Welcome back, everyone! I hope you've all had restful and fabulous breaks. We've revamped the website (key word being "vamp"), so please take some time to look around.

The picture section has yet to be updated b/c we're all still settling into our schoolwork (bah!) and recovering from our annual retreat. However, be sure to come back from time to time and see what we've changed or added, as we hope update frequently throughout the semester to avoid doing homework and keep you all up-to-date with what we're doing!

WAA's upcoming events, as well as AA month events are posted to our events page. More info re: AA Month will come later since it's still a few weeks away, but ECAASU is looming on the horizon--the weekend of February 17, so if you haven't already, go register!

2.9.06 - Musical Duo Advocates Racial Separation
2.7.05 - Lawsuit Demands More Aid for Asian-American Voters
2.7.05 - Hardly Racist

(BACKGROUND: Recently, Spencer's Gift stores were accused of selling racist t-shirts. You can go to the link to read more about that fun bit of information, but this op-ed article was published by the Harvard Crimson in support of Spencers.)

2.5.05 - For a Big Dreamer, a Little Tokyo
2.2.05 - Minority Lawmakers Unite After Katrina
12.9.05 - The Bias Breakdown: Asians and Blacks Lead in Perceived Discrimination at Work

WAA was founded over a decade ago by a coalition of students and faculty who desired to see a diversification of the curriculum to include the Asian American (AA) perspective and more broadly, increase on campus awareness of AA issues.

Today, many of the same issues and demands persist. WAA is currently working with members of the American Studies Program and administration to push for a stronger American Studies Program, which only has one rotating director who belongs to another department. Among WAA's top priorities is to help establish tenure track positions and Ethnic Studies hires within the program.

In the spring we will host an Ethnic Studies Panel in collaboration with other student organizations on the cruciality of incorporating ethnic studies into the curriculum, starting with American Studies.

We look forward to a new year of progress through continued dialogue with staff, faculty, and administration and exciting events that we plan for the spring semester. In addition, we are working on a newsletter and talking with WAA alumae to a build stronger, self-sustaining network through which students and alumnae can maintain better and easier communication.


Sincerely,

Natalie Truong '06
Philana Woo '06
Coordinators 2005-2006