Asian Amer. judge speaks to students

Sharing anecdotes from her campaign for state judge, Judge Ida Chen inspired and amused a crowd of about 75 people at Steinberg-Dietrich Hall Wednesday night. Chen, a guest speaker for the Penn Taiwanese Society, described her rise to the position of first Asian American state judge in Pennsylvania. She touched lightly upon her high school life and college days, saying she went into law with the attitude that she could change things through the legal system. The core of Chen's speech was devoted to her election campaign for one of several seats left open after many judges were removed in the late 1980s due to wide-spread corruption. Chen said it was obvious she was very inexperienced at the start of her campaign. "I bought the book on how to win state and local elections," she said. But Chen had certain goals in mind of how a campaign ought to be run --specifically using the campaign as an empowering tool to those involved. "I wanted to run a dignified campaign," she said. "I like to think we were involved in empowering the community." Not only did Chen speak about Asian Americans' societal roles, but she discussed African American and Hispanic participation in a community. She concluded her speech with anecdotes about the many people that helped with her campaign and simultaneously furthered their own careers. Throughout her speech, Chen interjected questions to the audience about responses to her own relayed predicaments. "How would you start a campaign?" she asked the filled room. A question-and-answer session centered on Chen's outlook as an Asian American followed her speech. When asked if being a minority caused her to take on more responsibility, Chen said she had not given much thought to the subject. "I welcome the responsibility," she added, saying she was always reminded of her minority status during the pursuance of her career. "Its not that you are always conscious of it, but it is pointed out to you," Chen said. When she's not teaching law at Temple University, Chen stays busy with her many board positions and activities in the community. "I think there are many ways judges can open up doors for other people," she said. Several students said they thought her speech was a motivational success. "She was definitely inspiring", Wharton sophomore Cindy Young said. Engineering sophomore See Ee Leong said he thought the whole event was a prime opportunity to see an Asian American judge, and found the whole experience "enlightening". College freshman Kah Teck Wong said he looked at the speech from the viewpoint of an Asian American. "It shows what we can do," Wong said.