ODEI Newsletter

Catching Up with Kathy

In this month’s issue, we focus on Asian Pacific Islander issues and experiences. Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month is celebrated nationally in May but on many college and university campuses such as SJSU, we celebrate it in April. May is often a difficult month for students and employees to participate in programs because of final exams and the wind down of the academic year. The celebrations and programs this month on campus have focused on a variety of topics such as APIDA activism, anti-Asian hate, intergenerational or GenerAsian relations, popular culture figures, and mental health and wellness issues. As an Asian American, Chinese American, and a woman of color, it has been inspiring to see the newly established APIDA Student Success Center (will be renamed through a student selection process) with its new Program Director, Dr. Jinni Pradhan; and the growing array of programming and activist projects such as a community based proposal for a mural recognizing Uchida Hall’s historical housing of a processing center for Japanese Internment during WWII for Santa Clara County. It is also inspiring to see the consistent institutional presence of the Asian Pacific Islander Faculty Staff Association (APIFSA) and the work of Asian American Studies.

In our latest installment of ODEI’s video series “Good Trouble: Stories of Activism and Necessary Trouble from Bay Area Leaders” we invited three APIDA campus administrators to share their stories and career paths. Last year we interviewed APIDA faculty and staff. Please join us in listening to their journeys and the winding paths they took finding their way through to where they are today. We discuss the journey to connecting to Asian American and Pacific Islander identities as well as to their work as APIDA leaders in higher education. All are in jobs that they didn’t know existed earlier in their careers. Some took opportunities when they arose or found themselves in a career that they did not actually like. Like many other APIDA folks, many do not know what they want to be when they grow up and are still trying to find their way while contributing and growing. We hope you find their stories and cultural insights inspiring and that you see the value in the many paths and detours taken.

Kathleen Wong(Lau) co-facilitated the New CDO Preconference Institute at the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) in San Diego at their annual conference in March 2022.
Dr. Wong (Lau) was an invited presenter on "DEI and The Great Resignation" for the Racial Justice and Equity Group of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group on March 31st, 2022. She has been invited to return to serve as a panelist for the RJE Roundtable on the same topic.
Patience Bryant will serve as the opening speaker for the The Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) Multicultural Symposium on April 28th, discussing the student conduct process impact on students of color.
craig had the opportunity to co-plan, co-design, and co-facilitate with Sharon Singh (in her last program at SJSU) and Chris Yang of the MOSAIC Cross-Cultural Center on the annual Leadership Today retreat. Leadership Today engaged approximately 39 students, both on campus and on zoom on identity informed leadership for the campus and beyond! We also had the opportunity to welcome Interim President Steve Perez, his cabinet, and other campus leaders to dialogue with students about their leadership journeys.
In March Kathy and craig facilitated a workshop with the Computer Science department as a part of a larger grant funded initiative with Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing.
On April 26 Fernanda Perdomo-Arciniegas participated on Immigrant Action Day, an advocacy day urging the legislature to invest in the health, safety and wellbeing of all Californians, regardless of income and immigration status. Fernanda joined Undocuspartan Student Resource Center and other members of the campus community to advocate for bills that would lower the threshold to achieve AB540 status; strengthen the California Dream Loan Program; expand access to CA IDs regardless of status; and expand food assistance regardless of status.
Fernanda Perdomo-Arciniegas in collaboration with Undocuspartan Student Resource Center will do an informational session on april 27 on the San José City Council Study

The readings and resources in this section are designed to help our campus learn about theories, frameworks, research and resources that are helpful in addressing our key goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion by building our intellectual muscle to help us see our world, analyze our world, and apply this learning from where we are to increase equity. The readings are chosen because they are able to overview or introduce complex concepts in ways that promote understanding among a wide variety of readers, occupational foci, and time constraints.

Lightning Reads

Stop Using Asian Americans to Spread Anti-Black Racism by SJSU faculty Dr. Joanne Rondilla
‘Blackness Deserves a Seat at the Seder’ The New York Times

Recommended Books

12 Children's Books to Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage PBS
39 YA Books to Celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month EpicReads.com
Must-Read Books for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month Penguin Random House

Celebrate AAPI Month With This Playlist Featuring Artists Of Asian & Pacific Islander Descent
South Asian Podcasts
Good Housekeeping's List of the 15 Best Podcasts From AAPI Creators to Add to Your List

April is Sexual Assualt Awreness Month

17 Coming-of-Age Films to Watch During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Writing With Fire: Meet the fearless women journalists of India's only all-female newspaper
Try Harder! Directed by Debbie Lum
A People’s History of Asian America: The history of Asian Americans through the microaggressions and stereotypes they face

April 1–May 31, 2022
AAACNA Studies Center | Fifth Floor, SJSU King Library

Hosted by the Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American Studies Center and in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month, the “Festival of Lanterns” exhibit presents Chinese brush painting on colorful lanterns. In Chinese culture, lanterns play a big role in heralding the arrival of the Lunar New Year. It is widely believed that hanging lanterns brings good luck and prosperity.

Learn more at https://library.sjsu.edu/festivaloflanterns

Fernanda's Office Hours at Centro: Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11a.m. to 12 Noon

University Police Community Conversation, Thursday, April 28 at 2 P.M., King Library Room 225

Working with Your Perfectionism: A Workshop for AAPI Students

Working with your perfectionism: A Workshop for Women

Your Voice Matters! Take the 15-minute NSSE Survey!

NSSE collects information about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. Check your email for the survey link. If you can't find the survey in their email, please ask log in at https://nssesurvey.org/login.cfm.

NSSE Survey Deadline: May 15, 2022.

Culture Couture event, April 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Housing Quad

Redefining Historically Underserved Students in the CSU

The CSU has developed a new construct that provides a more nuanced definition of what it means to be historically underserved and challenges us to be more strategic in identifying the support structures that students need to be successful.

Watch the video and download the white paper at www.calstate.edu/rethinkingthegap.

Since 1982, Black Spartans at San Jose State University have been instrumental in ensuring that there is space and opportunity for Black/African American students to be recognized and celebrated for their accomplishments. Each year in May, we honor our Black undergraduate and graduate students receiving degrees for that calendar year. This year we are celebrating 40 years of Black Excellence at SJSU during the 40th Annual Black Graduation Celebration on Saturday May 28th, 2022. This amazing occasion offers a chance for friends, family, and loved-ones to gather and celebrate all of their student's accomplishments while creating a culturally immersive experience.

We need your help in making the 40th Annual Black Graduation Ceremony a celebration to remember, this a movement towards supporting Black lives; not a moment. Please consider giving to our crowdfunding campaign today to help us raise funds to support ongoing program efforts.