ELEVATECAANAPI

StaffFILIPINO-AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

AN AANAPISI SPOTLIGHT As you step onto the Irvine Valley College (IVC) campus, you will notice the diverse student population and visually understand why IVC was awarded a Title III Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) federal grant in 2015. Irvine is nestled 40 miles south of Los Angeles and 80 miles north of San Diego. According to the local newspaper, the Orange County Register, Asians represent ?the dominant group in Irvine? because they account for 45% of the 257,000 city residents, making them the largest minority in Irvine. These high numbers are reflected within IVC?s student population as well; slightly more than 30% of the 15,327 students enrolled this fall 2017 semester have self-identified as Asian Pacific Islanders.

Edwin Tiongson, a Communication Studies faculty member, was selected to be the AANAPISI project director because of his experience as a past director of the speech and debate program, a former community college student, and a second generation Filipino-American. In early 2016, ELEVATE AAPI @ IVC was developed with the mission of managing the AANAPISI funded program by providing Equitable Learning

Vol. 1 | Issue 2 | November 2017

Project Director:

Edwin Tiongson

Program Coordinator:

Tamara Bostwick

ivcelevateaapi@ivc.edu

academics.ivc.edu/ elevateaapi

A Title III supported program.

Students, faculty, & staff celebrate Larry

Itliong Day during Filipino-

American H istory M onth.

@ElevateAAPIAatIVC

@IVCELEVATEAAPI

Experiences Valuing Achievement, Transfer, and Empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at Irvine Valley College. Also at this time, a workgroup made up of dedicated faculty, staff, and administrators from various divisions was assembled to develop a program that would provide the most benefit for students. This workgroup has been instrumental to the successful development of the program as well as ensuring that the funds are used appropriately to provide services and opportunities to IVC?s AAPI students and the general student body at-large. Faculty members were appointed as project leads for the various initiatives and a program coordinator was hired to assist with operations.

Professor Pierre Nguyen shares his experience growing up Asian in OC.

During the first year of the grant, ELEVATE staff focused their efforts on the design and renovation of a dedicated space where services could be offered to meet the needs of the API and general student population. In October 2016, ELEVATE opened the Center for Asian Americans and Native American Pacific Is-landers (CAANAPI). The CAANAPI (pro-nounced canopy) is one of the college?s dedi-cated learning resource centers and it provides students with ample space to study and com-plete their work, to collaborate and connect with other students, to relax, take a break, and even consume meals in comfortable environ-ment. Numerous academic and personal de-velopment workshops are also offered each month, and for those needing specialized as-sistance and support, student tutors and a dedicated API counselor, Jasmine Dieu, are available.

Additionally, grant funds were utilized to as-sist with the establishment of the Adult Eng-lish as a Second Language (AESL) Center which provides non-credit ESL courses to in-dividuals that have different needs than those enrolling in credit ESL courses, a service that has been lacking in Orange County. The AESL Center was formed because the number of non-native English speaking students in the county has grown exponentially. The AESL Center opened 12 classes in fall 2016, and out of the 300 placed students 75% are of API de-scent. We continue to assist the AESL Center with providing professional development training sessions for faculty during the summer.

After opening the CAANAPI in the middle of the fall 2016 semester and shortly after the start of year two of the grant, ELEVATE per-sonnel focused on marketing the program and reaching out to students to ensure that atten-dance would increase from semester to se-mester. During the first half of the spring 2017 semester, the CAANAPI served 302 students, 84 students or 30% were API students, and 9 students or 3% self-identified as multi-ethnic with API lineages. Currently at the midway point of the fall 2017 semester, the CAANAPI

served 375 students. 118 stu-dents or 31% are self-identified as API students and 20 students or 5.3% have self- identified as multi- ethnic with ties to API ancestry. These figures run par-allel to the API representation within the total student popu-lation at IVC. By comparing the Spring 2017 and Fall 2017 mid-

semester student totals, the CAANAPI rose in number of students served by 24% but the greatest difference was the 44% increase in API and multi-ethnic API student usage.

As a result of dedicated outreach and events, the community and college campus has be-come aware of ELEVATE and the services it provides. In late October of 2016, ELEVATE hosted a day- long community event, the PINOY PIYESTA, in order to recognize Filipino- American History Month. Partici-pants included academic personnel from the Asian American Studies Department of Uni-versity of California at Irvine, community based organizations like The Filipino Ameri-can Community of Orange County, and UC Irvine?s Filipino- American medical student organization, FAIM (Filipino- Americans In Medicine).

During spring 2017, ELEVATE commemo-rated Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month by hosting an event, API Heritage Day, in the campus quad. Information on the different Asian and Pacific regions was spotlighted, and performers from local East Asian organiza-tions showcased their talents. Jason Chu, a Raptivist from Los Angeles, performed during the event. Afterward, he facilitated a group talk on civic engagement in the CAANAPI. Days later, ELEVATE teamed up with EPIC (Empowering Pacific Island Communities) and their alumni to host a leadership retreat entitled Forward Movement open to all stu-dents and local high school seniors.

Besides providing dedicated space and hosting events, EL-EVATE plans to continue moving forward with special-ized programming during its third year of funding. This term, fall 2017, ELEVATE launched its Faculty Mentor program. Instructors from various departments dedicate two hours each month to allow them to engage with students

on both an academic and personally enriching level. The instructors have a great deal of flexibility on how they pursue this goal. Some sessions have been conversations about areas of study, Growing up Asian in Orange County, or sharing one?s immigrant story. Other ses-sions like Tuesday Night Jam and Open Mic give students a creative outlet. In the spring 2018 semester, an ELEVATE sponsored Asian American Studies course will be offered for the first time. History instructor, Dr. Henry Carnie, and English instructor, Dr. Melissa Knoll, developed the course in collaboration with Asian American Studies faculty from UC Irvine. In addition, the Intercultural Litera-ture course being offered in spring 2018 will focus on API literature, and is being taught by Dr. Knoll. Taken together, the courses will complement and enrich each other, and stu-dents are being encouraged to enroll in both courses, though it is not mandatory.

ELEVATE AAPI @ IVC has future endeavors in its sight. It will focus on continuing to pro-vide opportunities for students to engage pro-fessionally beyond the classroom through project and career-based learning. ELEVATE will continue to strengthen these ties with the Office of Student Equity, Adult Re- Entry Program, the Career and Transfer Centers, and the IVC Speech and Debate Team, but also reach out to coordinate with other campus groups. In addition, ELEVATE will focus on providing comprehensive and robust profes-sional development opportunities to help ed-ucate our faculty, staff, and administration on the unique voices that make the API student population to help combat the Minority Myth. It is also a continuing goal of ELEVATE and the CAANAPI to provide a safe space for stu-dents to empower themselves and reach their unlimited potential. To succeed, this endeavor requires the collective participation of its fac-ulty, staff, administrators, and students. The team at ELEVATE AAPI @ IVC is up to the task.

Professor Joon Kil tells his story of immigrating to America.

Project Director Edwin Tiongson hosts Open M ic.

BITE-HOPPING: KBBQ THANKSGIVING EDITION

By Staff FoodieKBBQ on Thanksgiving!

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, the main idea of this hol-iday is to spend quality time with our loved ones and be grateful for the positive aspects of our lives. My family and I occasionally stray away from celebrating with the traditional American turkey dinner. Instead, we like to set up an electric grill at the center of the table and cook up some Korean barbecue.

This month I invite you to celebrate Thanksgiving the way that my family and I do, so I present a list of local Korean Barbecue restaurants that open their doors for rebellious parties looking to eat out on this holiday:

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong14160 Culver DrIrvine, CA 92604

This is one of my favorite KBBQ joints in the area. A bit pricier and all around nicer than your average KBBQ joint, but the quality speaks for itself! The chain is represented and owned by a famous South Korean MC and foodie, Kang Ho Dong. They see eating KBBQ as an art here, I promise. They use specific grills to get the most flavor from the differ-ent types of marbled meats. The servers cook your meats for you here, and the round grill also has compartments on the side that cook a per-fect Korean steamed egg mixture, corn and cheese, and vegetables.

Thanksgiving Hours: 11AM ? 12AMPrice: $$

All That BBQ15333 Culver Dr Ste 100Irvine, CA 92604

It?s AYCE (All You Can Eat), what more do I have to say? This is proba-bly the first place I would recommend to someone who hasn?t ever tried KBBQ. The prices are fair. The atmosphere is clean and modern. The vibe, crowd and the employees are young, hip and attractive. The menu is understandable and provides a very wide variety of different meats ? perfect for a crash course on Korean barbecue. You cook your meats on the metal grill in front of you, which is especially fun while eating with a large group of friends, as you collectively pick your cooked meats to eat off the grill.

Thanksgiving Hours: 11:30AM ? 11PMPrice: Around $23 per person

Shik Do Rak14805 Jef f rey Rd Ste HIrvine, CA 92618

Also, AYCE, but this place would be the recommendation for someone who is looking for a more authentic experience, and a place with more options on their AYCE menu. While All That BBQ has one option for AYCE, Shik Do Rak offers 4 different levels, meaning that you have the option of paying more to have access to order higher quality meats. I would say the ambience feels authentic, but also plain. The employees occasionally don?t speak English very well. It is worth it for the quality of meat that you can get for the price though.

Thanksgiving Hours: 11:30AM ? 12AMPrice: $17 - $30 per person (Depending on option)

*The w r i ter of this ar ticle has exper ienced l iving in

both r egions. We recognize that these may not be

univer sal practices.

MyanmarBy George

In the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar, more than half a million of the Muslim minority Rohingya refugees have fled the country to Bangladesh as a result of the violence perpetrated against them by the military. This came after an extrem-ist group known as the Rohingya Liberation Army attacked military bases on Aug. 25 and has resulted in a disproportionate response from Myanmar?s military and groups of Buddhist vigilantes.

There has been a longstanding ten-sion between the Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslims which most recently in 2012 resulted in hundreds of people killed and over a hundred thousand displaced. Many accounts from the Rohingya who are now in Bangladesh say that they had to flee their villages as the Myanmar generals ordered the military to set fire to their homes and have been gunning down the inhabitants in-discriminately. This has resulted in hundreds of the Rohingya being killed by the violence of the military as well as Buddhist vigilantes who have used their clashes with the in-surgents to justify what the United Nations and many others have con-demned as ethnic cleansing.

The prime minister of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has stated that she believes many of the stories about the fighting with the Rohingya have been the result of a campaign of misinfor-mation. However, analysts for Hu-man Rights Watch say that satellite imagery they have taken have shows

hundreds of villages in the Rakhine state in Myanmar where many of Rohingya reside have been reduced to ash as a result of the fires.

In Bangladesh, the approximately 800,000 Rohingya refugees have set up refugee camps that are over-crowded and undersupplied. Dozens of checkpoints have been arranged along the border by Bangladesh?s government to register the Ro-hingyas for temporary IDs as they wait in long lines in the hot sun. This is meant to provide accountability for the government but also a docu-ment that acknowledges their citi-zenship, something they never re-ceived previously in Myanmar be-cause the government there doesn?t legally classify the Rohingya as citi-zens.

These temporary IDs enable the refugees to be provided with food ra-tions and medication. Despite this, without a technical refugee status, this prevents the Rohingya from ac-cessing education or the ability to work in Bangladesh. This is because many in the country do not want the Rohingya to get past these camps on the border and mix with the general population in a step towards perma-nent residence. In addition to this, there is also a security issue that the insurgents crossing the border with the Rohingya might be prone to re-cruitment by the Islamic extremist groups in Bangladesh.

In contrast, others in Muslim major-ity Bangladesh have argued for arm-ing the Rohingya and proposing war with the Buddhist majority Myan-mar. Regardless of the politics of se-curity in the region, Bangladesh still remains the only country that has been willing to take in the Rohingya and no one else in the international community has made offers otherwise.

Indigenous People's DayBy Farhan

Columbus Day, a federal hol-iday officially recognized by President Franklin D. Roo-sevelt, is intended to honor Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the Americas in October 1492.

Columbus - thought to be set-ting out for Asia - had been celebrated in the "New World" since Italian - Americans in New York City marked the 300th anniversary of their ancestor's arrival in 1792. The day was only formally recog-nized when the state of Col-orado made it an official hol-iday in 1905.

However, in recent years, Columbus Day has come to be recognized as uncongenial and misinformed, as the Italians did not really "discover" the land. Indigenous peoples had, for thousands of years, occu-pied the area, yet facilitated its colonization by Western Eu-ropean powers. These efforts led to their own demise as the Native American population decimated by white imperi-alists, who claimed the land as their own. This leads to why Columbus Day has been criticized for celebrating the discovery of a place that was already inhabited and be-cause Columbus himself is considered responsible for the mass violence including rape and murder of those indige-nous people.

With this history in mind, Indigenous People?s Day was born in 1977 as a more culturally- sensitive, alternate celebration intended to rec-

ognize and respect the proud traditions and customs of North America's tribes.

Loni Hancock, Mayor of Berkeley in 1992, told Time Magazine 2014 that they opted for the alternative to Columbus Day because the existing celebrations were "Eurocentric and [have] ig-nored the brutal realities of the colonization of indigenous peoples."

Berkeley was the first city in California to recognize the day in place of Columbus Day, leading to 23 other cities newly observing Indigenous People's Day for the first time in 2017.

In terms of political matter, Native Americans continue to be largely marginalized in US society as the Sioux's recent struggle to oppose an oil pipeline running through The Standing Rock Reservation in North and South Dakota serves to highlight their on-going plight.

New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio is currently considering whether to pull down a num-ber of divisive statues across the Big Apple, including the one of Columbus near Central Park. If that monument is taken down, Columbus Day may be nullified in the near future as well.

IVC celebrates Indigenous Day.

Photo by Francsico Anzola

A SLANT ON*:* the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in A Slant On do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of ELEVATE AAPI @ IVC or Irvine Valley College.