Campus

SAVING FACE | Enough Is Enough: On Racism at Cornell

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It’s a tumultuous time to be Cornell student. A University first founded on the principle of “any person, any study” has proven time and time again that the students themselves do not live up to these words. For the uninformed or for those who simply haven’t cared enough to inform themselves, Cornell has recently been rocked by multiple acts of overt racism towards fellow students. Last month, a fraternity member of Zeta Psi was heard chanting “let’s build a wall around the [Latino Living Community]”. Despite raised racial tension and cautionary words from the administration, that still was not enough to prevent a Cornell student from beating a fellow student and calling him the N word a week later.

Life

SAVING FACE | The Asian American Response to Charlottesville

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This piece was written at the time of—and in direct response to—the “Unite the Right” rally and ensuing violence that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, August 12th. Before you read this article, I suggest that you watch this video from Vice News first. It is an eyewitness account of what happened in Charlottesville. While watching this is not easy, I think it is absolutely essential: https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror
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What happened last Saturday was appalling. I had been told that we live in a post-racial society, but events like this show that we are clearly not.

Life

SAVING FACE | Remembering Executive Order 9066

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On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt infamously signed and issued Executive Order 9066. For the unaware, Executive Order 9066 was the authorization for the Secretary of War to create military zones and exclude certain people from these zones after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Although the order does not explicitly mention people of Japanese descent, it cleared the way to allow subsequent military orders that led to the eviction and internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans (which came out to every Japanese American in California, Washington, and Utah). For comparison, only 3000 Italians were rounded up. This year marks the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066.

Culture

SAVING FACE | How to be Asian American

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When I was in elementary school, my parents would gather with their Chinese friends every Friday night for a Bible Study. While the adults were upstairs, all of us kids would find a computer downstairs and crowd behind it. I have fond memories of those nights playing Club Penguin (RIP) and Runescape with my friends. One day, running a little late, I bounded downstairs but ran into an unfamiliar scene. Instead of all my friends playing video games, they were all watching some guy making jokes into a camera.

Life

SAVING FACE | LUNCHTIME

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Lunch was probably my least favorite part of elementary school. Now don’t get me wrong, I wanted a break from school as much as everyone else. When asked what my favorite class in school was, I would always cheekily respond with “Recess.” Yet, without fail, five minutes before the bell would signal the end of fourth period, a knot in my stomach would begin to form. During school, I felt like all my other classmates. We all took the same classes, we all struggled over the same homework, and we all played the same games.