|
Credit: Nick Romanenko
Bamboo signs reading “Welcome” in
English, Tagalog, Thai, Korean, Bengali
and other Asian languages adorn the
multipurpose center at the new Asian
American Cultural Center on Joyce Kilmer
Avenue on the Livingston campus. Acting
Director Ji Baek, pictured above, said
that Asian student organizations will
use the space for informal and formal
gatherings.
|
When the staff of the Asian American Cultural Center first secured their new space on Joyce Kilmer Avenue, dust coated stacks of old furniture, ceilings were rotted and water damage stained walls.
But compared with their last office, the old facilities training center was heaven. The new space is about 10 times the size of their previous office – two small rooms in Tillett Hall. The Asian American Cultural Center had operated from that space since its inception in 1995.
In the new space, “there was an array of old furniture. Facilities Operations and Services worked hard to renovate and clean the place up in time for our open house,” said Ji Baek, acting director of the cultural center. “We moved in Oct. 21 knowing things still needed to be completed.”
With some elbow grease, the Asian American Cultural Center is up and running in an impressive space. There is a cavernous multipurpose room, a kitchen, a computer lab and a conference room, and each of the three staff members has her own office.
The mission of the Asian American Cultural Center is to cater to Asian and Asian-American students, who make up about 20 percent of the Rutgers student population.
Yet the amount of office space and resources had long been inadequate. In fact, the previous office provided 1 square foot of space for every nine Asian and Asian-American students at Rutgers.
“One of the major issues Asian-American student organizations faced was that they didn’t have a center where they could hold academic or cultural programs,” said Livingston College senior Shashi Dholandas. “A number of organizations are having board meetings in the new center. Before, sometimes they would just sit in the middle of the dining hall and have their meetings there.”
Baek, who is filling in for the center’s founding director To-Thi Bossachi while she is on leave, said that cultural centers are an important presence on campus for students from minority groups. While most students benefit from Rutgers’ diversity, they also need a place to find the support of people who understand their cultural perspectives and specific problems.
“Asian-American issues are not simple. They are actually quite complex and challenging,” Baek said. “Many Asian cultures do not promote speaking out. Advocacy skills are undervalued. Especially if your parents are first-generation, you are probably told not to talk about your problems. But the fact is students often have problems, and they need our help.”
Baek said Asian-American students struggle with alcohol, partying and social issues, often as a result of family pressure to pursue rigorous programs of study such as pre-medicine and engineering.
While student organizations, mostly under the umbrella Asian Students Council, have been involved at the cultural center over the years, they have had to contend not only with a lack of space but also a lack of staff. The center has only two full-time staff members, compared with three at the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on Busch campus and four at the Center for Latino Arts and Culture on the College Avenue campus.
“What spreads us so thin is that the director has to be involved with the campus community, as well as be here to maintain operations, budget, facilities and finance,” Baek said. “Fortunately, we have 10 work-study students.” Administrative assistant Linda Fu and departmental assistant KimOanh Le put in long hours to facilitate evening student functions. “Their dedication level is remarkable,” Baek said. With little staff, however, it is hard for the center to stay open late.
Baek is thinking of new ways to bring in more money for the center. A local community member who teaches the Asian game Go, or Wei Qi, pays nominal rent for use of the center on weekends.
The cultural center’s busiest time is the spring semester, when it celebrates the Lunar New Year in January, Body Appreciation Month in February, a Youth Diversity Contest in March and Asian Heritage Month in April. While the events garner a large audience and campus media coverage, Baek says those events alone do not define the work that goes on at the center.
“There is more to culture than food, dance and art. It includes our experiences, beliefs and values. It’s a way of life,” Baek said. “We want to be a place where students can feel understood and feel like they are at a home away from home.”
|
