Quarterly Newsletter of the OCA – New Jersey Chapter

Summer 2009 Volume XXV, Issue 3

President’s Message

With summer in full swing, OCA-New Jersey is moving and shaking. We’ve held

some great events, and are planning future activities we hope everyone will enjoy.

Our April program was about Census 2010 and how the data collected will affect

federal and state funding for education, housing, etc. The presentation was

extremely informative for all in attendance. I hope our membership will support

this initiative as it is very important and National is involved with this activity.

On May 22, we hosted our Asian Pacific American Heritage Awards Luncheon

which again, was a great success. We awarded scholarships and internships to

students who have proven that they are our “future”. Many thanks to Cochi Ho for

being such a wonderful speaker, and stepping up to the plate when we needed his

last-minute assistance. Additional thanks goes to Ray and Linda Lee for helping to

organize another successful scholarship luncheon.

For the very first time, OCA-New Jersey held its general meeting in Edison, NJ on

June 27, kicking off a new series that I hope will continue on an annual basis. The

Road to Success: Insights from Leading Asian Pacific American Professionals

will become our chapter’s signature event. The speakers for our premier

presentation were Cindy Hsu (WCBS-TV Anchor and Reporter), Assemblyman

Upendra Chivukula (NJ-District 17), Lora Fong (Attorney at Law), and Special

Agent Cochi Ho (FBI, Newark Division).

Ice Production Network (icepn.com), an online broadcast channel, taping the entire

event for future viewing. This is great exposure for OCA and expands our audience

beyond NJ. We look forward to partnering with icepn.com for future programs.

The 2009 OCA National Convention will be held in San Francisco from August 6-9,

with a picnic at Angel Island. Themed as “A Call to Action: Empowering Asian

Pacific American Voices”, I’m looking forward to meeting other chapter members

from across the country and exchanging ideas/information.

As we enter the fall season, I hope you’re able to join us for our annual family

picnic on September 13 at Van Saun County Park. This year, the picnic will be

hosted by the Northern NJ & Westchester Regions of Families With Children from

China.

Next up on our calendar on November 7 will be a presentation hosted by the

Committee of 100 regarding public attitudes toward Asian Americans. I know this

presentation will be very educational and I invite the membership to please attend.

To wrap up the year, our annual Holiday Ball will be on December 5 at the

Bethwood in Totowa. This is our only huge fundraiser and your support enables

OCA-New Jersey to continue the scholarship and internship programs. Please join

us for a festive and fun-filled evening.

Hope you have a great summer!

Mary Lee

President

NEW JERSEY CHAPTER

Mary Lee, President

Anna Chan, Executive

Vice President

Virginia Ng, Secretary

Florence Chen, Treasurer

OCAction

is a

Quarterly publication of the

OCA, New Jersey Chapter

NJ_OCA@Yahoo.com

All Rights Reserved

Editor: Dave Lai Len

Publisher: Ray Lee

Reporters: Florence Chen

and Anna Chan

Photographers: Dave Lai Len,

Cochi-Ho

Member contributions to this

Newsletter are welcome.

Send your letters and articles to:

Dave Lai Len at

dplailen@aol.com

OCA-New Jersey Website:

http://www.oca-nj.com/

Ice Production Network (icepn.com), an online broadcast channel, taped the entireevent for future viewing. This is great exposure for OCA and expands our audiencebeyond NJ. We look forward to partnering with icepn.com for future programs.

I’m often asked why I belong to OCA, a Asian civil rightsorganization. Why not belong to a Mah Jong or Chinese

social club? To me OCA stands for our heritage and our civil

rights.

We often need to be reminded of our roots. This spring two

events reinforced my Asian-American heritage.

First I went to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum with a

group of other OCA members. For those of you who have

gone to the Statue of Liberty from Liberty State Park, you

might know it as the short stop before “the Statue.” But it’s a

stop worth making. The National Park Service has been

restoring the buildings used to process immigrants coming tothe United States at the beginning of the 20th Century. There

is so much to see that I once spent a whole day there.

You will see pictures and memorabilia from European and

Asian immigrants. Although Ellis Island doesn’t have as

much significance for Asian Immigrants as Angel Island

outside San Francisco, many an Asian passed thru Ellis Island.

You will see the class struggle of immigrants, how they came

to the United States with nothing but the clothes on their backs

and $5. How they worked their way up the social food chain

to carve out a life for themselves and their children.

It’s easy for us second and third generation Asian Americans

to forget the poverty that our parents had to put up with.

And often I think our newly emigrated forget the trials and

tribulations that our predecessors endured. If you look around

OCA, you see more American Born Chinese than immigrants.

I think it’s because we’ve seen our parents work in Chinese

laundries and in restaurants to put us through college. We’ve

experienced the racism that is the dark side of America that is

hidden so well.

Many of our new immigrants come as college graduates, with money in their pockets and college degrees on their resumes

and think, “I’m in the educated middle-class, there’s no

discrimination against the middle class white collar Asian-

American.” I hate to tell them, “that ain’t so.”

The second event this spring was the “Road to Success” panel

discussion. Two “Third Generation” and two “First

Generation” Asian-Americans speaking about their climb up

the American social ladder.

Racism still exists.

One of our speakers said the proper response to “You speak

very good English.” is “And so do you!” No matter how many generations have been in America, we will always be

outsiders, expected to speak Pidgin English!

“Where do you come from?” “Manhattan”, “No where do you

really come from?” Because we look different, we can’t be

Americans?

Cindy Hsu talked of being the first Asian-American at CBS

News, and now there are two. Wasn’t it just two years ago

that we batted racial stereotypes at CBS in the FM92.3 JV &

Elvis incident (obscene racist and sexist language)?

When asked “What is OCA?”, my three word answer is “An

Asian NAACP.” Asians are still fighting for their civil rights,

they’re still looking for their voice, OUR Martin Luther King.Until we unite , not a Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese,

but Asian and work together, we will never have the clout of

the blacks or Hispanics.

David Lai-Len

Editor

OCAction, Summer 2009, Page 2

Editorial

OCAction, Summer 2009, Page 3

Events Committee of 100 CALENDAR

Annual Holiday Ball

OCA NJ's Annual Holiday

Ball fund raising dinner will be held

on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at

the Bethwood in Totowa, New Jersey.

This year it is our great honor to have

FBI Director, Weysun Dun as our Holiday Ball Honoree.

The new ”Leaders of Tomorrow”

program will aim to attract young

professionals and college students to

the event and provide a subsidized

admission rate of $40 per person (2 for

$70) for the first 20 young adults

under age 30. If we exceed 20 young

adults, they will pay dinner cost.

It will be a fun opportunity to

network, exchange experiences with

each other, and build a better, stronger Asian community among our

youth.

Lastly, Ariel Butch Artes will be our

new DJ this year and is very

entertaining in song and dance.

Come join us! For further

information, I can be reached at 908-

654-6544 or e-mail at

ngyupink@yahoo.com

Helen Yu

Holiday Ball Chair

“Public Attitudes Toward Chinese and Asian Americans”

“Still the Other?” – Public Attitudes Toward Chinese and Asian Americans” will be OCA-New Jersey’s program onNovember 7th in Paramus.

This presentation is based on a survey conducted by TheCommittee of 100, a national non-partisan, non-profitmembership organization comprised of prominent Chinese Americans in a broad range of professions.

With their knowledge and experience, the Committee hasdedicated its efforts toencouraging relations between the peoples of the United Statesand Greater China and encouraging the fullparticipation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of lifein America.

A member from the Committee will be the speaker and the topics to be discussed are:

• Lack of knowledge about

Chinese and Asian

Americans

• Loyalty of Asian

Americans

• Political influence

• Leadership in corporate

America

• Representations in

education institutions

• Chinese American

perceptions

• Fitting into US culture

Please join us for an interestingand informative afternoon on November 7, 2009.

Please mark your calendar and plan on

participating in coming OCA-NJ

events. They are:

August

6-9 OCA National Convention

St Francis Hotel,

San Francisco, CA

September

13 FCC/OCA Four Chapter

Picnic Van Saun Park,

Paramus, NJ

November

7 Board Meeting 1 PM

Program: Committee of 100

Reports on Public Attitudes

Toward Chinese and Asian

Americans

Time: TBD .

Location: TBD

December

5 OCA –NJ Holiday Ball, The

Bethwood, Totowa

If you have any ideas for a program contact MaryLou De Maria Berhang at etravelersx3@yahoo.com

Recognition of

Jeffrey Chan

On March 7, 2009 Jeffrey Chan was

presented with the Knight Templar

Cross of Honor by a representation of the Grand Master of the Grand

Encampment of Knights Templar for

the United States of America.

There were only 9 other living

recipients of this award in the State of

New Jersey.

On June 6, 2009 Jeffrey was inducted

into Shrewsbury Priory of the Knight

York Cross of Honor having had the

position of Worshipful Master of his

Lodge; High Priest of the Royal Arch

Chapter; Thrice Illustrious Master ofthe Council of Royal and Select

Masters; Commander of Commander

of Knights Templar and unanimously

chosen to receive the honor of

membership.

Holiday Ball Pix08-12-13 HB 146.JPG

Child W/ornament 08-12-13 HB 173.JPG

OCA NJ's Annual Holiday Ball

fund raising dinner will be held onSaturday, December 5, 2009 at theBethwood in Totowa, New Jersey. Thisyear it is our great honor to have FBIDirector, Weysan Dun as our HolidayBall Honoree.

The new ”Leaders of Tomorrow” pro-gram will aim to attract young profes-sionals and college students to the eventand provide a subsidized admission rateof $40 per person (2 for $70) for thefirst 20 young adults under age 30. Ifwe exceed 20 young adults, they willpay dinner cost.

It will be a fun opportunity to network,exchange experiences with each other,and build a better, stronger Asian com-munity among our youth.

Lastly, Ariel Butch Artes will be ournew DJ this year and is very entertain-ing in song and dance.

Come join us! For further information, I can be reached at 908- 654-6544 ore-mail at ngyupink@yahoo.com

Helen Yu

Holiday Ball Chair

Please mark your calendar and plan on

participating in coming OCA-NJ events.

They are:

August

6-9 OCA National Convention St. Francis Hotel,San Francisco, CA.

September

13 FCC/OCA Four ChapterPicnic, Van Saun Park,Paramus, NJ

November

7 Board Meeting 10 AMProgram: Committee of 100Reports on Public Attitudes Toward Chinese and Asian AmericansTime: 2 PMLocation: UPS650 Winters AvenueParamus, NJ

December

5 OCA - Holiday Ball,

The Bethwood, Totowa, NJ

If you have any ideas for a program,contact Mary Lou DeMaria Berhang

etravelersx3@yahoo.com

OCAction, Summer 2009, Page 4

The OCA-NJ Chapter 2009 Internship and Scholarship Recipients were honored at aluncheon held at Noodle Chu Restaurant on Saturday, May 23rd. Recipients this yearincluded twelve high school seniors and three college students. The keynote speaker was Cochi

Ho, Special Agent at the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation.

Laura Lee, a new member to join OCA-New Jersey this

year read a proclamation celebrating Asian/Pacific

American Heritage Month from State Senator Loretta

Weinberg (District 37) which was presented to each of the

fifteen student honorees.

OCA-New Jersey Chapter Internships for 2009 were

awarded this year to the following students.

Amy Kao

Carnegie Mellon University, Sophomore, Majoring inBusiness Administration & Political Science

Internship in the office of Ron Chen, Public Advocate,

State of New Jersey

Thomas Ng

Ramapo College of New Jersey, Senior, Majoring in

Education, Minor in Music

Internship in the office of State Senator Loretta Weinberg

(District 37)

Jolene Wang

Yale University, Sophomore , Majoring in Political

Science & Civil EngineeringInternship in the office of United State Senator Frank

Lautenberg

A stipend of $1,000 will be awarded to the interns at the

end of their four week summer internship program.

The essay topic this year was “The United States of

America celebrated an historic day on November 4,

2008 when it elected Barack Obama to be the forty-

fourth president of our country. What does this historic

event mean to you personally and what effect, if any, do

you think it will have to Asian Americans in our

country.”

First Place Robert E. Wone Winner - $1000.

Kenneth Lin, Hillsborough High School will be attending Rutgers University.

Second Place Winner - $500.

Christine Liu, Nutley High School will be attending

Columbia University

Second Place Winner - $500.

Courtney Ho, Northern Valley H.S. at Demarest will be

attending Fordham University.

Finalist were Zenas Ansari, Jonathan Chan, Cindy

Chen, Josephine Chu, Joseph Fan, Amanda Loh,

Joseph Ning, Swati Rana, and Andrew Yuen received

scholarship awards of $250.

Following the awards a ten course family style luncheon

was enjoyed by all and there were generous portions of

food as many attendees were seen packing their white

boxes for their midnight snack. We want to thank all OCA

members and friends who attended this special event and

look forward to seeing you at the Bethwood on Saturday,

December 5th.

Linda Lee

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Luncheon

OCAction, Summer 2009, Page 5

OCA Robert Wone Scholarship Essay Winner

REW Scholarship Winner – Ken LeeThe essay topic this year was:

“The United States of America

celebrated an historic day on

November 4, 2008 when it elected

Barack Obama to be the forty-

fourth president of our country.

What does this historic event mean

to you personally and what effect, if

any, do you think it will have to

Asian Americans in our country.”

By Ken Lin

“All I demand for the black man is, that the white people shall take their heels off his neck, and let him have a

chance to rise by his own efforts.” This statement, delivered by the abolitionist and novelist William Wells

Brown, has resonated strongly throughout this nation’s history. Long after slavery was abolished and the

Constitution amended to grant equal rights, blacks still faced widespread discrimination and bigotry in everyday

life. Yet one man has risen above the challenge by successfully overcoming the obstacles put up by others, and

showing the country that minorities can make the effort to succeed. The election of Barack Obama as the forty-

fourth president of the United States is a historic milestone for the opportunities available to all minorities, and

his achievement has served as both the overturning of a barrier for minorities and as an inspiration to us all.

In many ways, Barack Obama’s life is comparable to that of many Asian-American adults and teens. He was

the son of an immigrant, lived in Hawaii for much of his childhood, attended prestigious universities, and

dedicated his life to community and public service. According to his autobiography, he struggled as a child to

fit in with his peers who always viewed him as “different”, and he had to work hard to overcome such notions.

Even throughout the presidential election, he was dogged by rumors and smears attacking his patriotism and

citizenship. His experience reflects that of many Asian-Americans who’ve fought to be accepted as upstanding

citizens of this country.

As an Asian-American high school student who aspires to have a career in politics and public service, I was

overjoyed by Obama’s election as president and his subsequent efforts to reach out to the Asian-American

community. I can only imagine how far we’ve come in the 222 years since our country’s conception. The

administration of President Obama brings about the change that is needed for us to be brought into the political

process as participants. Obama has seen fit to give Asian-Americans representation in his administration:

retired General Eric Shinseki has been appointed to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs; physicist Steven

Chu has been installed as Energy Secretary; and former Governor Gary Locke has been appointed to serve as

Commerce Secretary. Others have found positions as administrative officials focused on achieving Obama’s

agenda. The fact that Obama wants them to be leaders within his administration empowers all Asian-

Americans, by giving us the opportunity to demonstrate our willingness to contribute to the advancement of this

nation, and the chance to prove ourselves as citizens of the national community.

The future of America is at hand with the election of a minority to the highest office in the country, and now we

have the opportunity to serve and to show, once and for all, that we can be just as good as anyone at steering

this nation towards success. The words of William Wells Brown still hold significance: we have the

opportunity, so let us show the nation what we are capable of accomplishing.

April Meeting - US Census Presentation

Importance of the Census to the Asian Pacific American Community

By Virginia Ng

On April 25, OCA New Jersey Chapter conducted a program which featured speakers from the Census Bureau. In accordance with

OCA National’s Goals of the 2009-2010 year, OCA-NJ encourages all of its members and partners to make every effort to be part of

the census activities. Both Arvind Swarmy and Jonathan Gromer, spoke about the accuracy of the census directly affecting our

nation's ability to ensure equal representation and equal access to important governmental resources for all Americans.

+ Census data directly affects how more than $300 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for

neighborhood improvements, public health, education, housing, transportation and much more.

+ Census data also affects where new businesses, nonprofit organizations and other governmental and non-governmental services are

likely to set up shop.

+ The Census is used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, redistrict state legislatures, and define school districtassignment areas and other important functional areas of government.

+ Participation in the census is mandatory for any population group (regional or ethnic) to maximize the voice of its interests.___

At the end of the census presentation, we again realized how important it is for all APA ‘s to be counted. Since 1990, OCA has had

a partnership with the Census Bureau. As a Census Information Center (CIC), OCA works with the Census Bureau to make census

information and data available to underserved communities that may not have access to census data through other means of the data

dissemination network. OCA also actively advocates community participation in the census through its local chapters.

NY-NJAALEAC Holds Asian American Community LeadersNY-NJAALEAC Holds Asian American Community Leaders Roundtable Discussion with DEA

OCA7-3-09 008.jpg By invitation from the New York & New Jersey Asian American Law Enforcement

Advisory Committee, Florence Chen and Mary Lee attended a roundtable discussion at theSaddle Brook Police Department on June 16, 2009.

Gerard McAleer, the top Drug Enforcement Administration official in NJ, presided over the

meeting which included representatives from other local ethnic groups, by discussing the

dangers of over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs and how to identify the signs of drug

abuse. This meeting was an indication that the state's law enforcement officials want to

reach out to the Asian American communities and see how they could work together in the

future. Former president of the NY-NJAALEAC, David Chong, and the current President,Luke H. Higuchi, spoke about the perils of drug abuse and its impacts on the families. It was

also revealed that the state's DEA office does not have a single Asian American agent, and

that McAleer hopes to change this by continuing to have an open dialogue with local ethnic

groups. According to the U.S. census, 13.7 percent of Bergen County and 4.6 percent of

Passaic County is of Asian descent -- compared with 4.3 percent nationwide.

NY-NJAALEAC promotes mutual understanding between the NY and NJ Asian American community and all state law-enforcement

agencies.

Mary LeeOCAction, Summer 2009, Page 6

Road to Success

For our June meeting, we decided to diverge from our usual

general meeting format and have a panel of speakers who

would discuss their ”Road to Success.”.

We selected four renowned speakers from different walks of

lives.

1. Cindy Hsu – WCBS – TV Anchor and Reporter

2. Upendra Chivukula –Assemblyman, State of New Jersey,

Legislative District 17

3. Lora Fong – Attorney at Law, Senior Corporate Counsel,

Safesforce.com

4. Cochi Ho – Special Agent, FBI, Newark Division

The moderator was Virginia Ng, past president of OCA-NJ

and National Vice President.

The speakers discussed their chosen professions; how they

chose their careers; the challenges they encountered, how they

dealt with them; and offered their advice in this ever changing

world.

Cindy Hsu is an anchor and reporter at CBS 2 News in N.Y.C.

since 1993. She was the 2nd

Asian hired. Cindy said her

parents are from China and she grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii.

She said her parents allow her to select whatever career she

desires. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in

Communication. Cindy’s definition of success is being the

happiest person you can be.

Upendra Chivukula is the first Asian-Indian American elected

to the NJ State Assembly and the fourth Indian-American in

the US to be elected to state office. Upendra was born in

India. As a young man, Upendra was unsure of his career path.

He was influenced by friends to come to the US to study. He

graduated from C.C.N.Y. with a degree in Electrical

Engineering. He had worked at CBS and at A.T. & T. Bell

Lab. Upendra gives credit to his mother for motivation him

and is instrumental in his success.

Lora Fong is Senior Corporate Counsel and head of the

Americas—East Commercial Practices legal group for

salesforce com., Inc. Lora was born and raised in N.J. Lora

spoke of assimilation and trying to be accepted by those who

were not Asians. She talks about being true to yourself. She

received a B.A. in Political Science from Douglass College,

Rutgers University. Lora worked for IBM in NY in the 1980’s in

sales. She decided to attend Law school when she was 35. She

said she wanted to prove to people that she knew what she was

doing. Lora learned to pursue excellence. She learned early in

life that the rule of the game in the real world is different from

Chinese values.

Cochi Ho is a special agent for FBI at the Newark Division in

NJ. Cochi was born in Caracas, Venezuela. His parents

emigrated from China. Cochi spoke how as a youngster, he tried

to pass himself as Spanish to be accepted by his peers. His

parents like all Asian parents, stressed how important education

is. Cochi came to the US in 1978. He attended C.C.N.Y. and

received his B.S. in Architecture in 1984. His career includes

working as an architect for six years. He also worked for the

Port Authority in the computer area. On an interesting note,

Cochi pointed out that it was the Vincent Chin incident in

Detroit, Michigan that influenced him to change his career. He

entered the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia in 1991. Cochi

speaks highly of the F.B.I. He pointed out the FBI recognized

people who worked hard and have strong principles.

All four speakers are deeply involved in community affairs.

They are on different boards of different associations in the

NY/NJ area.

The messages they have for the audience were:

1. Exceed in whatever career you choose.

2. Take Asian culture and adopt it to the local community.

3. Get involve in your community.

4. Assist young people by mentoring.

5. Push for diversity.

6. Push for Asians to be upfront and not be behind the scene.

The meeting was enjoyed by all and this is the first of a series of

presentations on “The Road to Success: Insights from Leading

Asian Pacific American Professionals”.

Anna Chan

Group Pix Crowd Left Pix

Cindy Pix Lora Pix Cochi Pix Upendra Pix

Crowd Right Pix

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Membership Dues

OCA-New Jersey New Member Form

2009 Membership Fees Due Today!

Please complete the following form and mail with your check payable toOCA - NEW JERSEY CHAPTER

To: Jeffrey Chan, 220 Oak Ave, River Edge, NJ 07661

Date: ___________

Name:__________________________ Occupation: _____________________

Home Address: ____________________________________________________

_________________________ , _____ , _____________

Telephone Home: _______________ e-mail: ____________________________

One year membership Three year membership

______Family $50 ______Family $130 ______Individual $40 ______ Individual $100 ______Student $20 ______Student $50 ______Corporate $110 ______Corporate $300 ______Legacy Fund Donation ______Legacy Fund Donation ______Robert E. Wone Scholarship Donation ______Robert E. Wone Scholarship Donation

______TOTAL ______TOTAL

Voluntary contributions to the “Legacy Fund”, set up to finance the OCA National Center for Asian Pacific American Leadership and the Robert E. Wone Scholarship, in memory of our OCA National General Counsel are also accepted.Please write or call for further information.

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA)New Jersey Chapter

220 Oak Avenue, River Edge, NJ 07661