Asian-Americans start magazine

In an effort to break stereotypes of Asian-Americans being only interested in math and science, a group of undergraduate students has begun production of the University's first Asian-American literary magazine. The magazine, which has not yet been named, will feature works of prose, poetry and visual art mostly by Asian-American members of the University community. While Julie Hahn, editor-in-chief and College senior, said she encourages everyone to submit material, she admitted that the editorial board will most likely publish works by Asian-Americans or others that have had experiences that have made them more appreciative of the Asian-American situation. College senior Ed Shin, managing editor, along with Eugene Chae, also a College senior, said they decided last spring that the Asian-American literary presence on campus was not established well enough. They met up with Hahn and College junior Jinra Kim, executive editor, and agreed upon a format for the magazine. Hahn said she considers publication of the journal "critically important" in educating the University community about what Asian-Americans are "really" like. "Many people think of Asian-American students as pre-med and math geniuses," she explained. "We want to show students that Asian-Americans are interested in literary and artistic endeavors as well." The magazine has applied for funding by the Student Activities Council. Hahn said she hopes to get a response from SAC in about a month, however SAC petitions normally take three months to process. While she said University funding is crucial to publication, Hahn explained that the editorial board has decided to create a business department and plans to sell ads in the magazine. Since the journal's creators have decided that their magazine will be given away, not sold, they are also considering holding fundraisers and soliciting contributions to make sure that they can publish. The editors said they are also interested in encouraging all Asians and Asian-Americans to contribute. The publication is for Near Eastern and Southern Asians, along with the more populous Far Eastern Asians, Hahn said. In order to help with intercultural understanding, the magazine will be completely in English, and will be widely distributed. According to Hahn, students should look for it early next spring.

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