UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Asian American Studies hosted its 30th anniversary celebration and first-ever alumni reunion on May 17-18. 

UCSB’s department of Asian American Studies hosted its 30th anniversary celebration and first-ever alumni reunion from May 17-18. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus

The event consisted of an alumni panel, a screening of the documentary “Benkyodo: The Last Manju Shop in J-Town” and an alumni board discussion at the McCune Conference Room in the Humanities & Social Sciences Building, as well as a discussion of the book “Our Beautiful Boys” and research fair at the MultiCultural Center.

The reunion began on May 17 with opening remarks by Asian American studies Department Chair and professor Erin Khuê Ninh, anthropology professor Charles Hale and Asian American Studies professor Diane Fujino. 

Fujino moderated an Asian American activism panel, which featured Asian American Studies alums Lindsey Quock, Rose Hoang and Robyn Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez, a transfer student from 1993 to 1995, previously worked with GABRIELA USA, a transnational alliance whose goal is to educate and empower Filipino women. She continued her activist work at UCSB by hosting a Filipino women’s conference.

“The point of the conference was really to bring light to issues of the ways that Filipinas were commodified and exploited globally, and also to highlight their resistance struggles,” Rodriguez said.

Quock discussed her experiences working in student labor organizing on campus.

“I became involved in a UC-wide student coalition that pushed for the UC to adopt a sweatshop-free policy with respect to its logoed apparel,” Quock said. “That campaign was a four-year, but it was really meaningful. And it’s interesting that UCSB was actually at the forefront of that coalition.”

Hoang discussed her experiences with activism during the COVID-19 pandemic and how she was involved in creating “virtual spaces” for students who wanted to find a safe space through Zoom meetings and Discord servers.

The event then featured a screening of Asian American studies alum Eryn Kimura’s short documentary, “Benkyodo: The Last Manju Shop in J-Town,” which revolves around two Japanese brothers who must deal with closing their 115-year-old mochi shop. 

Following this, a discussion was held about “Our Beautiful Boys,” a book by Asian American Studies professor Sameer Pandya. The book follows three high school football players who are accused of attacking another student, and how the situation affects them and their community. The day ended with a reception and research fair featuring projects of current Asian American studies students. 

On May 18, the reunion concluded with a brunch and a discussion revolving around the UCSB Asian American Studies Alumni Advisory Board and its goals, motives and structure.

The reunion functioned as the department’s main method of celebrating its 30th anniversary and was spearheaded by Ninh. 

UCSB’s Asian American studies program was heavily inspired by student activism present in universities such as San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley, and is primarily focused on the experiences of Asian American immigrants and descendants, as well as the principles of social justice. It was officially established in 1972, but still faced many challenges, such as ineffective leadership and overworked staff, according to the department website. It was almost merged with Asian Studies, a separate program at UCSB, but was prevented from doing so due to student protests and the leadership of professor emeritus Sucheng Chan. Because of Chan, the Department of Asian American Studies was established on Jan. 19, 1995. 

Asian American Studies professor John Park said he felt the event marked a “very big milestone” for the department, and it was a rare opportunity for department faculty to see the impact that they have made on their students.

“As a professor, you often don’t know whether you’re making a big impact or you’re having any kind of impact,” Park said. “You often don’t know whether your students are benefiting, and so it’s so wonderful to have that kind of occasion where students make great effort to come out and spend time with each other and let them know and let us know what a big impact this department has.”

Jennifer Ho, a UCSB alum and professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said she decided to attend the event because of positive experiences with the department.

“I graduated from UC Santa Barbara with an English major in 1992 before there was an Asian American studies department,” Ho said. “I took many, many classes in Asian American studies when it was a program, as well as in ethnic studies at large. I’m a huge supporter of Asian American studies.”

Ho said that she most enjoyed witnessing the “liberation and solidarity of everyone present” at the event and how everyone was committed to the goals of Asian American studies, which is “liberation for all.” She reflected on an event she witnessed in the winter of 1989, in which students who camped in front of Cheadle Hall went on a hunger strike for the University to develop an ethnic studies requirement.

“I saw my fellow students literally put their bodies on the line for a commitment to social justice and a commitment to ethnic studies,” Ho said. “People were starving themselves, they were hurting their bodies because they cared so much to have an ethnic studies requirement, because having an ethnic studies requirement meant giving people the tools for liberation.”

According to Park, some of the department’s courses focus on answering questions, including “How did California become the way it is? Why is it that there’s so many Asian folk living here? And how do we make sense of our place here?” 

Park said that the department has impacted students by offering them an opportunity to better understand their family history and California’s history. 

“I think that many college students come to places like UCSB without a [deep] awareness of their history, of their family’s history,” Park said. “I think the department is very important, both for Asian American students and then also for non-Asian American students, because it offers a very clear intellectual basis to discuss those important themes.”

Hoang said that she enjoyed attending the event and reminiscing about her past experiences as a student. She said that she felt her educational experience at UCSB was very important.

“I think the UCSB Asian American [studies] department was very crucial to my identity as a person and now as a post-grad,” Hoang said. “I still have so many fond memories and learn so much from this department and the courses I took.”

Hoang said she encourages all UCSB students to take one of the department’s courses.

“Take an Asian American [studies] class because you’re probably going to learn something and help you be informed about what’s happening in society,” Hoang said.