For many student unions, building interconnections with one another is a key component in sustaining campus relationships. For the Asian Pacific American Student Union, this plays out in terms of both participation with other Asian-oriented student groups and engagement within the general union community — anything to further an atmosphere that upholds their mission to support and serve the Asian Pacific American students, faculty, staff and their allies at the University of Oregon.
APASU strives to pinpoint issues that affect the Asian American community on a local, national and global scale by promoting awareness for those problems within the university community. Among the topics the APASU tries to address are important issues like racism, stereotypes and issues surrounding identity and culture.
Educating members as well as students on campus is a major task that APASU tries to succeed in.
“One stereotype that we try to attack is the model minority myth,” programs coordinator and UO sophomore Wing Ng said. “Which basically is the stereotype that all Asians are doing fairly well in terms of academics, social status and income and that it’s our fault that other minorities don’t do as well such as African Americans or Latinos. Our union tries to educate students on stereotypes like that and explain to them why it’s wrong.”
APASU holds open weekly meetings Wednesdays at the Mills International Center from 5-6 p.m. and hosts various events throughout the year, such as bringing in guest speakers, fall and spring reception, spring retreat, opening ceremony for Heritage Month in May and culture night. All events are open to students of any racial background.
“We also aim to act as a resource for students to come and discuss social justice issues, as well as socialize with other members,” APASU Director Roseanna Ling said.
Historically, the APASU has had a close relationship with the Vietnamese Student Association on campus, even helping them with last month’s annual Têt Celebration. Both VSA and APASU share similar goals, and whenever one union needs help it’s common for the other to steps in and lend a hand
“Both VSA and APASU are really close in terms of helping one another when we need it, but also because some members are both in VSA and APASU,” VSA media coordinator and sophomore Thuc Vinh said. “Most of the unions try to maintain a connection with each other and jumping into the different events that each union has when asked.”
Ling has been a member of APASU for three years and as president, she hopes to create a reputation for the group as an important resource for change and progress within the UO society — a vision inspired by her reverence for collective learning as an education student.
One important detail that APASU wants to stress to students is everyone is welcomed and APASU isn’t just for Asian Americans and international students but to all students at the UO.
“We welcome everyone and the more point of views at our meetings the more it allows for more discussions leading to solutions and changes that the group can possibly collaborate together,” Ling said.