Asian conference a 'success'

Over 1,100 students from across the nation attended the 15th annual East Coast Asian Student Union conference held at the University over the weekend. The conference, which included everything from speakers to comedy shows, spanned three days and two nights with events scheduled at almost every hour. Wharton sophomore Rishi Sikka, co-coordinator of the conference, called the weekend a great success. "I think it was really successful actually," he said last night. "We got a lot of positive comments back from both students and speakers." "We doubled the number of people attending and quadrupled the number of speakers that Harvard had last year," he added. "And almost all of those speakers were professional. We just had a much stronger program." Sikka said that he was particularly impressed by the conference's keynote speaker, Assistant U.S. Surgeon General Samuel Lin. Lin, who spoke Saturday morning during the main ECASU program at the Penn Tower Hotel, stressed the importance of using Asian heritage as a means of moving forward and not being repressed by society. "Asian-American culture has given us pride, but adjusting to different circumstances is not the same as adapting," he said. "Readjustments are just one way to meet society's challanges and fight the stereotypes." Lin added that the stereotypical label that Asians are the "model minority" becomes a way of dismissing Asian people, rather than acknowledging them. "One has to question the ulterior motives of the 'model minority' label," he said. "This dehumanizes us and promotes spitefulness between us and other minority groups." He added that Asian-Americans today should re-evaluate some traditions and decide whether they are "helping or hindering." For example, Lin cited such things as the tendency to be isolated from the community and have only Asian-American friends. "We must practice more actively in both social and political groups," he said. "It is up to us to make the switch comfortable to mainstream America." Lin asked the audience whether or not they thought they could control their "destiny" as Asian-Americans. "We must not only answer in the affirmative," he said. "But as new Trekkie idol Captain John Luke Picard says, we must 'make it so.' " Co-coordinator Sikka said he hopes the speakers and all the events at the conference helped to motivate Asian-American students. "This conference should represent an opportunity for students to break away from the apathy," he said. "I really hope that people at Penn and people at other schools who attended this conference will really seize the day."