Asian-American Association to Revive Weekly Discussions

Building on the success of the past two semesters, the Asian-American Association (AAA) will once again be sponsoring an informal weekly discussion group series this semester.

About 25 students attended last night's introductory meeting where the discussion group leaders outlined their plans for this semester.

The AAA spring discussion groups will focus on contemporary social, political and economic issues facing Asian-Americans.

The group hopes to attract more students than it has in the past by offering a more interdisciplinary forum that crosses cultural and ethnic boundaries, said Tin-Ming L. Hsu '00, co-moderator for the discussion groups.

In past semesters the forums centered on Asian-American literature and social science, said Grace Y. Shieh '99.

Many students say the discussion groups offer a chance to address issues that may otherwise be over-looked.

"They are topics I can discuss in daily life, but am not informed on," said Rita F. Lin '00.

Many hope the discussions will continue outside of the weekly sessions.

The discussions are "not meant to be comprehensive," said Nancy G. Lin '99, co-moderator for the group.

In the past the meetings have attracted about 15 students, Asian-Americans and non-Asian-Americans alike, Shieh said.

The discussion group is "fulfilling a gap" caused by Harvard's lack of attention to Asian-American academic issues, said Alex T. Nguyen '98.

The dedication of the students to these discussion groups for the last three semesters demonstrates the importance of having an ethnic department at Harvard, according to Hsu.

Some students say the AAA discussion group is unique because it combines the perspectives of Asian-Americans from different ethnic backgrounds, said Amresh Raina '99.

A "sourcebook" compiled from suggestions made by students and syllabi from Asian-American classes at other universities and consisting of newspaper and magazine articles as well as academic material, will be used as a platform for leading the discussion sessions, Hsu said.

Students' personal experiences will also form a central part of the discussions, she added.

The group meets Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Quincy House JCR.