MUNCIE, Ind. — The founders of the new Asian American Pacific Islander Organization on campus had some words for its potential new members tonight. They believe the CCIM community can use more AAPI representation, so a callout was held to make more personal connections with more CCIM AAPI students.
The new organization's founders are Sophomore Maya Kim, senior Hyungseok Jang, and associate professor in public relations, YoungAh Lee. Lee says she values human connections more than racial division, so she is proud of the meeting.
“For some AAPI students, being in CCIM really puts some challenges for them. You’re AAPI; why are you not in engineering? Being here and advocating for our students really empowered me as well,” said Lee.
Students expressed the hardships of dealing with AAPI academic stereotypes such as mathematics or STEM. Instead, these students and faculty choose to embrace their choice of journalism and even Jang notices the impact Ball State has had on him. Jang compared the differences he felt as an AAPI student in Las Vegas vs Muncie.
“Here in Ball State, all the faculty, they really treat me fair like I’m a regular student. They’re patient even if my grammar doesn’t make sense,” said Jang.
Students and faculty are devoted to dispelling stereotypes about AAPIs by majoring in journalism and communications. The organization aims to give more professional and academic advice, increase networking, and make students feel less alone.
For more information, contact one of the founders at hyungseok.jang@bsu.edu.
Contact Alanna Gaither with comments at alanna.gaither@bsu.edu.
