elected ASUC officials impacting API communities
by layla abdul-khabirOur student representatives speak up on campus concerns and the API identity
Last April, many student officials were elected in part with the support of the Asian Pacific Islander community on campus. With their terms almost up, and the next election coming up within a few months, what have our officials done to represent the API community well? Have they spoken up on issues that affect API identity on campus, and have they advocated on our behalf? What results have they brought to show our community? I sat down with 2 senior officials and 1 senator to talk about being spokespeople on API issues, and the API identity on campus.
I first interviewed Krystle Pasco, Executive Vice President (EVP) of the Senate, a forthcoming, passionate person who spoke about her experience growing up as a minority Filipino in an underprivileged community. She believes that the API community can look to her with some pride for becoming the first Filipino woman at Berkeley to chair the Senate. One of the key issues that Pasco campaigned on is the need for a permanent Multicultural Center (MCC) on campus, to stand as a hallmark of our university's cultural diversity and a place for minority group expression. Pasco is passionate about this mission, stating, "The political history of our campus has brought us to the point where we need a space that exclusively represents and speaks to the needs of students from different cultural backgrounds." Pasco began advocating for a MCC as a member of the Third World Liberation Front organization, and since she was elected EVP, she has become a forefront spokesperson to campus administrators in pushing the issue forward. Progress on establishing a MCC has been slow, but Pasco continues to negotiate with the University administration, saying, "The time is long overdue. We are only one of the few UCs that does not have a permanent Multicultural Center as a place for student expression."
Another issue that Pasco is outspoken on is the idea of bringing Panda Express to Lower Sproul. Panda Express, Pasco believes, perpetuates a monolithic Asian-American identity, and is definitely not the best option for Lower Sproul redevelopment. Pasco feels that businesses currently in the Bear's Lair sell "ethnic-specific" food, food that many API students may be familiar with eating from home, whereas Panda Express promotes a generic brand of food that has stereotyped the API identity. "Our campus," Pasco says, "is finally in a climate of desegregating the Asian-American identity." In addition, Pasco argues, Panda Express has a long way to go in upholding environmentally sustainable business practices, and is offering students a choice of food that is not healthy. Bringing the restaurant in will certainly boost ASUC revenue, but the question, Pasco says, is at what cost? She believes that our university is "...finally moving toward recognizing race and ethnicity as multi-faceted," and adds, "Panda Express would contradict all the work we've been doing [in that direction.]" Pasco has a vote on the ASUC Auxiliary Store Operations Board which she uses to exercise her opinion on the issue and to ensure that should Panda Express come to campus, it at least adheres to a high standard of environmental and food quality practices.
Working to diversify the "Asian American" term is something that Senator Stephanie Yang is very familiar with. Last spring, Yang campaigned on breaking stereotypes about the Asian American community, with an emphasis on working to repeal the 'Model Minority' myth. "It's problematic," Yang says of the myth, "because students shouldn't be grouped under an 'umbrella term.' " Yang is especially troubled that some minority groups categorized within the AA term, and grouped under the Model Minority myth, actually have higher rates of lacking access to higher education, among them the Hmong, Lao and Cambodian communities. Yang is an active advocate for the Count Me In Campaign, a student-started campaign to desegregate the "Asian American" term on the UC admissions application to give recognition to the smaller ethnic groups that are usually grouped under the "Asian Pacific Islander" heading.
Yang makes sure that she is the go-to senator for smaller, less visible groups within the ASUC, creating a safe space where they can bring up their concerns and get the resources they need. Yang helps to raise awareness for underrepresented causes within the Asian American community, such as the campaign last Fall to lower prevalent rates of Hepatitis B and liver cancer in the Asian and AA population, by educating other senators about the cause and reaching out to student group leaders who sponsor the event. Yang works with groups large and small to diversify the Asian American identity and let more voices in. In line with her efforts, Yang is disheartened about the idea of bringing Panda Express to campus, believing that it works against what she stands for by "commodifying" the AA identity. Panda Express, Yang feels, helps maintain the current notion that the Asian American community is, "All about 'Chinese food' and 'Chinatown'....[this] perpetuates the Asian American stereotype."
The Panda Express proposal does not sit well with Carlo De La Cruz, Academic Affairs Vice President, either. "It doesn't bring diversity to our campus, " he states, and mentions that the API community has experienced lots of disadvantages before from corporations coming in and taking over. De La Cruz speaks about the impact of corporations coming to communities in the past and pushing out locally-owned businesses, such as those in a Chinatown or a Manillatown, saying "The mistrust of corporations [in our community] is not misplaced." He is pro-small businesses coming to campus, and mentions that in this case, locally-owned Heavenly Healthy foods in the Bear's Lair would be disadvantaged by the Panda Express move-in. De La Cruz believes that Panda Express would contribute to the trend of increasing corporatization of our university. "Our chancellor," De La Cruz says, "when speaking about UC Berkeley, has come to replace the term "public university" with "public-supported university," a reference to the substantial corporate contributions that sustain the University, thus removing it from the hands of the public. In accepting large donations from corporations, although sometimes necessary, De La Cruz fears the university is becoming over-corporatized, asking, "Whose interest are we looking out for? The students, or the companies that fund the school?" De La Cruz says that he acts as a constant reminder to University officials that students don't want their school to run like a business, with revenue as the primary motive in mind.
Pasco, Yang and De La Cruz were elected partly on the support of the API community on campus, earning the endorsements of various API student groups and campus organizations. In the past year, numerous issues were raised that impacts API students and the API identity, among them the Multicultural Center plans, the Panda Express move-in, and the Count Me In campaign. These elected officials had a voice in each of these issues, and it is up to us to examine what they have said and how they have used the power of their positions to advocate on our behalf. As our campus prepares for another round of electing ASUC officials for the coming year, we must look to electing students who can serve as spokespeople for API students, in a way that shows a deep commitment to API issues and reflects the needs and values of our community.