APA Conference kicks off

This year's Asian Pacific American (APA) Conference begins today.

This conference is for student education. We need to realize that the primary curriculum that is being offered is through this conference, not the institution," Assistant Dean of Student Life and Services Shilpa Davé said.

The theme of this year's conference is "Strategies of Resistance: Reclaiming the Past, Challenging the Future."

"We want to encourage students from all over campus to participate in the conference. This conference is not just specifically for members of the Asian American community," Asian American Alliance co-chair junior Sarah Lam said.

"There are going to be a lot of informative talks. The committee has put in a lot of hard work and needs to be commended," Davé said. "The conference itself is student initiated, driven, and oriented. The co-chairs maintained contact with all the speakers and kept the budget in order."

Lam said she anticipates a good turnout for the conference. "We really want to extend an invitation to the entire campus. At least so that students can see how much work we put into the conference," said Lam.

Students from other institutions have also been invited to participate. According to Davé, 60 registrations have been received.

Lam also said the committees were disappointed with the budget that was allocated from the institution for the conference. "This conference has been going on for over 20 years now. I can't understand why our budget was cut. We really had to hustle and fundraise to generate funds. The budget has been cut consistently over the years," Lam said.

Some of the main issues the conference will address are Environmental Justice, the Labor Movement, Cultural Production and Writing Identities.