Asian-Americans at Penn and across the nation are outraged about a new line of T-shirts from Abercrombie & Fitch -- sparking a meeting yesterday afternoon at the ARCH between Penn students and members of Temple's Asian Pacific American Coalition to discuss possible courses of action.
One of the shirts -- all of which were removed from the company's stores and Web sites late last week -- depicts the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service -- Two Wongs Can Make It White," accompanied by two smiling men with slanted eyes wearing paddy hats. Another shirt reads "Wok-N-Bowl -- Let the Good Times Roll -- Chinese Food & Bowling."
The local groups agreed that for a complete victory, Abercrombie & Fitch must meet a list of demands that has been put out by the National Asian American Student Conference, which include efforts to improve relations with Asian Americans and other races, improved diversity training and an educational advertisement campaign for the popular clothing retailer.
Students are aware that with the end of the academic year approaching, they are on a tight schedule.
"For A&F; to meet our demands, it's going to take more than numbers, going to take more than two weeks," Temple APAC Co-Chairman Isaac Lai said.
To raise public and media attention locally, students plan to hold a rally at the King of Prussia Mall this Friday at 5 p.m.
Abercrombie & Fitch introduced the shirts as part of a new summer line in the Bay Area. But students across the country found them so offensive that they immediately raised their voices.
"I was very angry and shocked," Asian Pacific Student Coalition Chairwoman Eugena Oh said. She added that she was astonished that "a company of this scale could design, retail, produce these shirts without anyone along the way noticing it was [offensive] to Asian Americans."
"It's amazing that such an established company... could show such a lack of tact," added Jin-Woo Chung, Asian American Students Alliance moderator at Yale University.
Students have said that the main problem with the shirts is the derogatory stereotypes in the images.
The shirts portray "very negative stereotyping of Asian Americans and negative religious connotations," Chung said, referring to the dancing Buddha shirt with the slogan "Abercrombie and Fitch Buddha Bash -- Get your Buddha on the Floor."
"They're completely, blatantly stereotypical," Oh, a College junior, said. "They reinforce stereotypes Asian Americans have been fighting against."
"They really perpetuate the stereotype of Asian Americans... being forever foreigners," added APSC Vice Chairwoman Corrina Panlilio, a College sophomore.
In addition to anger, some students expressed surprise that such stereotypical attitudes still existed and could be so public.
"I thought that with the Asian- American community growing, we had politically progressed to [the] point where this stuff wasn't a problem," Panlilio said. "I'm offended by the fact that they think it's fine to target a culture who've been part of this country for so long."
Stanford University has been the center of student action, with the Asian American Student Association leading the discussion and protests. The group called for students to file formal complaints with Abercrombie & Fitch, and also sent e-mails to Asian student leaders at other colleges, requesting further support.
"Since this issue originated at Stanford, we have taken the responsibility of coordinating a nationwide plan of action to correct the wrong Abercrombie has dealt our society," AASA chairman Bryan Kim said in an e-mail statement.
"I'm very impressed with the movement at campuses," Panlilio said. "We're very encouraged by it."
As a result of numerous e-mails, letters and a boycott of a store by Stanford students and San Francisco residents, Abercrombie & Fitch announced on Thursday that it would recall the shirts from all 311 of its stores and remove them from their Web site.
For Asian-American student groups, however, the retailer's concession has not made full amends.
"We'd like a public apology from the CEO," Panlilio said.
Several students say they feel there are fundamental problems within Abercrombie & Fitch that must be addressed to avoid further scandals.
"There may be a lack of diversity within the company," Chung said. Oh claimed the company's target market has always been "white, European Americans. They don't try to sell to Asian Americans," she said.
Hampton Carney, spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch, has said that the company tries to tease different groups with their products.
"We poke fun at everybody, from women, to flight attendants... to Irish Americans," Carney told The San Francisco Chronicle last week. "We personally thought Asians would love this T-shirt."
But that sort of confession has caused some to hope for a greater emphasis on race in company training.
"We feel they should be a little bit more culturally and racially sensitive," Panlilio said.
"There should be a call for greater diversity," Chung added.
Some students think that the company ought to widen its target market.
They must "first diversify their marketing and advertising campaign," Oh said. "They claimed it was 'just for a chuckle.' At whose expense, though?"
