The Asian American Studies Founders Alumni Reunion took place last Friday evening in the Student Union to celebrate the history of Asian American studies, ethnic studies and the importance of the Asian American activists at San Jose State.
At the 7th Street Paseo Student Union entrance, the SJSU Lion Dancers performed for the returning alumni, faculty and staff as they mingled with familiar faces and old classmates.
To jumpstart the reunion, assistant professor of Asian American studies Yvonne Kwan and Bay Area reporter Robert Honda, welcomed returning alumni to the event as they reminisced with familiar faces.
Alumna PJ Hirabayashi was the Asian American Studies Program Coordinator during ’77 to ’79, attended alongside her husband, alumnus Roy Hirabayashi, who performed a musical number with taikos, a Japanese percussion instrument.
“Today you will hear a collection of stories that will put a face to a movement that has changed, and continues to change, our national narrative,” said alumna Victoria Taketa. “One that will resonate with another who reads our story from a book.”
Taketa introduced Honda to speak about his time at SJSU.
“The student movement started happening, and I wanted to make sure that everything that we did in progress on this campus – we would not forget our responsibilities to the Asian American community,” he said.
Gesturing toward the tables of alumni, Honda said he recalls not seeing a face that looked like his on television.
During PJ Hirabayashi’s time at SJSU, she said she was working on an urban planning thesis for San Jose’s Japantown involving its past and potential future.
“I was immersed in community work in Japantown and the development of San Jose Taiko, to find our voice and a cultural expression through the taiko drum.”
PJ and Roy Hirabayashi were founding members of the San Jose Taiko group, a professional performing arts company that tours internationally, providing hundreds of concerts each year, according to the Discover Nikkei website.
“Here, locally, we saw the formation of organizations such as Asian American Community Involvement, Asian Law Alliance and so forth,” PJ Hirabayashi said. “This was really what was burgeoning in the community.”
Roy Hirabayashi said the early Asian American movements contributed to the change in ethnic studies education.
“I discovered there was a program that was starting up Asian American studies,” Roy Hirabayashi said. “When it started up in the fall of 1970, I jumped right into it,”
He said when he attended SJSU that fall, his agenda was to find out how, as a Japanese American, he can make a difference in his community.
“San Jose State was really in the middle of it all and although we weren’t really recognized for that, there was so much happening here,” Roy Hirabayashi said.
Former Asian American studies assistant professor Greg Mark met Roy Hirabayashi during an interview at SJSU.
“We did things that were pretty amazing,” Mark said. “One thing that we did was we took over the president’s office.”
Aside from participating in a student picket line in the spring of 1975 that involved surrounding the former SJSU President John H. Bunzel’s office, Mark said he also took part in the Third World Liberation Front strikes of 1968.
The World Liberation Front strikes of 1968 at UC Berkeley occurred when students from across the Bay Area came together to form the Third World Liberation Front to demand the university acknowledge the histories of communities of color, according to the Berkeley Center for Race and Gender website.
“I think it’s important for the students today to remember this, ‘Thanks for your interest in supporting us, but you don’t tell us what to do,’” Mark said. “We decide what we want to do, and you can support us.”
Hien Do, professor of Asian American studies at SJSU, said he came to the university 30 years ago as an idealistic faculty member who was committed to the idea of Asian American studies.
“We wanted to get students into the seats because Asian American studies was not being supported or provided the resources, and therefore, those who came before me decided that we are going to make sure that we exist by simply making sure we have students in the seats,” Do said.
He said this deliberate act resulted in a competition between Asian American studies and other departments on campus.
“It made it so that we were forced, in some ways, to cover things that we had to cover – not the things that we want to cover,” Do said. “That was an issue.”
He said after requesting Asian American studies reach department status, the institution vetoed their request because of the lack of faculty.
“All of us were teaching these GE classes and we couldn’t do that,” Do said. “I observed that there was a lack of knowledge and understanding from the institution.”
Afterward, a couple Asian American students took to the podium to share their experiences and goals for their futures.
Kayla Le, forensic studies sophomore minoring in Asian American studies, is a second-generation Vietnamese immigrant and a community organizer at the Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment.
“The reason why I pursue forensic biology and Asian American studies together is to understand the impacts of over-policing, mass incarceration and deportation of API communities, especially southeast Asian refugees like my own,” Le said.
Biomedical Engineering sophomore Tida Ngov minors in Asian American studies and discussed the lack of ethnic studies involving community outreach and community building.
“It was great seeing so many of the people who were pioneers in making sure the Asian American studies program got on its feet,” Honda said. “One of the inspiring things about today’s event was the student leaders who came forward to talk about the future and how they plan to be involved.”
The Asian American Studies Founders Alumni Reunion took place last Friday evening in Student Union Meeting Room 4 to celebrate the history of the Asian American studies, ethnic studies and the importance of the Asian American activists at SJSU.
At the 7 Street Paseo Student Union Entrance, the SJSU Lion Dancers performed for the returning Alumni, faculty and staff.
To jumpstart the reunion, Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies Yvonne Kwan, former California State Assembly Member and Bay Area reporter Robert Honda welcomed returning alumna and alumni and reminisced with familiar faces as guests filled room.
Alumna PJ Hirabayashi was the Asian American Studies Program Coordinator during ‘77 to ‘79, and alongside her husband alumnus Roy Hirabayashi, drummed on taikos, a Japanese percussion instrument.
“Today you will hear a collection of stories that will put a face to a movement that has changed, and continues to change, our national narrative,” said alumna Victoria Taketa. “One that will resonate with another who reads our story from a book.”
Taketa introduced Honda to speak about his time at SJSU.
“The student movement started happening, and I wanted to make sure that everything that we did in progress on this campus – we would not forget our responsibilities to the Asian American community,” he said.
Gesturing toward the tables of alumni, Honda said he remembers not seeing a face that liked like his on television.
“There is just so much here that things were built on – we take for granted and we don’t hear about it,” PJ Hirabayashi said.
During her time at SJSU, she said she was working on an urban planning thesis on San Jose’s Japantown and its past and potential future.
“I was immersed in community work in Japantown, and the development of San Jose Takio, to find our voice and a cultural expression through the tiako drum.”
PJ and Roy Hirabayashi were founding members of the San Jose Taiko Group,, is a professional performing arts company that tours internationally, providing hundreds of concerts each year, according to the Discover Nikkei website.
“Here, locally, during this time, we saw the formation of organizations such as Asian American Community Involvement, Asian Law Alliance and so forth,” PJ Hirabayashi said. “This was really what was burgeoning in the community.”
Roy Hirabayashi said the early Asian American movements changed the landscape education, all while not really knowing how or what they needed to do.
“I discovered there was a program that was starting up Asian American studies,” Roy Hirbayashi said. “When it started up in the fall of 1970, I jumped right into it,”
He said when he attended SJSU that fall, his agenda was to find out how, as a Japanese American, he can make a difference in his community.
“San Jose State was really in the middle of it all and although we weren’t really recognized for that, there was so much happening here,” Roy Hirabayashi.
Former Asian American studies Assistant Professor Greg Mark met Roy Hirabayashi during an interview at SJSU.
“We did things that were pretty amazing,” former Assistant Professor of Asian American studies said. “One thing that we did, was we took over the president’s office.”
Aside from participating in a student pickett line in the spring of 1975 that involved surrounding the former SJSU President John H. Bunzel office, Mark said he took part in the Third World Liberation Front strikes of 1968 and one losing control.
The World Liberation Front strikes of 1968 at UC Berkeley occurred when students from across the Bay Area came together to form the Third World Liberation Front to demand that the university acknowledges the histories of communities of color, according to the Berkeley Center for Race and Gender website.
“I think it’s important for the students today to remember this, ‘Thanks for your interest in supporting us, but you don’t tell us what to do,’ ” Mark said. “‘We decide what we want to do, and you can support us.”
Hein Do, Professor of Asian American studies at SJSU, said he came to the university 30 years ago as an idealistic faculty member who was committed to the idea of Asian American studies.
“We wanted get students into the seats because Asian American studies was not being supported or provided the resources, and therefore, those who came before me decided that we are going to make sure that we exist by simply making sure we have students in the seats,” Do said.
He said this deliberate act resulted in a competition between Asian American studies and other departments on campus.
“It made it so that we were forced, in some ways, to cover things that we had to cover – not the things that we want to cover,” Do said. “That was an issue.”
He said after requesting Asian American studies reach department status, the institution vetoed their request because the lack of faculty.
“All of us were teaching these GE classes and we couldn’t do that,” Do said. “I observed that there was a lack of knowledge and understanding from the institution.”
Afterward, a couple Asian American students took to the podium to share their experiences and goals for their futures.
Kayla Le, Forensic studies sophomore minoring in Asian American studies, is a second-generation Vietnamese immigrant and an community organizer at the Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment.
“The reason why I pursue forensic biology and Asian American studies together is to understand the impacts of overpolicing, mass incarceration and deportation of API communities, especially southeast Asian refugees like my own,” Le said.
Biomedical Engineering sophomore Tida Ngov minors in Asian American studies and discussed the lack of ethnic studies involving community outreach and community building.
“It was great seeing so many of the people who were pioneers in making sure the Asian American studies program got on its feet,” Robert Honda said. “One of the inspiring things about today’s event was the student leaders who came forward to talk about the future and how they plan to be involved.”
