Honest concerns based on wrong assumptions. In a nutshell, that sums up Ms. Lau’s opinion that the new Asian American Center will damage the diversity of the campus (“Student centers getting a little too cultured,” Feb 9th).

I agree with her belief that the creating of “all these official cultural groups on campus” allows minorities to stay within their own comfort zones instead of exploring other cultural groups and yes, diversity is defined as “having a rich blended environment to share their different backgrounds and opinions.” But aside from the AA center, what campus resource can non-Asian students visit to understand Asian American culture? Perhaps they should visit the International Students and Scholars Institute (ISSI) but that’s geared more towards promoting international cultures, not hybrid American cultures like that of Asian-Americans. Or how about visiting one of the Asian student groups on campus such as the Asian Student Union, the “strongest” Asian student organization? Unfortunately, despite what’s stated in their written constitution, they haven’t produced a single cultural event in the past two years by choice. No matter how valuable the NU community would benefit from an Asian American Culture show or any type of cultural event, the ASU executive-board has the ultimately responsible for the production of events. The past two years, the “main events” produced by ASU have been hosting a date auction and going ice skating. No cultural workshops or speakers that discussed AA issues and nothing was done for Tsunami relief. Imagine that, ASU did not even organize or make a contribution to Tsunami Aid. Based on their reputation, they strictly focus on creating a social atmosphere for Asian Americans but do not promote any form of cultural awareness or diversity. Of course, other Asian groups like the Vietnamese Student Association and UTSAV do fantastic jobs at promoting cultural awareness through organized events for their respective cultures, but ASU has the bigger responsibility – to cater to all Asian students. Seeing these options don’t make for the greatest venue for promoting Asian American awareness, it’d probably be better for Asian American culture to be promoted by a legitimate organization such as – gasp – one that is officially run by the administration.

Going out on a limb here, I’m going say that cultural centers need to attract a large, consistent audience in order to be successful. So the question of the hour is “What kind of audience is the new Asian American Center going to attract and will that number be large enough to sustain its existence?” I’ll choose Door #2 and say students of Asian descent. Representing roughly 10-15% of the Northeastern community, which happens to be the largest minority on campus, it probably would be a successful idea to establish an Asian American Center. But I’ll also take into consideration the sarcastic suggestion that “since we’ve established three ethnically-based facilities already, we should establish one for every minority group out there.” This was the most compelling argument because I too often ask myself: Why can’t we just go back to the good ole’ days where only one or two ethnic groups received all the benefits and recognition? Gimme a break. Ideally, it would be an amazing feat if every culture had some form of resource but would it be economical for the administration to establish a cultural center that is geared towards 1% of the student population? I doubt it.

“Being diverse means having a rich blended environment where they come together, sharing their different backgrounds and opinions,” and, again, I agree. But adding Asian American culture into the mix requires action, such as the development of appealing cultural events to effectively draw a diverse audience. Unfortunately, these events don’t fall out of the sky – they take time to plan and require a group of dedicated people to do so. Only official cultural centers can provide consistent, valuable resources for promoting diversity such as space and funding.

All of Ms. Lau’s concerns are legitimate ones but they have nothing to do with the Asian American Center because it is not strictly a social space for Asian students. The Center will provide resources and promote Asian American awareness on campus through activities, workshops, and events for all students, thereby leading towards diversity. The director actually wants to hear student expectations about what they expect the center to be so students have the unique opportunity today to shape the Asian American Center as it is still in its developmental stages. If someone truly wants a diverse environment truly worth valuing at NU, she should get involved and make the Asian American Center what she allegedly wants it to be: a place that won’t just “allow minorities to stay within their own comfort zones.” Get involved. Voice your opinion to where it matters – to Director Andrew Shen and see to it that your concerns are acknowledged. If she had done so before writing a critical letter, she would have known that her assumptions about the Asian American Center were wrong.

– Davin Lee is a middler criminal-justice major.