Creator: Hayashi, Kris

Creator: Yang, Melody

Abstract: Kris Hayashi (AB Asian American Studies, 1997) speaks about organizing for Asian American Studies during his undergraduate years at Stanford, including connecting with other students, alumni, and staff through the Asian American Activities Center and designing his own major within Asian American Studies. Hayashi discusses organizing on and off campus to stop Prop 187, an anti-immigrant initiative, and the events leading up to the Faculty Senate meeting disruption, its aftermath, and his near expulsion. He also details how he became so interested in ethnic studies: learning about the history of communities of color coming together, being gender nonconforming as a child, and his early exposure to injustice. Lastly, Hayashi discusses his career after graduation, including starting TransJustice at the Audre Lorde Project and serving as the executive director of the Transgender Law Center.

Language of Material: English.

Creator: Ho, Karen

Creator: Yang, Melody

Abstract: Karen Ho (AB Feminist Studies, 1993; MA Education, 1994) recalls being introduced to the Feminist Studies Program in her junior year at Stanford, which sparked her interest in activism and advocating for Asian American studies at the university. Arriving at Stanford in the wake of the 1989 Takeover of the President's Office by a coalition of students of color, she reflects on the historical contexts and circumstances that influenced the movement for ethnic studies at Stanford, including both the gains realized by activists and the backlash and resistance to those gains. Ho describes the link between feminist studies and critical race studies as well as the importance of coalition building with other student groups, including the Latino students involved in the 1994 Hunger Strike. She speaks about the formation of the Concerned Students for Asian American Studies, the rationale surrounding the 1994 protest at the Faculty Senate, and its aftermath. She also eloquently argues for the need for ethnic studies in the curriculum and comments on the state of the field today.

Language of Material: English.

Creator: Nakao, Ron

Creator: Yang, Melody

Abstract: Ron Nakao (AB Economics, 1978; BS Chemical Engineering, 1978; MA Economics, 2003; and Ph.D. Education, 2007) describes his involvement in the Asian American community as an undergraduate at Stanford during the 1970s and his experience identifying with the label Asian American. He also speaks about his participation in Asian American interest organizations at Stanford, such as Asian American Student Association, the People's Teahouse, the Asian American Theater Project, and the Asian American New Student Orientation Committee, and how they interacted with the broader Stanford population. Nakao reflects on his involvement with redress and reparations for Japanese Americans in the Bay Area and how participating in various ethnic organizations prepared him for both his professional and organizing life.

Language of Material: English.

Creator: Suh, Richard

Creator: Yang, Melody

Abstract: Richard Suh (AB History, 1990) speaks about his experience of cultural shock attending Stanford in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as the resources and opportunities available to those in Asian American interest organizations at that time. When reflecting on his involvement in the Asian American Student Association, Suh highlights how it introduced him to organizing and recalls protesting the Western culture course requirement and taking over Stanford President Donald Kennedy's office to bring attention to the cause of establishing an Asian American studies program with tenure track faculty. Suh also details the takeover and its aftermath, including his arrest, Stanford students' responses, and how being a student activist and working with AASA affected his life after graduation.

Language of Material: English.

Creator: Wu, Judy

Creator: Yang, Melody

Abstract: Judy Wu (BA American Studies, 1992; MA, 1993; Ph.D., 1998) discusses feeling out of place initially at Stanford in the 1990s, but later discovering herself and community through Asian American interest organizations, such as the Asian American Activities Center and Asian American Student Association. She recalls how racist incidents in Ujamma, the Black theme dorm on campus, compelled her to get involved in activism for ethnic studies and other issues and remembers the interracial coalitions that supported each other during her time as a student. She also details her involvement with the takeover of Stanford president Donald Kennedy's office, including planning, being arrested, and how the community responded afterwards. Wu reflects on being an Asian American studies professor and the state of ethnic studies today and its importance, as well as the lessons learned from organizing and how they affected her.

Language of Material: English.

Creator: Asai, David J.

Creator: Shimoda, Risa

Abstract: David Asai (BS Chemistry, 1975) describes his childhood in a Japanese American household in Vermont, Kansas, and Hawaii, and speaks about his father's experience as a preacher, often in small, mostly white towns. He recalls the path that led him to Stanford and the influence that living in Junipero, the first Asian American theme house, had in forming his Asian American identity. He shares memories of learning from Edison Uno and Junipero resident fellow Harumi Befu, setting up the Tea House, and student activism, including forming Students for Equity in solidarity with other racial and ethnic communities on campus when Stanford was trying to increase work study aid and decrease gift aid and walking out of commencement in 1975 when Daniel Patrick Moynihan was the speaker. Lastly, Asai outlines how his time at Stanford has influenced his current work developing programs to improve science education and to make it more inclusive.

Creator: Inn, Kalei

Creator: Salvador, Bo-Gay Tong

Abstract: Kalei Inn (1975 PhD, Sociology of Education) reflects on her experience as an Asian graduate student at Stanford in the 1960s, during which time she served as the first resident assistant for Junipero, the Asian American theme dorm on campus. She recalls how migrating from Hong Kong to Hawaii at a young age, before coming to study in California, impacted her studies and her sense of ethnic identity. She describes her field of study, which deals with ethnic mix and sense of marginality among ethnic minorities, particularly in Asian American children. She talks about her passion for increasing ethnic pride among all people and how that stemmed from her experiences at Stanford where she interacted with people from different backgrounds. She reflects on her career after Stanford, explaining that her focus has always been on centering Asian American culture and history and helping others understand its impact.

Creator: Leong, Deborah J.

Creator: Wang, Jacob

Abstract: Deborah J. Leong (BA Psychology 1977, PhD 1997) recalls her upbringing in a predominantly Italian community and her father's prominent role in the Californian wine industry. She discusses her involvement in starting the Asian American Students' Association (or Asian American Student Alliance, AASA), as well as going with a coalition of Stanford students to Washington, DC to advocate for the end of the Vietnam War, helping to hire ethnic studies lecturers, and creating cultural spaces like an Asian teahouse on campus. Leong also recounts her experience of switching her major from music to psychology, teaching summer camp programs for children at Bing Nursery School, and managing her own summer camp with at-risk multilingual students in San Francisco Chinatown. Leong reflects on the impact of Stanford faculty, including John Lewis, and recalls the difficulties of having an interracial relationship. She also discusses the legacy of her child development organization Tools of the Mind (www.toolsofthemind.org), how she is using psychology and technology to improve classroom equity for children, and helping teachers to impact the development of executive functions, social-emotional development and child achievement Tools of the Mind was an outgrowth of her experience as an undergraduate and graduate student at Stanford and was nurtured by many in the Stanford community years after leaving the university.

Creator: Nagai, Nelson

Creator: Vilaysack, Matthew

Abstract: Nelson Nagai (AB Political Science, 1972) describes his upbringing in a diverse neighborhood in Stockton, California, in the 1950s and the circumstances that brought him to Stanford. He discusses experiencing culture shock his freshman year given the small number of minority students on campus before finding a community. He explains how his participation in anti-Vietnam War protests with college students in Japan encouraged him to help found the Asian American Student Alliance (AASA) and become more politically involved. Nagai details his contributions to activism at Stanford including protesting to demand the inclusion of Asian American students in a delegation sent to Washington, DC to advocate for the end of the Vietnam War, the recruitment of Asian American students, and the creation of Asian American studies classes. Nagai also describes students' demands for spaces such as an Asian ethnic themed dorm (now Okada), the AASA house, and dining halls with Asian cuisine, as well as his involvement in pivotal Asian American activist movements in the Bay Area including BAACAW (Bay Area Asian Coalition Against the War), Community Against Nihonmachi Eviction (CANE), and Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF), a pre-school program that still serves the Asian community.

Creator: Nakamura, Hope

Creator: Tran, Britney

Abstract: Hope Nakamura (AB Economics, 1983) speaks about growing up in the Westchester neighborhood in Los Angeles with her parents and Issei grandparents. She mentions that she chose to attend Stanford because of the opportunity to live in Junipero, the Asian American theme dorm, where David Henry Hwang, the playwright behind FOB, was a theme associate. Nakamura describes her deep involvement with the Asian American community while she was an undergraduate, including participating in the Asian American Theater Project, the Asian American Students Association (AASA), and working as an intern with the Office of Student Affairs where she was in charge of the Asian American Activities Center. She outlines the activism within the Asian American community on campus, especially organizing to get more resources for AAPI students. She shares stories about working with Asian American communities in San Jose and a meaningful trip to Tule Lake. Lastly, she explains how her activism led to a career in public interest law and her continued advocacy work for Asian American Studies at Stanford.

Creator: Salvador, Bo-Gay Tong

Creator: Tran, Britney

Abstract: Bo-Gay Tong Salvador (AB Psychology, 1971) describes growing up in the mostly white community of Northridge, California, where she was an only child with little knowledge of her family's history. She explains how she became more aware of her ethnic identity once she came to Stanford and met other Asian American students. She shares memories of the Chinese Students Association and the founding of the Asian American Student Alliance (AASA), recalling early meetings, differing opinions within the community, and events that AASA sponsored, including a performance by Chris Iijima and Nobuko Miyamoto. She describes how, after graduation, she was introduced to Asian American activists in Los Angeles and how that led to a job with ABC Pride (Asian, Black, and Chicano Pride) where she helped develop ethnic studies curriculum for elementary school children. She speaks about her own family's history and cofounding the Chinese Family History Group where she has enjoyed a supportive community of those eager to research and write about their family stories.

Creator: Shu, Jeannie Irene

Creator: Tran, Britney

Abstract: Jeannie Shu (AB Psychology, 1972) describes what it was like coming to Stanford from the Midwest and connecting with the Asian American community at Stanford. She speaks about the impact Vietnam War protests and John F. Kennedy's presidency had on her desire to be an activist, and she recalls her involvement with the Asian American Students Alliance (AASA) and learning more about her identity as a Chinese American. She recounts connecting to the Chinese American community through living with Bo-Gay Tong, Deborah Leong, and Kalei Inn, as well as early AASA meetings and outreach. She remembers living in Junipero during its first year of existence and volunteering at the tea house. Shu speaks about her life post Stanford, reflects on her political awakening at Stanford, and offers advice on learning more about one's identity.