Pacific Citizen Board of Directors: Maybe Too Late, but This Could Do Wonders in Restoring Our Faith in the Gil Asakawa, Chairperson; Margie JACL
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:-PACIFIC Celebrating Redress National JACL.: series on ~ ~CITIZEN Redress continues with a feature on Bill Yoshino, JACL Midwest director. APAs mourn police shooting victim Cho - PAGE 4 The National Publication of the Japanese American Citizens Lea\l.ue As Groups are Poised to Expand Anti-Affirmative Action Measures, Where Do APAs Stand? In November, voters in five states Latino classmates with comparative students, according to the study. may decide on the future of the ly inferior qualifications were get "Diversity is good, but at what cost?" said controversial program. ting more scholarship money to go Tsang, who is second generation Chinese to the same college. American. "Promotion of diversity is a noble By LYNDA LIN Outraged, Tsang did what most thing, but the ideal is not being carried out cor Assistant Editor students do these days to unite under rectly." a common cause - he started a . It's a sentiment that is echoed by a group, led Jeremiah Tsang calls himself an athlete and Facebook.com group called "Asians by former University of California regent a scholar. At his Maryland high school, Tsang's Against Affirmative Action." The Ward Connerly, hoping to capitalize on its suc high academic achievements in the top two group, which has attracted over 950 cessful anti-affirmative action campaigns in percent of his class coupled with some state members from all over the United California, Washington and Michigan to end track championships enticed all of his choice States, refers to a 2005 admission similar programs in five additional states come colleges to accept him with open arms - preference study of three prestigious November. some even with promises of a full ride. private universities to support its Hanging in the balance are the academic Tsang, 20, settled at the University of statement that this type of diversity futures of many underrepresented minority Maryland, College Park as an electrical engi promotion does not advance equali, students. neer major. But along the way, he noticed a ty. In this case, it actually hurts over troub~g trend - some African American and represented Asian Pacific American See APAS STAND?/Page 11 Idaho Falls Business Owners, JACL Come Together to Fight Hate Anti-Asian Column Becomes Rallying Cry Law officials say the bomb lescent boys in northeast Idaho near artists he owns with his wife Denise threats were just random the Montana border, said Gordon Glore located off of Highway 20 en lor Colorado's AA Student Community prank calls. Venable, the owner of the Dancing route to Yellowstone National Park. University of Dogs coffee shop targeted in the He and his wife are not of Asian Colorado at By LYNDA LIN phone calls. Because the perpetra descent nor do they employ any Boulder students Assistant Editor tors are minors, their identities have Asian Pacific American workers. take part in a not been released. What Venable does know is the peace rally to The anonymous calls started in Venable, 56, does not know why difference between right and wrong, protest an anti early February, continued for almost they chose his business - a coffee and that these boys messed with the Asian column three days and ended in a bomb shop and gallery space for local' See HATE CRIMElPage 6 recently published threat. The callers used thick, stereo in the school's typical Asian accents to terrorize the Scholarships Offer Financial Relief, Insight newspaper. owners of an Idaho Falls, Idaho cof fee shop with six phone calls that Into Community Leaders' Legacies PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE NGUYEN!ASIAXPRESS.COM were eventually tracked by the JACL's two new memo police. rial scholarships can A peace rally and a list of demands for the chancellor are They also left two recorded mes help more students cope just some of the actions taken by AA students protesting a sages that ranged from disparaging with rising college costs. racist column in the U. of Colorado at Boulder's student to hostile. publication. "Herroo?" said the caller in one By LYNDA (.,IN message. "I like dog ... I bomb your Assistant Editor By CAROLINE AOYAGI-STOM restaurant. " Executive Editor Police traced the calls to two ado- In life, Deni Uejirna knew about pain - both the physical Stevie Hatakeyama, 22, said her Chris Choe, 21, should be studying for his midterm exams right about now kind associated with his struggle scholarship win last year made student but instead he's busy helping organize a peace rally and preparing a list of with chronic bone infection and life more bearable. demands for the chancellor - ciJ.l this in response to the frenzy created by an the emotional effects of his ------------- anti-Asian column that has gripped the University of Colorado at Boulder childhood internment at Gila River during World War II. But the former high (CU) campus the past several days. school math teacher spent a lifetime educating those around him that strong "If it's war the Asians want ... It's war they'll get" - an Opinion piece by minds could overcome weak bodies. student editor Max Karson calling for Asians to be rounded up, "hog tied" Even after his death last June at 73, his life's lesson is continuing to reach and made to perform demeaning acts - was published in CU's online stu See SCHOLARSHIPSlPage 12 dent publication, the Campus Press, on Feb. 18. The reaction from CU's Asian American students and from AAs across WEEKS Colorado has been one of uniform anger and frustration. Dissatisfied with the 18 school's response thus far, the students have now formed an organized coali July 16-20 tion to press for further action Coverage see Page 7 induding demanding the resig- See ANTI-ASIAN COLUMNlPage 13 Dancing Queen Letters ........................ 2 Big BoyChoi National ..................... .3-5 Kristi Yamaguchi is trading South Korean Seung Community ..................6-7 her skates for dance HOon Choi is a walk on Calendar ..................... 14 shoes and reality TV. for Univ. of Nebraska. Obits ............. : .......... 15 ~~NTERTAIN~U;NT PAGE 9 St'ORTS NGE 10 2 MAR. 7-20, 2008 COMMENTARY/LrnERs PACIFIC !iii cmZEN ~.PACIFIC ~.CITIZEN Letters to the Editor 250 E. First Street, Ste. 301, Los Angeles, CA. 90012 Tel: 213/620-1767, Another Reason for Decline in Membership 442nd Vet Continues to Support Watada 800/966-6157 On the front page of your Feb. IS-Mar. 6 issue you have a dire. Now that mankind has advanced metaphysics and Fax: 213/620-1768 report on the membership decline in the JACL and a projection sug physics of war to the reality of total universal E-mail: [email protected] organizati~n destruction. the warriors' creed must also change. www.pacificcitizen.org gesting that if the trend continues, your will probably disappear. You then wonder how this can occur. First Lieutenant Ehren Watada's challenge of the Executive Editor: Someone in your office should correlate the dates of this sharp legal and moral issues of the Iraq War does not sub Caroline Y. Aoyagi-Stom decline with the series of reports written on the court marti3.J of Ehren . vert his pledge to defend his country - even against Assistant Editor: Watada (even up to the last issue), where the JACL officials ~d the his government. Lynaa Lin The Nisei powerful in silence, confronted with the World War II Office Manager: newspaper editors have come out and actively supported this guy for Brian Tanaka shirking his duties, using the questionable excuse of saying that the draft resisters issue in 1943, finally endorsed reconciliation - in this Circulation: Eva Lau-Ting Iraq war is illegal, thus he is not going. decade. Many Nikkei apparently consider the Watada defiance as an To the thousands of Nisei veterans and their relatives, Watada is a ethnic embarrassment and by few as cowardly and disloyal. Publisher: Japanese American coward who is scheming to get obt of his obligations and the impres As a 442nd veteran with visceral experience of war, I support him, Citizens League (founded 1929) 1765 sion is that JACL is in bed with him. This is really irritating. Watada his insight, and courage. Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94115, tel: 415/921-5225 fax: 415/931- is an embarrassment, not a hero! The consensus is the JACL should keep out of this controversy. It EJI SUYAMA 4671, www.jacl.org Ft. Meade, SO JACL President: Larry Oda is a legal battle between the Watada family and the U.S. Army. Let it run its course with a minimum of neutral coverage by your paper. It Nafl Director: Floyd Mori ............. ~ .. Pacific Citizen Board of Directors: maybe too late, but this could do wonders in restoring our faith in the Gil Asakawa, chairperson; Margie JACL. I may decide not to cancel my membership. A Debt of Gratitude to Ted Tsukahara Yamamoto, EDC; Lisa Hanasono, MDC; Kathy Ishimoto, CCDC; Judith KUNI TAKAYAMA The JACL Investment Policy Committee (IPC) was born of an Aono, NCWNPDC; Justine Kondo, Viae-mail urgent need to. stabilize the JACL's ongoing investments, acritical role PNWDC; Jeff Itami, IDC; Ted Namba, in JACL's ability to continue its mission. JACL owes a great debt to PSWDC; Naomi Oren, Youth. ••••••••••••• ••• those who have served On the !PC Ted Tsukahara was an !PC original committee member and a pio r----------------------------,I 25th Anniyersary of D.C. Leadership Program ' NEWS/AD DEADLINE: FRIDAY I neering Asian American on Wall Street specializing in mergers and I BEFORE DATE OF ISSUE. I At the recent national JACL board meeting. I was pleased to meet acquisitions. Ted, who earned a PhD in economics from Claremont, Editorials, news and the opinions I I JACL's new Membership Coordinator Tun Koide.