Last fall, after almost 10 years of requests, Penn agreed to fund the Pan-Asian American Community House -- a major accomplishment for Asian students.
But while leaders are glad this center is now in place, they are quick to note that this project did not come about without huge pressure from the student body.
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"Students have fought for it and exhausted most democratic features, but after [the proposal] the University was into it," said Hoa Duong, the former chairwoman of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition.
Designed as a resource center for students both in and outside of the Asian-American community, PAACH seeks to educate and inform the University on issues pertaining to Asian ethnicity through various activities, forums and lectures.
The newly established house, located in the ARCH building at 36th and Locust streets, supports Penn Asian-American students through an organized advising and alumni network. It opened on November 11.
PAACH will also work in collaboration with academic departments and other minority organizations.
Duong noted that the proposal for the center was not so well-received.
"Most opposition stemmed from ignorance of subject, not malice," she said.
Some students did not see the need for a resource center catering only to the Asian community. The idea of PAACH was criticized as something which which only serve to promote further segregation among students.
But Duong and others involved in the center's establishment disagreed vehemently.
"PAACH isn't established to segregate, it is to provide resources. Not everybody will use it, but it is necessary to have," she said.
Sociology and Asian-American Studies Professor Grace Kao commended the University for its progress with PAACH.
"It is a move in the right direction. Treating Asian Americans is difficult because they are a minority, but prevalent," she said.
College junior Tehyun Ma conceded that initially she had doubts about the success of PAACH.
"I was apathetic at first and thought it would segregate the campus and create a separation of ethnicity," she said. "I thought that this would pull us away. But [I now think] students are apathetic because they don't think it will work."
But Ma plans to be very active within the Asian-American community, especially in PAACH this year.
"What changed my mind was the student movement itself. It generated energy," she said.
Of course the question remains: How can one resource center represent such a diverse group of students, representing wildly different cultures?
"We haven't perfected the balance, but the ground work has been laid for something like [PAACH] to exist," PAACH Director Karen Su said.
