In the Spring Quarter, the project welcomed returning and new members and continued our collective learning, documenting, and preserving the history of AAPI activism at UCSD for future students, researchers, and community members. In addition, project members continued exploring ways to grow the project, such as experimenting with structure, reaching folks at and beyond UCSD doing similar work, and imagining the possibilites of what GROW could be and strategizing steps to make it a reality. In capturing such developments, the group reflected upon their experiences and dreams for this project together at our final gathering of the quarter:
Additionally, rooting in our values of collective learning and community building, the group heard from alumni about their recollections and experiences of particular historical moments at UCSD. Relationships also expanded beyond UCSD so for the group to learn from others initiating and engaging similar work, resulting in the fostering special relationships across the nation and bringing community closer through the virtual platform. Similar to previous quarters, the purpose of guest speakers is to bring in different generations and perspectives to provide context and knowledge about the histories we seek document. Each guest speaker was also invited to bring in an “artifact” representing and/or connected to the story they shared, thus bringing in knowledge in different forms and offering different mediums for the collective to examine their story through. The sharing of knowledge has been fundamental in allowing for the collective to draw connections and to better understand the experiences and histories of communities.
Guest speakers in our class this quarter included the following:
- Dr. Angela Kong, UCSD alumna
- Irving Ling, UCSD alumnus
- Jonathan Burgos, UCSD alumnus, First Gen Scholars non-profit founder
- Melany De La Cruz-Viesa, UCSD alumna
- Jin Chang, PhD student at University of Iowa, University of Iowa Asian American Oral History Archive Intern
- Dr. Thuy Vo Dang, Curator for the UCI Libraries Southeast Asian Archive and research librarian for Asian American Studies, co-founder of The Beginnings of Activism for the Department of Asian American Studies (BADAAS) at UCI
- Dr. Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Professor of Asian American Studies, co-founder of The Beginnings of Activism for the Department of Asian American Studies (BADAAS) at UCI
Lastly, this quarter included opportunities for GROW to share our work with the community as well. We were invited to speak at Vanessa Na’s class EDS 180: Asian American College Students and Racial Justice – the first of its kind at UC San Diego – and at the San Diego Chapter Japanese American Citizens League’s June 2022 Monthly Community Dialogue.
