ECAASU
From AAA Wiki
ECAASU is the largest, oldest, and sexiest conference for Asian American college students across the country. Over 1,500 students from over 50 schools across the country attend the 2-3 day conference for a series of performances, high-profile speakers (including Yul Kwon and Becky Lee from Survivor, renowned author Jeff Chang, and Columbia professor Gary Okihiro), and big-name artists (including Blue Scholars, iLL-Literacy, and Jin).
It's a huge deal, and it's a lot of fun. Columbia's AAA attends almost every year and becomes the envy of all the schools for their acute political awareness, good-looking delegates, and their uncanny ability to be life of every party. Even the national and conference boards chose to pregame with the Columbia delegation during Cornell's 2008 conference. At the conference, they earned the nickname of "Team of Ballers" among various ECAASU board members.
Columbia University hosted ECAASU in 2001 and should make a bid to host it again in the near future.
Former AAA president Calvin Sun (CC '08) is currently leading ECAASU by serving on its Board of Directors. You can contact him if you have any questions, are interested in helping out with ECAASU after graduating, or if you're lonely and need to talk about your problems.
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ECAASU
The East Coast Asian American Student Union conference is the premier Asian American collegiate conference and is the oldest and largest ethnic-interest organization in the United States. Founded in 1977, this annual conference brings together influential student leaders from major universities. The organization's membership is primarily composed of universities from the eastern United States. Its annual conferences draw students and activists from throughout the United States. ECAASU was originally established in 1978 as the East Coast Asian Student Union (ECASU) before changing its name during 2005 conference. It attracts around 1,000 students to its annual conference. The most recent ECAASU at Cornell University (Feb 15-17, 2008) attracted over 1,500 students.
Today, ECAASU is at the forefront of the Asian American movement. Its reach has spread far beyond the Eastern seaboard, encouraging educational dialogue and networking amongst students from all over the country. With valuable workshops, notable speakers, and recognized performers, the conference attracts the brightest and most involved of student leaders. ECAASU is kind of a big deal.
History
Early movements
The 60's is often noted as a period of profound social transformation of U.S. society, driven forth by the Civil Rights struggles and the anti-war movement, and fueled by the awakening to the injustice and inequality rooted deep in the contractions of U.S. society. Asian Americans began to critically reexamine their own experiences. Some Asian Americans students, disillusioned and outraged at the U.S. war of aggression in Vietnam, were among the first to organize anti-war protests; realizing that Asian Americans shouldn't be fighting abroad but here at home to better our conditions.
Inspired by the civil rights struggles, Asian American students fought alongside other Third World students at San Francisco State and across the country to demand that the university serve the people and open its doors to students of color. After exhausting all channels of communications, Third World students resorted to rallies, sit-ins, and takeovers that forced the University to open its doors. Thus, Asian Americans won the right to a quality education and enter universities and colleges in significant numbers. Ethnic studies and other supportive programs were established to made education relevant to us.
During the early 70's, Asian American organizations were established to deal concretely with their specific needs and concerns. Asian American student organizations (ASO's) were formed on campuses throughout the East Coast to address the issues of identity and educational rights. Some Asian American students went back "to serve our community" and formed community organizations to address basic issues of housing and health services.
Impact of the Bakke decision
In 1978, the Supreme Court upheld Allan Bakke's claim that he had not been admitted to UC Davis medical school due to "reverse discrimination." To many people, this decision represented an attack on the civil right gains made in the 60's. It also sparked a huge struggle led by Third World students against this decision. The decision was a statewide challenge that required a new level of organization. Rallying against the Bakke Decision, Asian American students recognized the need for a network capable of providing a broader perspective, mutual support, and the capacity for collective action. This led to the founding of the West Coast Asian Pacific Student Union (APSU), the Midwest Asian Pacific American Student Organization network, and ECASU, with regions in the Mid-Atlantic and New England.
East Coast Asian Student Union
The 80's was generally considered a period of conservatism with the Right on the move in attacking not only Affirmative Action, but also questioning: reproductive rights, language rights, freedom of speech, social services, environment, and "back to basics" in education. It is sometimes considered the "me" generation bombarded with "careerism" without any sense of social responsibility. Asian Americans were touted as the "successful," "model minority" in Newsweek and Time. All this came in the midst of wording economy and declining U.S. influences globally.
However, this decade has seen a plethora of changes, winding from the sudden surges in Asian American populations in colleges nationwide, to the scapegoating of Asians in the Clinton campaign scandal and the Lawrence Labs debacle. Even more recently, the Wen Ho Lee incident has shown that Asian Americans are not safe from racial profiling and stereotyping. In the past eight years, Asian populations in juvenile systems have doubled in parts of the country, and by all accounts the fissure between the haves and the have-nots within our very own community has widened too far. APA’s have also seen a resurgence of Asian American activism, from the gradual strengthening of collegiate groups to the bold organizing of the 80-20 Initiative. With eyes on these trends, ECASU looks to strengthen the East Coast Asian student community, and to bring us to new heights of awareness, activism, and pride in the APA community.
2007: ECAASU National Board Revival
Following the Yale ECAASU Conference, the National Board experienced a period of revival as well. The National Board itself grew from 2 people to 12 people, occupying 10 board positions. In addition, ECAASU began to apply for non-profit status. New boards were also created, including the Board of Directors (aka Directorate) and the ECAASU Representatives Council [1] (which includes about 60 people from 40 schools in 2008). The National Board has also taken steps to create ECAASU events outside of the yearly conference [2], including regional fall mixers. Last, the National Board has revived the ECAASU journal, which used to be called Asian American Spirit, now titled Envision [3]. Last, ECAASU started the Affiliate Schools Project, an online database of profiles of ECAASU member schools [4]. This project enables schools to get to know each other's communities and build bridges that way.
Past conferences
Intercollegiate Liaison Committee (ICLC)
- 1977, Yale University.
East Coast Asian Student Union (ECASU)
- 1978, Princeton University; Asian Student Unity.
- 1979, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Learning From the Past to Build Up to the Future.
- 1980, Harvard University; Asian Students Organizing for the 80's.
- 1981, Mount Holyoke College; Asian Women, Myth and Reality.
- 1982, Harvard University; Rising to the Challenge.
- 1983, Columbia University; Asian Students in Action.
- 1984, Brown University; Asian Americans and the American Dream.
- 1985, Smith College; Visions of Asians in America: Aspiration & Responsibilities.
- 1986, Princeton University; Asian Students: New Directions...Beyond the Model Minority.
- 1987, Boston University; Education in Action.
- 1988, Cornell University; Momentum for Change: 10 Years of ECASU.
- 1989, Hunter College; Asian Empowerment through Unity: A Challenging Future.
- 1990, Smith College; The 1990 Census and Beyond: A Map for Asian American Impact in the United States.
- 1991, State University of New York at Binghamton; Speak Up, Speak Out: End of Marginalization.
- 1992, Harvard University; Changing Faces of Asian American Community.
- 1993, University of Pennsylvania; Lights, Camera, Action.
- 1994, Yale University; APAs in the Arts and Media.
- 1995, Duke University; Exposing the Plight of Asian Pacific Americans in our Nation's Inner Cities.
- 1996, University of Maryland, College Park; Building Bridges to our Future.
- 1997, University at Albany, SUNY; Where Do Asian Americans Fit in the Black and White Paradigm.
- 1998, Cornell University; Leading the Way to the 21st Century.[5]
- 1999, Brown University; Coming Together: A Pan-Asian Pacific American Movement into the Next Millennium. [6]
- 2000, Yale University; Stepping Forward: identity, unity, action.
- 2001, Columbia University; Evolution! [7]
- 2002, Duke University; Strangers in America. [8]
- 2003, Georgetown University; New Horizons.
East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU)
- 2004, University of Virginia; Awakening.
- 2005, University of Pennsylvania; Impact: Our Own Making.
- 2006, George Washington University; Foundations: Deep Roots, Lasting Growth.
- 2007, Yale University; Breaking Through. [9]
- 2008, Cornell University; Push Forward. [10]
- 2009, Rutgers University; Distinct Worlds, One Vision. [11]
- 2010, University of Pennsylvania; Behind These Eyes. [12]
