Opening Reception of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Holifest

This is a reception to celebrate the opening of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM). Following a reception at the Asian Culture Center from 4-6 pm, we will continue the celebration at the Collins Living-Learning Center Courtyard with a shower of colors (weather permitting, please check our facebook page for the latest updates). Holi is one of the most festive holidays in India and symbolizes the coming of spring. Come join the fun of throwing colors and wear something you don’t mind getting some colored powder on! Contact acc@iu.edu with any questions.

To RSVP for the AAPIHM Opening Reception, please fill out the form here.

Around the Table

Join us in a monthly open floor format discussion with directors from the Cultural Centers and International Services on a variety of topics relating to diversity that impact our campus. The goal is to remove barriers, learn from each other, and identify the needs and resources within the community.

AAPI Cinema Film Screening, “Giap’s Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory”

Join us as we kick off the Asian American and Pacific Islander Film Series with a screening of “Giap’s Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory” followed by a Q and A, moderated by Professor Ougie Pak, with Tony Nguyen, the film’s creator.

In 1975, a seven-month pregnant Vietnamese refugee, Giap, escapes Saigon in a boat and, within weeks, finds herself working on an assembly line in Seymour, Indiana. 35 years later, her aspiring filmmaker son, Tony, decides to document her final day of work at the last ironing board factory in America. The film follows Tony on a painful, but loving journey. The half hour film explores the refugee experience, the communication gulf between parent and child, and how racism shapes the Asian American experience. It offers insight into of the hardships of assimilation.

Tony Nguyen made his directorial debut with ENFORCING THE SILENCE, a 2011 feature documentary about the unsolved murder of Lam Duong, the first Vietnamese American to be reportedly assassinated in the United States. He co-authored a profile on Lam Duong for 101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History (Haymarket Books), a 2012 book that offers a “peoples’ history” of the individuals who have shaped our country. GIAP’S LAST DAY AT THE LAST IRONING BOARD FACTORY (2015), a deeply personal account of the refugee experience in small town America, won the 2015 Loni Ding Award for Social Issue Documentary, Center for Asian American Media Fest.

“Nike: Just Do the Right Thing” speaking tour featuring Noi Supalai, former union President and Nike garment worker from Bangkok, Thailand

United Students Against Sweatshops is conducting a nationwide “Nike: Just Do the Right Thing” speaking tour featuring Noi Supalai, a Thai garment worker and former union President who will talk about the hardships she experienced producing apparel for brands like Nike, and the need for independent factory monitoring. This speaking tour event will be a rare opportunity for students and faculty to speak directly with a worker who can talk about the harsh realities of producing University apparel abroad, and how students can ensure IU is sweatshop-free.

Gauguin’s Legacy and the Construction of Polynesian Identities

In collaboration with IU’s Asian Cultural Center, IU Art Museum will host a tour and discussion focused on several works by Paul Gauguin created when the artist was living in Polynesia, as well as a selection of Polynesia works from the museum’s collection. The tour will be followed by a discussion on the legacy of Gauguin’s images and the persistence of stereotypes about Polynesians today.

Who are AAPIs? “Do All Asians Look the Same? Dealing with the Cross-Race Effect”

Is it harder to distinguish the faces of people who don’t look like you? Or is this an indication of our learned behavior? Join us as we discuss two recent articles where Asian Americans have felt invisible due to their confusion among classmates and co-workers. This event will be moderated by Prof. Thomas Busey, Professor and Associate Department Chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

Articles can be found at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/12/why-do-my-co-workers-keep-confusing-me-with-other-people-im-asian/?tid=sm_fb and https://www.yahoo.com/style/4-asian-high-school-students-185900411.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb

Keep Calm and Assertive: An Interactive Workshop

Have you felt uncomfortable holding conversations in social or networking events? Do you want to become more confident when you speak in class and with professors? Would you like to appear competent and professional at an interview, or when working in a team with your supervisors and colleagues?

This workshop will introduce the concept of assertiveness, which is a valued social “secret.” We will also invite you to practice assertiveness skills in every day and job settings. Let’s polish your confidence and help you shine! Free pizza included.

Facilitators: Jacks Cheng and Yue Li, PhD students in Counseling Psychology.

AAPI Cinema Film Screening, “Twinsters”

In February 2013, Anaïs Bordier, a French fashion student living in London, stumbled upon a YouTube video featuring Samantha Futerman, an actress in Los Angeles, and was struck by their uncanny resemblance. After discovering they were born on the same day in Busan, Korea and both put up for adoption, Anaïs reached out to Samantha via Facebook. In Twinsters, we follow Samantha and Anaïs’ journey into sisterhood, witnessing everything from their first meeting, to their first trip back to Korea where their separation took place.

Twinsters explores the meaning of family and connection through a story that would have been impossible just 10 years ago without the creation of YouTube and Facebook.

Twinsters premiered at the SXSW Festival in 2015, where it won the Special Jury Award for editing. It also received the 2015 Best Documentary Feature Award at the Visual Communications Asian Pacific American Film Festival.

Productive Differences: Reaching Across Divides

Productive Differences: Reaching Across Divides aims to bring together students, staff, and faculty from across Indiana University campuses to build and build on connections, conversations and committed action related to research, teaching, learning, and life skills in diversity.

This is a half-day conference that will begin with a keynote address during luncheon, followed by three 1-hour panels consisting of: (1) faculty sharing their disciplinary approaches to integrating diversity-based knowledge into course content; (2) faculty and staff unpacking the complexities of diversity education on the campuses; and (3) undergraduate students sharing their experiences and ideas on how diversity at IU looks to them.

Student Leader Luncheon

Sponsored by the Asian Culture Center, these monthly meetings of all Asian student leaders is an opportunity for student leaders to network, get support, and learn from each other’s activities. Community organizations and other student groups are welcome to attend, especially to make important announcements. Please email acc@iu.edu to be included in the agenda.

The Indiana Asian American Conference

The Indiana Asian American Conference (IAAC) is an inter-university conference established and held at Indiana University Bloomington. It was started last year, 2015, and takes place in April, which is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The overall purpose of this conference is to learn about and discuss different aspects of AAPI cultures and identities, among many other aspects of AAPI life.

Following last year's conference -- "Planting the Seeds," the theme for this year is "Taking Root." The 2016 IAAC will focus on approaching AAPI topics from a multi-generational standpoint, potentially discussing aspects such as -- assimilation, differing values, and an overall evolution of identity and awareness. There will be a keynote speaker and three workshop/lecture leaders.

Lunch will be hosted by the IU Asian Culture Center, and dinner will be provided by a variety of restaurants across Bloomington.

Filipino Culture Night 2016: Two Worlds, One Heart

Food, performances, and lots of Filipino culture and traditions to share with the IU and Bloomington communities! Free for IU students; $5 for non-students. This event is put on by the Filipino Student Association.

Growing Up As a Hoosier Pakistani

This event will feature a panel discussion of IU students who will share their stories about Pakistani cultures and traditions. In addition, they will talk about their experiences growing up in the Midwest in a multicultural household. We will also offer a tasting of a cherished dish, Biryani. This event is open to the public.

Daniyal Munir is the President of the Pakistani Student Association. He is a senior studying Neuroscience. He was born in Bridgeport, CT and raised in Fort Wayne, IN, but he frequently visits Pakistan every two years. He plans on ultimately pursuing medicine in order to become a sports physician. In his free time Daniyal enjoys playing any sport, the guitar, and spending a tremendous amount of time watching random YouTube videos.

Noor Shaikh is a second year Master of Public Affairs student at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is interested in migration and immigration policy. This stems from her own experience. She was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan and moved to the United States when she was 12. Noor graduated from Texas A&M with a B.A. in Political Science. She interned with the National Conference of State Legislatures working on the Immigrant Policy Project before stating graduate school at Indiana University. In her free time, Noor likes to watch movies and listen to podcasts.

Tassawar Farooq is a senior completing his degree in Public Health with a minor in Psychology. He was born in the United States but moved immediately to Pakistan, learning to speak Urdu before he learned English. He moved back to the States at the age of 4 and has lived in several cities including Boston, MA, Baltimore MD, and West Lafayette, IN, before his family finally settled in Zionsville, IN. He has many extended family members in Pakistan and visits every few years. Tassawar will be staying in Bloomington to complete law school. In his leisure time, Tassawar enjoys playing tennis and soccer.

Asianfest

Come and enjoy the diversity within Asian cultures through cultural performances, arts and crafts, and cooking demonstrations. For more information, please email acc@iu.edu. In case of rain, the event will be held indoors at the Showers City Hall Atrium.

End of the Year Recognition Banquet

The Student Recognition Banquet is an annual celebration held to recognize graduating students as new IU alumni and to recognize the Asian and Asian American student leaders at IU for their contributions to the university. This is also an occasion to recognize and appreciate the volunteers of the ACC. By invitation only. Please RSVP at acc@iu.edu.

To RSVP for the End of the Year Recognition Banquet, please fill out the form here.