On Solidarity and Multiracial Collaboration

I don't believe it's true that people are inherently greedy or that people are inherently anything. To say that is such a slippery slope into believing that SOME people are inherently this, A/PIAs are inherently good at math, are inherently better qualified for white collar jobs. Which is to imply that those who don't succeed in math or don't work white collar jobs are...lazy? stupid? failures?

No. Of course not. We talk about the model minority stereotype and how we as A/PIAs have a bimodal distribution in terms of wealth/education/profession etc. But we never talk about what that MEANS or WHY that is a damaging stereotype. It's damaging NOT just because of how it trivializes the struggles of our lower half, but also because if WE are inherently predisposed to success, to pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, then what is wrong with those other minority groups that are struggling? Especially after allll this time, since the Civil Rights Movement saw so much success etc...why are all these other minority groups (aka blacks and Latin@s) having all these problems and are complaining so much??

The Model Minority stereotype holds up A/PIAs as this poster child of hard work and the "American Dream" at the expense of and to the detriment of everybody else. Some people ask why such positive stereotypes are so bad, well they're bad because they come at the expense of the Black Power and Chicano Movements that speak to the rampant institutional racism and discrimination of which our beloved country has such a long history.

We as A/PIAs didn't make strides in terms of breaking racial barriers, overcoming hardships to leadership positions in the political and professional world solely because of our MERIT. That we were able to come this far is inextricably tied to the struggles of other minority groups in this country that had been fighting long before many of us got here. It doesn't mean we're any less entitled to what we've achieved, but it certainly doesn't make us MORE entitled.

Maybe this isn't how everyone feels, but it's pretty apparent to me that the history and mission of UAAO is connected to and stands in solidarity with other students of color and groups of color on our campus and in the community at large. We cannot entirely over come the racism and discrimination that we face as a group as long as there are other groups who face the same, and face it without our support.

It seems cliche, but it doesn't make it any less true when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr says that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."


~laura (is ranting...)

MAASU!!

Thanks everyone for coming out to MAASU and all the rest of the programming we've had this year!

We hope you enjoyed the conference and hopefully were able to get something out of it (...like a Nice Guy t-shirt or Magnetic North CD!)

As a graduating senior, it was sad to know that this would be my last conference as a Michigan undergrad...and I know for so many more of you it's even more meaningful because you all have been to so many more of these conferences than myself.

The year has gone by so quickly, and I feel like UAAO as an organization has made some good progress this year, and done a lot to reevaluate and think about areas for improvement for next year. I really encourage everyone and anyone who has an opinion on how UAAO ran this year or how the board functioned to please please give us some feedback! (uaao.board@umich.edu) We appreciate and take to heart all of your comments and definitely take them into account when it comes to planning next year's meetings and programming.

(Even negative feedback, because it forces us to look beyond personal feelings and try to figure out what's best for our organization and the community.)


soooo if anyone reads this, please let us know how we've been doing and what you'd like to see more of next year!!

Thanks for a great year,

~Laura