Filmmaker speaks on hate crimes

Kicking off Asian Pacific American Heritage Week '95, guest speaker and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Christine Choy spoke to an intimate audience of about 20 at Steinberg-Dietrich Hall last night. Choy's dynamic speech, which focused on anti-Asian hate crimes, was supplemented with video clips from a few of her many documentaries. Choy urged her listeners to fight back against hate crimes. "We should no longer blame the system," she said. "We must look within ourselves to be alert and to challenge racism." She also identified several causes of hate crimes, including an ill-informed public and continuous repetition of stereotypes. "Asians are constantly stereotyped as docile and submissive," Choy explained. "We are lumped together as people who don't protest." She suggested that other causes of anti-Asian hate crimes include the lack of clear documentation and organized effort among Asian American communities. Choy also pointed a finger at the media for its "lack of responsibility," arguing that headlines featuring hate crimes against Asian Americans are not emphasized. Choy also applauded the efforts of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. "It's very good that you are doing something at the University, because it is a small version of society," she said. In addition to awareness of Asian Pacific American culture, Choy explained that it is important to be educated about other cultures and their histories. In addition to teaching at New York University and chairing its Graduate Film and Television Studies program, Choy is currently working on developing CD-ROM software to help both Western and Asian audiences understand culture and heritage. "She covered a good area of information," said Chairperson of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week Charissa Huan, an Engineering senior. "And although it would have been nice to have a larger turnout, the small crowd was rather intimate." At the conclusion of the presentation, members of the audience were joined by other members of the Asian Pacific American community. The group proceeded to College Green for a candlelight vigil coordinated by College sophomore Joann Kwah. On the way from Steinberg-Dietrich, paper bags containing small candles lined Locust Walk. These candles represented victims of anti-Asian hate crimes, with descriptions of the crimes and deaths of the victims inscribed on each of the bags. Once at College Green, students and local activists spoke to the somber crowd about hate crimes. Issues ranged from personal experiences as Asian Americans to the Los Angeles riots, which Choy identified as anti-Asian hate crimes because small Asian businesses were looted and burned. Calvin Yee, a first-year government administration graduate student, spoke about the importance of ending hate crimes on an individual level. "Hate crimes rise from discrimination which rises from ignorance," Yee said. The theme of this year's week-long event is "Strength?Unity?Vision -- Asian America in the '90s."