UCLA FIRSTS Every other Friday, The Bruin will
highlight social, political and scientific advancements that
originated at UCLA and set standards for both the university and
the nation.
By Jennifer Moizel
Daily Bruin Contributor
Massive strikes in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1968 partially
led UCLA administrators to reconsider its lack of attention to
ethnic studies at the time.
These demonstrations prompted them to establish four hybrid
organized research units, or areas of study, according to the Asian
American Studies Center.
In 1969, UCLA became the first university in the nation to open
an Asian American Studies Center, which eventually allowed for the
establishment of the first ever graduate degree program in Asian
American studies.
After years of civil rights activities, the program opened
smoothly in 1976.
“The graduate program didn’t meet a whole lot of
opposition because a lot of the anger that was typically directed
towards ethnic studies in those days was directed towards African
American studies,” said Don Nakanishi, the center’s
director. Nakanishi has worked with the Asian American Studies
Program at UCLA for the last 25 years.
ANNA AVIK Professor Henry Yu speaks with his
graduate class, Asian American Studies 200A: Critical Issues in
Asian American Studies. The Asian American Studies Center first
opened in 1969. Earlier efforts gone into creating classes in
African American Studies, Nakanishi said, paved the way for the
UCLA Academic Senate and the University of California to approve
the Asian American Studies Graduate Program .
Marji Lee, current librarian of the center and a 1984 alumna of
the graduate program, said most of the courses have remained the
same, although they may have broadened in scope.
“Our field of vision and academic world was different back
then,” Lee said.
She added that continued collaboration between the faculty, the
staff at the center and the local Asian American community helped
with the progression of the program.
With almost 40 professors from more than 20 departments and
professional schools, the program is supported by the largest
faculty in Asian American studies in the nation.
“One of the strengths of our program is that it’s
interdisciplinary,” said Jeannie Shinozuka, a second-year
graduate student in the discipline.
These interdepartmental ties have allowed for the development of
a joint master’s degree, similar to a double major, in Asian
American Studies and either Public Health or Social Welfare.
“We are considering offering other joint degrees as
well,” Nakanishi said.
One of the crucial objectives of the program is to communicate
the experiences and promote the study of Asian American and Pacific
Island peoples as an ethnic group in the U.S., according to the
program’s Web site.
ANNA AVIK Phil Hutchison and Shu
Farmer, graduate students in Asian American Studies,
discuss books during their Asian American Studies
Sang Chi, a second-year graduate student in Asian American
Studies, said some people tend to clump Asian Americans together
without regard to their specific ethnic identity.
“The privilege of being recognized as an individual is
only accorded to certain people in this society,” he said
Chi said it’s important to preserve the immigration
histories and the individuality of each ethnic identity within the
Asian American community .
Dennis Arguelles, assistant director of the center, pointed out
that, unlike other ethnic groups like Latinos for example, Asian
Americans don’t even share a common language.
“The histories and cultures of each ethnic group are so
unique that people will identify with their specific ethnic
identity first,” Arguelles said.
Russell Leong, editor of “Amerasia,” a scholarly
journal in Asian American Studies which is published at UCLA, said
some people misunderstand the meaning behind Asian American
studies.
“When people talk about race relations, people talk about
black and white,” Leong said. “And sometimes, people
will confuse Asian American Studies with Asian Studies.”
In its 31-year history, Asian American Studies at UCLA as a
whole has progressed, but some students feel it doesn’t
receive as much funding as it should in comparison to other
disciplines.
“Asian American Studies is not considered a legitimate
academic field, as other fields are,” Chi said.
Arguelles said that the university hasn’t provided much
funding for the teaching program in the past but there are
indications that more money will be allocated in the future.
“We hope that the administration will recognize the merits
of our program,” Arguelles said. “We are hoping and
expecting an infusion of funding that will make our teaching
program up to the level of traditional disciplines.”
Lee said the establishment of the graduate program itself
promoted the academic integrity of Asian American studies as a
field of study.
Although the field of Asian American studies has spread
nationwide, Lee said it isn’t an institutional priority at
many East Coast universities.
With similar concerns, Chi pointed out that Asian American
studies is only now starting to become recognized on the East Coast
as a serious academic endeavor, as seen with the emergence of
undergraduate minors and majors in the field.
Chi said recent incidents of student hunger strikes at the
University of Michigan, the University of Maryland and Northwestern
University calling for ethnic studies classes demonstrate the
field’s growing recognition.
But UCLA remains the leader in Asian American studies in the
nation in regards to its research, faculty and graduate training,
according to the center’s Web site.
UCLA annually produces more doctoral dissertations and masters
theses on Asian American studies topics than any other university
in the world.
Today, Asian Americans make up 34.3 percent of UCLA’s
total enrollment, and 38.2 percent of UCLA’s undergraduate
enrollment, making them the largest ethnic group among
undergraduates, and the second-to-largest ethnic group among the
combined undergraduate and graduate population.
“The students of today have to thank the students of
yesterday for their commitment and sacrifices,” said Lee.