OKSA conference opens today

Here's the Slant: go to the Oberlin Korean Students Association conference this weekend.

OKSA will host its second biennial conference entitled "A Place at the Table: Re-educating Our Perceptions" this weekend.

The conference will present several workshops addressing Korean-American arts, literature, politics, sexuality, academic life and Korean studies. Organizers hope that this conference will educate students, faculty and community members about Korean issues. As well as the workshops, a performance art group called Slant will visit.

According to sophomore Lisa Collins, conference co-chair, this conference differs from the first in that its purpose is to bring Korean issues and perspectives to the forefront of the community. "The first conference in 1997 addressed issues within the Korean-American community. This conference has a more outward focus," she said.

While the focus of the conference will be Korean issues, organizers have larger goals. "We want people to realize that the current style of education is not the only one. Education comes in many forms. You need to constantly reeducate yourself because perceptions quickly become outdated," Collins said.

Organizers also hope to send a message to administration that more emphasis must be given to Korean studies. MRC Asian American Community Coordinator Michele Shim, OC '97, pointed out that the College does not offer any classes of Korean interest, either in language, literature or history. "The East Asian studies program here is incomplete," she said.

Senior Won Lee, co-chair of the conference, also mentioned that the Korean language ExCo has been very popular with Koreans and non-Koreans alike since it was first offered several years ago.

Lee said that this fact is proof that there is plenty of interest in Korean studies. "Oberlin, claiming to be a progressive institution, should take the lead and institute a more diversified East Asian studies program," he said.

The conference will culminate with a banquet on Saturday night The keynote speaker at the banquet, Mark Lee Keam, will touch on attempts to establish a Korean program at Oberlin, but will chiefly address the importance of student leadership. Keam has served as the Washington representative of the Korean-American Coalition and assistant chief counsel in the U.S. Small Business Administration's advocacy office. He also writes a regular column on ethnic politics in the KoreAm Journal.

"This speech is a reflection of the fact that this conference is student organized and run," said Collins. "Changes coming to Oberlin have been student-initiated. It is so critical to maintain good student leadership because change is so difficult to achieve at this college."

Collins stressed that Keam will be urging students to build a strong leadership base so efforts do not "go down the drain" when strong and enthusiastic juniors and seniors are replaced by first-years who let programs slide and drop. "It's a matter of passing on the drive," she said.

Besides the workshops and banquet, a Korean culture show will feature traditional Poongmool dances from the University of Buffalo on Saturday.

"The dancing is a reflection of our culture." She added that it is also important to recognize art as a legitimate pursuit. "We don't all have to be doctors and lawyers and make gobs of money," she said.