SAS hears speech on activism

A flower can only bloom in the soil in which it has been planted. Last night, South Asian American students were asked to keep this in mind. A major theme of SAS' discussion, "Political Activism: Breaking the Apathy and Defining our Goals" was that South Asian Americans are Americans first and foremost. Guest speaker Achamma Chandersekaran, chairwoman of the Asian American Voters Coalition, spoke about how uninvolved South Asian Americans are in the political process relative to other minorities. "According to an article in the Washington Post, we have one of the lowest voting records . . . I was ashamed to read that," said Chandersekaran, who also encouraged all South Asian American students to apply for U.S. citizenship. She stressed the importance of giving back to the U.S. community instead of just taking, claiming that the present generation of South Asian Americans must not repeat the selfish and immature behaviors of the past. "As people who reap enormous benefits from society we should assume responsibility since we chose to live here," Chandersekaran said. Himanshu Shukla, a member of a New Jersey-based Indian American political activist organization called IMPACT, echoed Chandersekaran's calls for integration into the American political arena. Shukla cited IMPACT's role in the passage of New Jersey's 1990 Anti-Bias Bill as evidence that by working within the political framework, progress can be made. More recently, Shukla has been involved in bringing attention to a criminal trial in which three white males were accused of assaulting a Northern New Jersey Indian American. The trial began on Tuesday and is being held in Camden. Members of SAS have been attending the trial to observe its progress and show their support. Shukla believed that these actions are examples of what South Asian Americans as a group should strive to accomplish. "Our agenda must ensure equality and opportunity not only for ourselves but for all Americans," he said. The students' general reaction was concern about how they could increase involvement in the political process, beyond merely voting. Members of SAS had hoped for a greater turnout at the discussion because of the interest that has been expressed by SAS' members in attending the trial. "There definitely should have been more students involved," said Engineering freshman and SAS member Tina Biswas. "The more student involvement there is, the more we can change." Other students believed that this generation has an advantage over their parents' because today's students do not identify with their homeland as much. "We think of ourselves as much American as we do Indian," said College senior Anup Singh, who is also a member of SAS. All agreed that the discussion was beneficial and that increasing political activism, as the speakers advocated, would be the key to forcing change and progress. "I think that the discussion was an excellent step in creating the attention I think we need as South Asian Americans," Biswas said.