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United for change

By Daily Bruin Staff

April 16, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 17, 1996

Asian Pacific Coalition brings together groups to defy
stereotypes, maintain community awareness By Patrick Marantal

Daily Bruin Staff

In 1975, students and faculty of the Asian American Studies
Center conceived and nurtured a new child, the Asian Pacific
Coalition, to represent UCLA’s Asian and Pacific Islander
community.

Today, the Asian Pacific Coalition (APC) ­ a full-fledged
umbrella group for 22 Asian and Pacific Islander organizations
­ lobbies for issues ranging from affirmative action to
curricular reform.

Since its inception, the group has been on the forefront of
activism and cultural awareness at UCLA, members claimed.

"To me, the purpose of APC is to advocate for and represent the
needs of Asian and Pacific Islanders throughout the community,"
said Li’i Furumoto, one of the group’s programmers. "It advocates
through political action, cultural events, social programs and
community outreach or service."

Initially known as the Asian Coalition, the student activist
group later adopted the name "Asian Pacific Coalition" to include a
broader range of communities within the one organization.

"People of Asian and Pacific Islander descent were viewed as one
monolithic group," said Levin Sy, the group’s director. "Because of
that, students then felt that it was important we form one
organization to address issues that would pertain to our community
and that we address them together."

During the past 20 years, the coalition has been politically
active both on and off campus. Campaigns, forums and protests on
issues ranging from immigration to curricular reform have been the
organization’s focus.

"The Asian Pacific Coalition is affecting so many issues like
affirmative action, immigration and student of color cultural
awareness that its name is being widely recognized on and off
campus," said Barbara Brazil, the undergraduate internal vice
president.

In recent years, members said the coalition has served the
greater Los Angeles community by actively denouncing what they
claimed are anti-immigrant legislation and acts of violence.

Members of the Asian Pacific Coalition have also lobbied for the
rights of immigrant laborers alongside MEChA, a UCLA Chicana/o
student-activist group, in a campaign to aid Thai garment
workers.

Over the years, coalition members have been sympathetic to the
affirmative action cause, and have joined with other groups in a
campaign to maintain the policy at a university and state
level.

Since affirmative action within the UC system was voted down by
the regents last July, the coalition has campaigned with members of
the undergraduate government and other student activist groups for
its reinstatement.

The coalition has recently stepped up its campaign to defeat the
California Civil Rights Initiative, a proposal on the November
ballot which would ban affirmative action programs throughout
California.

The Asian Pacific Coalition has become increasingly prominent in
campus affairs through its involvement with the Affirmative Action
Coalition, a group comprised of several student-activist
communities and the undergraduate council.

"In terms of the Affirmative Action Coalition, the Asian Pacific
Coalition has made bonds of the coalition much stronger and has
demonstrated leadership in the issues we work on," Brazil said.

In spite of the support the Asian Pacific Coalition enjoys, some
campus leaders disagreed with the group’s use of student funds.

The undergraduate council funds student activist groups ­
including the Asian Pacific Coalition ­ through student fees.
The undergraduate council is the coalition’s sole source of
funding.

Some students believed that it is unfair for student-activist
groups to receive money from student fees because the group’s
activities may not represent the views of all students.

"I respect their opinions, and obviously as an organization
you’re allowed to believe whatever you want," said Jay Wang,
chairperson of the Bruin Republicans. "What I disagree with is the
use of student funds. While they may be representing students that
agree with their position, there are students who don’t agree, and
it isn’t fair."

Members of the Asian Pacific Coalition have also deemed
curricular reform a goal important for educating their
constituency.

By 1994, the Asian Pacific Language Cultures Committee, a subset
of the coalition, helped procure funding for the instruction of
four new languages ­ Vietnamese, Thai, Tagalog and Hindi
­ which are now taught through the linguistics department.

"This signifies the amount of organizing and success students
have had in effecting change in the university," Sy said.

Although many years have passed since the coalition’s creation,
members maintained that the group’s basic goals are the same.

Because there are so many organizations within the main
coalition, Furumoto emphasized that some groups are political while
others are solely cultural.

For example, the Concerned Asian Pacific Students for Action
(CAPSA), a group within the Asian Pacific Coalition, provides more
political programming, she explained.

"There are stereotypes that (Asians and Pacific Islanders) are
not political and do not take stances," said Alyssa Kang, a member
of the Korean American United Students for Education and Service
(KAUSES). "But even though groups are small, they are really
effective and they are making a mark on the campus with the work
that we do."

The cultural organizations often lend their support to other
political subgroups, members said.

"Usually, these groups spearhead the political action groups and
those other organizations help afterward," Furumoto said.
"Representatives from organizations, like (Vietnamese Student
Association) and the (Association of Chinese Americans) who sit on
the board will help in campaigns."

Regardless of whether the APC emphasizes culture and education
or activism, its mission in the future is to keep Asian and Pacific
Islanders aware of issues affecting their community.

"What is frightening to me is that students might not know about
the histories of the struggles that led them here," Sy said. "In
terms of the Asian/Pacific Islander community on campus, the Asian
Pacific Coalition is at a point which we need to start
rearticulating for ourselves what our goals and purposes are."

(Top to bottom): Alyssa Kang, a member of the Asian Pacific
Coalition and sixth-year student, protests at the immigrant rights
rally last week. "We address the need in our community (because)
there weren’t too many voices out there in the political
infrastructure," she said. Photo by SUSIE CHU/Daily Bruin. (l to r)
Shauna Robinson, head of the African Student Union; Max Espinoza,
head of MEChA; Valerie Villaraza, president of Samahang Pilipino
and Levin Sy, director of Asian Pacific Coalition, are all members
of the Affirmative Action Coalition, a body of student groups which
includes all of the above clubs. Photo by PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin.
Representatives from various student groups, including members of
the Asian Pacific Coalition, listen to Regent David Lee during his
March 13 visit to UCLA. Photo by PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin. Photo
Illustration by Matthew Schmid/Daily Bruin.

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