AROUND HIGHER EDUCATION: Yale group's protest erupts into violence

A protest outside of an address by a speaker the Yale Asian American Student Association accused of racism erupted in chaos last Thursday night, leading to a brawl and prompting police intervention. More than 100 angry students protested against John O'Sullivan -- editor-in-chief of the conservative magazine National Review -- who was on campus to address the Yale Political Union on the divisive politics of liberal bureaucracy. Leaders of AASA -- an umbrella organization for Asian American student groups at Yale -- organized the protest after O'Sullivan said he didn't know of any Asians who found a recent National Review cover to be offensive. The controversial cover -- which appeared on the magazine's March 24 issue -- depicted President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton as a Qing dynasty servant, a Buddhist monk and a Maoist, respectively. The caricatures --Ewhich the protesters said stereotyped Asian Americans -- were an apparent reference to Clinton's alleged acceptance of campaign donations from questionable Asian sources. A large group of protesters greeted O'Sullivan with chants of "Hey, hey, ho, ho -- stereotypes have got to go" while two AASA members banged on garbage cans to keep the beat. Violence broke out after several protesters entered the speech with anti-O'Sullivan signs which Political Union members attempted to confiscate, causing a confrontation between members of the two groups. Yale police arrested Yale senior and AASA member Brian Hoo for his role in the altercation, but the Yale Daily News reported that police refused to comment on the charges against him. Protesters interrupted O'Sullivan's speech several times, prompting him to comment that "I think that they have a perfect right to show up, but I also think that reasoned argument is better than shouting," according to the Daily News. As O'Sullivan exited the building, a mob of students surrounded him, calling him a racist, waving signs in his face and demanding that he apologize for the cover. Yale police shoved protesters to escort O'Sullivan away from the building. The editor -- who had previously refused to apologize for the cover on NBC's The Today Show and CNN's Crossfire -- just smiled and lowered his head as he made his way through the crowd, according to the Daily News. AASA Chairperson and Yale freshman Lee Wang said the protest was uncharacteristic of the Asian American community. "In general, Asian Americans are politically passive," Wang said. "We're willing to be economically successful but not play much of a role in the political process most of the time, but this time people wanted to be loud." And Yale freshman Kathy Choi said she is "sick and tired of all the racial stereotypes [about Asian Americans]," adding that "there are people who care about this, and we have a right to take a stand."