College students take their 'Next Steps'
Pacific Island/Asian American Student Conference presents opportunity to learn, network
Joe Nguyen, editor
March 4, 2007

Photo by Joe Nguyen Ngoc Ma, a senior at the University of Colorado at Boulder, draws her next step during the closing activity at the Pacific Island/Asian American Student Conference March 3 at the Lory Student Center on the Colorado State University campus.

FORT COLLINS – Most college students would have preferred to sleep on a Saturday morning, but for some it was an opportunity to meet others like them from campuses around the state.

The first Pacific Island/Asian American Student Conference took place March 3 inside the Lory Student Center at Colorado State University. The event was sponsored by CSU, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Northern Colorado. Titled “The Next Steps,” it allowed students to network with one another and learn about important issues that face them in today’s society.

“It’s really exciting to see so many folks in the community that are so excited about getting together and learning from each other,” said Karlen Suga, graduate coordinator for service and leadership programs at CSU.

Former Colorado State Senator Stan Matsunaka was the keynote speaker. In his speech, he talked about his ascent as a lawyer to becoming the first democratic senate president in 38 years, and offered some bits of advice to the students.

“Once you develop a goal and you truly want it, just put your head down and bull ahead,” he said.

Following Matsunaka’s speech, the students broke off into smaller groups and attended one of the conference’s five workshops. Gil Asakawa, managing editor of Advance Internet, led the “Where are the APIA Faces in the Media and Pop?” session. In his workshop, he discussed what roles Asians played in the media and how these roles have evolved during his lifetime.

Photo by Joe Nguyen Stan Matsunaka gives his keynote address at the Pacific Island/Asian American Student Conference March 3 at the Lory Student Center on the Colorado State University campus.

He said in the time he was growing up, there were only two Asian characters on television: Hop Sing from “Bonanza” and Fuji Kobiaji from “McHale’s Navy.” Today there are a larger number of characters with more diverse roles, even though many are stereotypical.

“(‘Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle’) is a great movie because it shows two Asians who are actually the stars, not just supporting characters,” he said.

After a lunch catered by Panda Express, the students once again split into small groups and discussed their thoughts about the conference.

“I liked the thinking that’s going on in all the students’ heads,” UNC freshman Brandon Iwamoto said. “It’s a lot of shared experiences, a lot of networking.”

By 3:15 p.m., the conference wrapped up. Some students said they took away new experiences.

“Typically I don’t go to a lot of (APIA conferences), so I wanted to see what it was like,” CU-Boulder alumnus Jonathan Chang said. “I wanted to see what I could learn out of it.”

With the conference proving successful according to students, the event coordinators are optimistic this will become an annual event.

“Hopefully this will be one of many more to come,” Suga said.

Joe Nguyen is the editor in chief for AsiaXpress.com. You can contact Joe via e-mail at Joe@asiaxpress.com.