Asian Pacic American month to celebrate history, culture at 'U'

April marks the University's celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, featuring celebrations of APA history, culture and identity.

"This celebration highlights many contributions that APAs have made throughout U.S. history, and increases awareness of the Asian Pacific American community," said United Asian American Organizations Chair Rahul Shah, an LSA junior.

Although APA Heritage Month is federally designated to take place in May, the United Asian American Organizations, as well as other campus groups, have organized events and activities this month because many students will not be in Ann Arbor in May.

The month begins with the kick-off weekend on April 2-5, with the Midwestern Asian American Student Union Spring Conference, which more than 500 students from the University and across the Midwest are expected to attend.

The fourth annual Generation APA Cultural Show will be held Saturday night in the Michigan Theater and is the largest student-run production of its kind in the nation. More than 350 students have taken part in the the production.

"The kick-off weekend with MAASU and Generation APA will strengthen the sense of unity that exists within the APA community here at the U of M and in the Midwest," Shah said.

Taiwan Week, organized by the Michigan Taiwanese Students Association and Taiwanese American Students for Awareness, will last from April 5-10. The week, titled "Taiwan: The Inside Look - Past, Present and Future," will feature various speakers, including Yung Ming-Hsu, a University doctoral candidate in political science, who will discuss Taiwan's domestic policies on Tuesday, April 7, and Business Prof. Linda Lim, who will discuss the Asian economic crisis on April 8.

A Taiwanese folk music performance is scheduled for April 5 at Rackham Auditorium at 8 p.m. A poster presentation and various seminars and movie showings are scheduled throughout the week.

LSA junior Kahala Ogata said that APA Heritage Month "is an opportunity for us to show that there is a diversity within the community at the University, not only in ethnicity but also in socioeconomic areas."

The Michigan Seek Studies Circle is organizing "Seek Awareness Week," which is intended to promote the understanding of Islamic culture.

UAAO is also sponsoring teach-ins in various residence halls scheduled for March 19. The teach-ins will feature discussions on various issues that affect the APA community and are designed to promote knowledge and understanding of the issues.

"It's good that we can provide these formats, and we should make the most of them," said Engineering senior Rudhir Patel, who plans to facilitate a teach-in at Mary Markley Hall.

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