Battle to change name likely to move ahead

In the shadow of the University Trustees' delay in deciding on the name change of the Oriental Studies department, students and administrators said yesterday they will continue to work towards solving the issue. At last Friday's Trustees meeting, the Trustees passed on the decision of whether or not to change the department's name to Asian-Middle Eastern Studies to their Academic Policy Committee. The delay comes after a year of student protests that the term "oriental" is offensive to Asians and after department faculty decided to change the name to Asian-Middle Eastern Studies. Students, administrators and faculty continue to discuss and debate their pursuit of the issue. "It has been a very hard two years, I can assure you," Ludo Rocher, Oriental Studies department chairperson, said yesterday. Rocher said he was asked by School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens and Provost Michael Aiken to compose a historical survey of the controversy surrounding the name change. The survey, Rocher said, will include articles from the DP, The Almanac, and letters received by the department over the past two years. "Something should happen, I hope," Rocher said. "It's not in my hands anymore." Stevens said yesterday she expects the Trustees to eventually approve the name change. "I expect the name change to go through . . . [I think the] Board of Trustees wants the matter to be clear in their own minds," Stevens said. "It's wise to do things cautiously if there is any question," she added. But United Minorities Council President You-Lee Kim said that the matter of the name change's delay was "past the point of discussion." "The UMC, along with student, faculty and administrative groups, will be providing the Trustees with all the information they need to make a decision," Kim said. David Kaufman, Wharton senior and student liaison to the Academic Policy Committee, said he intends to convey the students' support of a name change to the Trustees. "It's my duty, but I also think it's right," Kaufman said. Kaufman said that in addition to conveying his personal viewpoint to the Trustees, he plans to send them a copy of last year's Undergraduate Assembly resolution supporting the change. Many students insisted yesterday that discussion of the name change issue is by no means over. "The name has become a symbol," said College senior John Shu, an Asian student activist. "It's been refocused as if it were an Asian issue, but it's not." "We're obviously disappointed that the Trustees didn't go through with the name change," Ellen Somekawa, a member of the Asian-American Student Alliance, said. Somekawa also said she finds it disturbing that students' demands to be treated with more respect have been labeled as an attempt to be politically correct. "It's a very alarming trend," Somekawa said. Other students said they think the issue of changing the department's name has been overemphasized during the past year. "I was never offended by the term 'Oriental' . . . the thing about it being a 'racist plot against Asians' is a load of crap," Wharton senior Katie Cheng said. And College junior Stacia Troester said she thinks the new name under consideration will not necessarily be any less controversial. "Somebody's going to have a problem with that, too," Troester said.