When I was an exchange student in Hong Kong two years ago, I learned that in Asia, some people (usually the older generation) assume that to be “American” is to be white. In Hong Kong, I chatted with some elderly Chinese and told them I was an exchange student from the U.S. “But you don’t look American,” they protested. I…
DetailsTwo university professors at Florida State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a decrease in racial prejudice that occurred during the Nov. 4 election. They call this the Obama Effect. A series of studies and experiments done with 300 non-black (white, Asian or Hispanic) students, designed to measure stereotyping and implicit prejudice, has found…
DetailsHave you ever noticed that many East Asians and Southeast Asians hold up a peace sign when posing for casual photos? My first exposure to this was when I studied abroad in Hong Kong. Almost without fail, whenever my local peers posed for a photo, up went their fingers in a V-shape. I grew up…
DetailsSo I’ve been following the Kogi taco truck around for the past few weeks. On Twitter. Kogi is the brainchild of Mark Manguera, whose fusion of Korean BBQ and the ubiquitous taco truck has created a Los Angeles food sensation. People keep talking about it – in class, at work, in my apartment, in the…
DetailsAs Hmong refugees in Thailand face deportation back to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Hmong activists in the U.S. are seeking help from President Obama to prevent what would be involuntary deportations. President Obama has stated in an earlier letter before taking office that as president, he would bring back American commitment to international human…
DetailsThis was the featured article in Pacific Ties’s The Dialogue Issue, Winter 2009. By Evelina Giang The journalism industry is hurting these days. The Los Angeles Times announced last month that it will be cutting 300 jobs, and many newspapers and magazines are following suit. With the recent cessation of print publication for AsianWeek, the…
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