Duke TAASCON 2014 : SELF
Stories Empowering Love and Fortitude
APRIL 12, 2014, 10 am
MEET OUR BOARD!
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CO-PROGRAMMING CHAIR:
Charlotte Ke
Hey y’all, I’m Charlotte - this year’s VP of Political Affairs for Duke’s Asian Student Association as well as Executive Co-Director and Programming Co-Chair of TAASCON 2014. I am a junior majoring in Statistics and Religion, with a minor in Sociology. I am simultaneously extremely introverted and aggressively opinionated. In my not-so-abundant free time, I enjoy non-cardio workouts, reading up on intersectional feminist thought by women of color and other literature that has not been white-washed, and exploring Asian American history and the history of interactions between diasporas.
The theme of this year’s TAASCON is SELF, with a focus on story-sharing as identity-building. Our identities as APA should not be bounded by what the dominant culture defines as acceptable, but fluid through sharing our own stories on our own terms. I believe that that the assertion and negotiation of our identities must be personal, relational, communal, and political. By actively educating ourselves on issues of institutionalized inequality and structural violence, we can put our narratives into perspective and continue to empower the decolonization of Asian America.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR:
Ian Zhang
Ian is a Senior undergraduate studying History, Chinese, and Computer Science. I am a fan of culture, language, history, and how all of those interact and mesh with technology. Since my freshman year I have been active in AA politics on campus. I am a former cultural chair for Lambda Phi Epsilon Fraternity, Inc., a former presenter for Duke ASA's Voices series, a former workshop leader for ECAASU 2012, last year's co-Programming chair for TAASCON, and this year’s co-Director.
I grew up in a not-very-Asian suburb outside Seattle, so my childhood was interesting to say the least. College has represented a sort of cultural rediscovery and done someweird things to my identity. Still figuring it out. I'm excited to meet and have some crazy discussions with all of the other student leaders who will come to campus this Spring.
DIRECTOR'S ASSISTANT:
Jeff Hou
What's up, everyone? I'm Jeff, a Sophomore double majoring in Computer Science and Math with a Finance Minor. I am an avid fan of literature, history and philosophy. I previously served as the Volunteer Coordinator for TAASCON 2013, and I am proud to be working with Ian and Charlotte as a co-Director of TAASCON 2014.
During my childhood, I struggled with understanding my identity as an Asian American. After moving to America from China at the age of seven, I was torn between two vastly different cultures, and only after high school did I begin to have a clear idea of how being Asian American has shaped my identity.
CO-PROGRAMMING CHAIR:
Amy Wang
Hi, I’m Amy! I am a sophomore at Duke studying Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science and I am super excited to be on the TAASCON board this year as Programming Co-Chair. I love food, playing soccer and ultimate, and adventures.
Stories have always intrigued me. As I have delved into what it means to be Asian American, and specifically what it means to be an able-bodied cisgendered heterosexual Asian American woman, I have realized the significance of story sharing and how the framing of stories impacts people’s perspectives. I am excited to explore the idea of sharing our own APIA stories and breaking outside of the definitions already imposed upon us-- sharing stories that exist not because we are protesting who we are not, but sharing who we are, empowering our presence and fostering love for ourselves and each other.
ENTERTAINMENT CHAIR:
Joy Sun
Hi everyone! I’m Joy—this year’s Entertainment Chair. Currently, I’m a sophomore majoring in Public Policy and minoring in psychology. I also work at the Women’s Center as a PACT Facilitator (PACTiVISTS UNITE!) and am part of the admin team at the Community Empowerment Fund.
Finding my own identity as an Asian-American woman has been an issue I’ve struggled with my entire life. Prior to Duke, I lived in a predominantly white neighborhood and grew up hearing, “So do your parents beat you if you don’t get straight As?” Even though my parents always told me to be proud of my heritage, I felt ashamed to be Asian and took it as a compliment that I was whitewashed. It didn’t help that people often told me I had nothing to complain about as a member of the “model minority”, whose worst stereotype is that we’re all too smart. Coming to Duke has made me challenge a lot of what it means to be Asian. It’s also made me realize that the more I deny my race, the more I deny myself the chance to define who I really am on my own terms. I’m still learning to embrace and love who I am, which is why I’m glad there are events like TAASCON to discuss and celebrate our wonderful heritages.
PUBLICITY & OUTREACH CO-CHAIR:
Susie Xu
Hey ya’ll! My name is Susie, I’m on the Publicity and Outreach team, and I’ll be so excited to meet everyone participating in TAASCON 2014. I’m currently a Freshman, hopefully majoring in Political Science and International Comparative Studies. I’m from Kansas City, Kansas and between hearing The Wizard of Oz jokes and explaining that I don’t live on a farm, I’m affiliated with Gamma Phi Beta, sometimes work the media section of the Chronicle, and stress-eat because of the unending midterm season. I love playing tennis, the piano, going on Disney movie marathons, and sleeping.
I wanted to join TAASCON this year because the identity of the “Asian-American” and the “Chinese-American” is so prevalent to me. Before, the categorization bothered me, but I slowly began to love it. I am Chinese-American and I am so proud. So with TAASCON 2014, I hope that others can also find their voice, their identity, and their self-- and especially to embrace them
PUBLICITY & OUTREACH CO-CHAIR:
Katherine Zhou
Hello! I am a current first-year undergraduate who is passionate about quite a few academic tracks…but cannot make up my mind which one to pick. My primary campus affiliations include Duke Student Government, Duke Chinese Dance, Refugee Rhapsody, and the First-Year Library Advisory Board.
Growing up, I remember the immense difficulty I had with pinpointing my identity. American, Chinese, or Japanese? Which one was I? As I have matured, I have realized that who I am is defined not by my bloodline, but by my experiences. I have realized that I am, simply, myself. And that’s what TAASCON is all about this year...SELF.
WORKSHOP COORDINATOR:
Kevin Tie
Hello everyone! My name is Kevin, and I am a sophomore double majoring in Chemistry and Mathematics. I am involved in several campus organizations including Chemistry Majors Union and Duke Chamber Players. During my free time, I love playing chess and basketball.
I was born in China and grew up in Chapel Hill, an area with a rather rich Asian community. I have always been fascinated by Asian culture and see TAASCON as an opportunity to not only bring contemporary issues to the discussion table, but also to share and appreciate different aspects of Asian culture. I am incredibly excited to be coordinating workshops for TAASCON this year and cannot wait to see the variety of ideas to be presented at the conference.
HOSPITALITY & REGISTRATION CHAIR:
BETTY CHEN
Hi all! I’m Betty, a first-year from Plano, TX. I have absolutely no idea what I want to study yet—some days, I’m a Statistics/Global Cultural Studies major with a Child Policy Research certificate, and some days I just want to be an education major (thanks, Duke). In my spare time, I watch a lot of Netflix and have, in fact, watched every episode of The West Wing at least six times. I also dance ballet and chase squirrels around campus.
I decided to get involved in TAASCON because I think that as a community, we have to begin the process of coming together and listening to others, if only because that’s how we’ll begin to speak up for ourselves. I spent a large part of my childhood trying to not be Asian: not because I wanted to be seen as euro-American, but because I wanted to be recognized for the person that I was, and not be seen as ‘just another Asian’ in a high-school full of Asian students who were all model minorities (in fact, nothing could be farther from the truth). Today, in fact, I know that the only way for my voice to be heard is if it speaks with others, and TAASCON is the first step to us doing that.
LOGISTICS CHAIR:
Bernie Amaldoss
Hey y’all. My name is Bernie, and I am the logistics and catering chair for this year.I am a freshman studying ECE and computer science, and I enjoy reading, video games, ceramics, traveling, going on short walks at the beach and new experiences.
I hail from Chapel Hill in North Carolina which has a pretty vibrant Asian community. Growing up my best friend was Asian and so over time I have seen firsthand which portions of Asian culture people tend to embrace and which portions people may be less enthusiastic towards. However, there are many great parts of Asian culture that are not fully appreciated, like the sense of community, and the hard-work ethic. This conference facilitates discussion on Asian-American identity, and explores such characteristics. Although I am not East Asian I still feel strongly that everyone should be able to embrace their culture to their own desired extent.
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR:
Stanley Yuan
Hey, I’m Stanley! I’m a current sophomore majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, and I am this year’s Volunteer Coordinator. Though most of my academics have been devoted to science and math (I even attended a math and science magnet high school), I’ve gotten involved in a number of different things on campus - I currently work at the Women’s Center, am co-president of the Asian American Alliance, and have facilitated for the Common Ground retreat.
I think TAASCON is so important to me because I think there are so few places, both at Duke and in general, where Asian-American issues are discussed about. It can be isolating and lonely when it seems like only a couple of your friends care about these issues. Having this conference is a way to spark dialogue and bring energy to a discussion that affects so many people at such a central level. More than that, I think that we all have so much to learn from each other - that’s what I’m looking forward to most about TAASCON.
TREASURER:
Hanyu Fu
Hi everyone, My name is Hanyu. I am a sophomore studying Electrical and Engineering with Finance minor, and I am the Finance Chair for TAASCON this year! Asides from TAASCON, I am involved with a student led peer advising group for engineers called E-Team, and I am involved with DUU (a student based event programming group). During my free time, I like playing basketball and watching TV.
I was born in China and since then have lived in several places. Although my location has changed as the years passed, one thing hasn’t, and that is my Asian heritage. I have always tried to embrace it and try to incorporate that into who I am. TAASCON is a great opportunity for me to share parts of Asian culture and discuss issues that involve the Asian community. I am very excited to make TAASCON as successful as possible.