Campus Hosts Asian Pacific American Conference


Sixty students from Cleveland to Minnesota traveled to Oberlin in February to join Oberlin students for the three-day Asian Pacific American Students' Conference. The tenth Biennial Midwest Asian Pacific American [APA] Conference, titled "Strategies of Resistance: Reclaiming the Past, Challenging the Future," marked 20 years of activism, "celebrating and examining the history of Asian Pacific American issues at Oberlin and throughout the country," according to Shilpa Davé, assistant dean of students. The student-led APA Conference Committee organized the event, sponsored by the South Asian Students Association, the Asian American Alliance, the Oberlin Korean Students Association, and other college divisions.

Karin Aguilar-San Juan, professor of sociology at Brown University, delivered the keynote address, followed by workshops and speakers discussing activism, gender and sexual issues, film and cultural production, and strategizing for the Asian American Studies program. A highlight of the weekend's events included a concert of pop/dance music by singer Jocelyn Enriquez, called the "Filipina American diva" by A. Magazine: Inside Asian America.