By Hailey Heinz

Andrew Shen’s office is bare, his belongings still in boxes, his desk still clear and unused. One might not know it at first, but this office is now officially Northeastern’s Asian-American Center.

Shen is the new director of the center, which opened yesterday with the goal of enriching campus life for Asian-American students and faculty. Shen said although he has some ideas, he wants the center to be driven by student needs, especially since he is new to Northeastern, and doesn’t know the needs of the community as well as students do.

“Students who are here now have a unique opportunity to shape the center,” Shen said. “They can really think about what Northeastern is like right now, and if it would be better with A, B and C.”

One of Shen’s specific goals is to host a speaker series, including Asian-Americans from various professions. He said he would like to incorporate a popular culture element in the series, including actors and comedians as well as more serious speakers.

Shen also said he would like to follow the example of established ethnically-based facilities on campus, such as the John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute and the Latino/a Student Cultural Center. He said he hopes to create subgroups, such as an Asian-American women’s club or groups for Asian students who want to get together and discuss specific issues.

Another long-term goal is to establish an Asian-American studies minor. Northeastern currently offers an East Asian studies minor, which involves the study of Asian countries, but doesn’t offer a degree program for studying issues affecting Asians in America. Beyond that, he said he wants to allow the students to steer the center.

“A lot of it has to do with really engaging in discussion and reflection of what it means to be Asian-American,” Shen said. “Not just the negative things like the stereotypes you encounter, but also the good things about it.”

Although facilities for the center are currently limited to Shen’s office in Ell Hall, this is temporary. Ed Klotzbier, vice president for student affairs, said the Asian-American Center will probably be moved into a larger office space upstairs in Ell Hall after some rearranging is done over the summer. At that time, Shen said students will have even more opportunity to design a program just the way they want it.

“Symbolically, students will be creating the physical space,” Shen said.

Currently, the Asian-American Center is located in the Student Affairs Administration suite, located at 104 Ell Hall. Shen encourages any students with ideas for the center to stop in and visit.