Since this semester started, I’ve been focusing my energy on Asian Student Union 
(ASU), a club that I co-founded with my friend, Erika. The purpose of the club is to create a safe space for students of Asian descent and to promote awareness of Asian American and Asian affairs on campus. Just right now, I’ve been sending emails back and forth with Erika working on a flyer to promote a new event titled, REAL TALK, which is a series of conversations open to everyone on campus about issues that affect Asian American and Asian communities. And yes, I mean straight-up real talk, where people can discuss openly about controversial or not-so controversial topics in a safe space.
I suppose my desire to host REAL TALK and to establish ASU in general is a response to my anger and frustration at the minimal level of intercultural awareness at MIIS. At some point, I realized that MIIS is “international” in headcount diversity, but not quite “intercultural” in the everyday life on campus. There were moments of microaggressions, where I felt uncomfortable and did not even know how to respond to what was just said. There were moments in the classroom, where I thought discussion on race was critical, but was rarely touched upon. There were moments where I thought we really need to check our privilege. Now, how could this be? We’re at a school where half of us are studying policy and development, so shouldn’t we be even more aware of microaggressions, racial / social justice and our privilege?
Yet, I wondered, what’s the point of being angry and frustrated if it’s destroying me? As one MIIS professor advised me, if angry, one should have transformative anger, not a destructive one. So, I thought the best way to channel this energy was to create Asian Student Union, where I’m not just complaining about the issues I mentioned, but taking action to do something about it and for that matter, taking collective action so that we can have a higher impact. Afterall, isn’t taking action what MIIS is teaching us to do if we really want to see change? At MIIS, I’m learning new tools that are helping me develop this student organization. As I learn these new tools, I’m applying them to the Asian Student Union and gaining more insight on how to better lead and manage organizations. Sure it’s only a student organization and not a real nonprofit, but I have to start somewhere and plus, why not take these tools outside of the classroom and use them already? But, speaking of tools, I need to get back to finishing my ecosystem mapping of ASU right now…it’s due tomorrow, and I have yet to identify the allies and opponents in ASU’s ecosystem.