At first, the Asian Students Association (ASA) only planned to organize a student-faculty banquet to raise awareness of the fact that the College is the only member of the five-college consortium not to award the Five College APA Certification to students. Soon it became clear that lobbying for an APA studies professor was much higher priority.
"After speaking with professor after professor, we began to realize that if we didn't seize this opportunity now, it would be another decade or two before anything like this rolled around again. We owed it to the more than two decades of Asian-American studies activists that have come before us," said ASA Political Chair Eugenia Tsai '05.
Students first began raising attention for this issue in 1972. Concerned Asian and Asian-American students sent a letter to the College asserting that, "Provisions for the pursuit of Asian-American studies are inadequate. Conditions conducive to the expression of Asian and Asian-American perspectives do not exist within this educational institution." The movement continued until 1991 when the College hired Jan Lin, an Asian-American studies professor. However, the position was part-time and designated to go to either an Asian American or Latin American studies faculty member. Lin's contract was not renewed after three years and the position was passed onto a Latin American studies professor.
At present, the College formally recognizes Asian studies through the asian languages and civilizations department. This, however, is different from APA studies. Five-college Visiting Assistant Professor of American Studies Nitasha Sharma, the new part-time Asian-American studies professor as of this year, believes the two studies are quite different. "The experiences of Asians in America is distinct from, although of course, tied to the experiences of Asians in Asia," she said. "Similarly, I doubt that universities would find it acceptable to study the laws and cultures of England and Ireland as a substitute for understanding the experiences of white Americans who may have come from those nations hundreds of years ago."
Many professors and student groups are in support of an APA professor. "Amherst graduates become leaders, and regardless of where our alumni choose to make their mark, an understanding of the complexities and connectedness of all cultures within the Americas is essential," said Associate Dean of Students Bekki Lee.
President Anthony Marx said that he will meet with students soon to hear their petitions and concerns. "In the longer term, the issues are part of the large set of issues that we are going to be talking about in terms of the academic direction of the College," he said.
Sharma believes that Asian Americans should have the opportunity to take courses about their heritage. "APA [studies] is important for any institution of higher learning in America. In part, the reason is because to continue to deny the contributions of this fastest growing minority group is irresponsible, and because increasing numbers of Asian American students in higher education have a right to have their experiences and presence reflected in the curriculum," she said. "A study of Asian Americans is a study of the changing demographics of American society."
The ASA promoted awareness about this issue at its annual student/faculty banquet on Nov. 9. Held at the Alumni House, the event was attended by over 175 students and 20 faculty members. Lee, Sharma and Professor of English Barry O'Connell spoke in support of APA studies at the College.
Students hope to support APA studies by speaking to faculty members, raising awareness among alumni and addressing the issue to students. Already, students are in the process of meeting with the Committee on Academic Priorities, the Committee on Educational Policy and the Dean of Faculty.
Jason Nino '05 believes that with the student and faculty support and interest, the College will respond to the call for an APA professor. "The support from both students and faculty members leads me to believe that this time around the push for a tenure-track APA professor and the College's acceptance of the five-college APA certificate will indeed be successful," he said.
Tsai emphasized that an APA professor and APA studies will benefit the entire student body and the College community as a whole. "We're working through the ASA to reach out to not only Asian-Americans but everyone on campus," she said. "The purpose for hiring an Asian-American Studies faculty member is not to benefit Asian Americans. It will improve the entire campus by offering more diversity and more insights into history, sociology, literature-so many different fields."