's South Asian fusion dance team. Taal combines classical forms of dance, such as bharatnatyam and kathak, with western dance forms, ranging from modern to hip hop. In addition to performing all over Columbia's campus, each year Taal hosts Naach Nation, an intercollegiate charity fusion dance show case. Join Columbia Taal as we explore the many facets of water-- flowing beauty to its destructive violence to its unique ability to sustain life. For more information, please contact cutaal@gmail.com

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Adriel Luis
Imagination and creativity will save the world. With this belief, Adriel Luis imagines and creates, constantly exploring new mediums for expressing social change. A musician, writer, visual artist, and educator, Adriel has spent the past decade pushing artistic boundaries. His spoken word funk band iLL-Literacy has performed and taught at over 200 campuses nationwide. His social commentary has been published on Change.org, Colorlines, and Hyphen Magazine. The film adaptation of his poem Slip of the Tongue has been screened at over 75 film festivals worldwide and won an EMMY. As an online media strategist, Adriel has worked with the United Nations, United States Student Association, Democratic National Committee, and many more.

John Sisante
John Flor Sisante is a Filipino-born, Long Island raised singersongwriter. He plays a bunch of instruments and makes a conscious effort to try to do and be good, not just in music, but in life. He is releasing a free acoustic download EP sometime this coming Spring, and another electronica-folk EP sometime in the Summer. To hear more music, go to foxfur.bandcamp.com and foxfurmusic.tumblr.com.

Alice Feng
Alice Feng is a first-year master's student in the Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is interested in studying the experiences and history of working-class women in New York City's Chinatown. As an undergraduate, she was involved with the effort to establish an Asian/Asian American Studies Minor at Syracuse University.

Richard Tran CU Generation

Richard Tran is a rapper who has recently moved to New York City to pursue a career in entertainment. He has spent the past five years performing across the United States and internationally as well. In addition to rapping, he also aspires to be an actor and has done background work on shows such as NBCs Law & Order: SVU. He is also a student at the NYU Wagner School of Public Service and the renowned HB studio where he is studying acting. Richard can be contacted at richtran.com.

Bethany Li
Bethany Y. Li is a Staff Attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). Ms. Li provides legal representation and community planning and organizing support to Asian immigrant communities fighting against gentrification and displacement. Ms. Li helps to coordinate the People First! Campaign in New Yorks Chinatown and Lower East Side to promote a community-based rezoning plan to preserve and create affordable spaces for tenants, workers, and small businesses. At the heart AALDEFs anti-displacement work is the principle that every community should be able to choose what is best for itself.
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Synchronic
Synchronic Dance Team is a newly formed dance group with a focus on urban dance styles. Originally started in 2011 by a few incoming NYU freshmen hoping to explore their common interests in dance, Synchronic has developed into a collective sharing group of dedicated dancers who now wish to exhibit their talent at various events and performances. For more information, please contact synchronicdanceteam@gmail.com.

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