In spite of the frenzied nature of campus-wide elections, the Student Assembly conducted a rather low-key meeting last night that consisted of Morna Ha '04 and Marie Choi '06 demonstrating the need for an Asian-American Studies minor program at the College.
In conjunction with Ha and Choi's presentation, the Assembly passed a statement to support the creation of an Asian-American Studies program at Dartmouth.
Although African and African American Studies, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies and Native American Studies departments exist at Dartmouth, there is no Asian-American Studies program, a burgeoning field that incorporates ethnic and interdisciplinary studies focused on the experience of Asian-Americans in the United States.
The initiative calls for an institutional commitment to the field, including the hiring of a tenured professor.
"We believe it's the dean's job to offer leadership on the issue," Ha said.
Since 1997, the Pan-Asian Council -- the umbrella organization of Asian organizations on campus -- was created; and the Asian-American Studies initiative has been proactive, particularly in the past three years, meeting and engaging in discussions with College President James Wright, Provost Barry Scherr, deans and faculty members.
The initiative, however, has encountered several obstacles.
"There isn't a clear sense of what the College's priorities are, and we don't have an idea of where AAS falls in their priorities, or if it falls in at all," Ha said.
Ha and Choi stressed that the initiative is not just about numbers, or the fact that there is a sizable minority of Asian-American students at the College.
"It's about the fact that Dartmouth is a liberal arts institution, and you can't study America without studying Asian America," Choi said. "People should take the time to learn more about AAS and the issues around it."
Assembly members were asked to sign an open letter of campus support for the initiative, and student body vice presidential candidate Todd Rabkin Golden '06 has already collected 100 supporters' signatures since Ha and Choi spoke to the Assembly.
Further, the AAS initiative will be tabling in Collis on May 10, 12 and 13.
Gail Nelson, the associate director of the Dartmouth Center on Addiction, Recovery and Education, spoke to the Assembly members about the Center's upcoming symposium on substance abuse. Nelson invited members to attend the first annual symposium, which will be held May 21 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Collis Common Ground.
Dr. C. Everett Koop '37 is one of the keynote speakers, scheduled to address "Addiction in America" in the morning.
In addition, the Assembly passed a proposal to allocate up to $1,500 to fund a campus-wide barbecue at the May 15 Festival of Humanity.
