It was a perfectly sunny day for the 4th annual YDoS Budokan BBQ Sports Clinic in Little Tokyo. Yalies are a can-do group, we rolled up our sleeves and dug in. First up was the Tri-tip BBQ, thankfully a few of the Carnivores were more than happy to assemble the delectable Hero Sandwiches; sweltering heat from the massive custom made grill didn’t break a Yalie sweat. Next we had a crash course in all things Budokan, quick learners – a duo formed the Info Booth. All throughout the day, our very own Yalie Magician entertained volunteers with slight-of-hand rope, card, and red ball tricks – good times Yo! A Jeremy Lin autographed Basketball was part of the prize loot which gave our T-Shirt and Raffle table extra enthusiasm in their sales pitch. Last, but not least was our 2 future Yalies, 6 year old cuties who had enormous fun with the balloons, face painting, basketball clinic, and karate demo. Great day, rewarding event. A big Thank You to all the participants.
News
You’re part of something big. Something that’s only getting bigger.
In this 2011 Annual Report, we’d like to remind our members that being a part of AAAYA means being a part of something big: something bigger than the events that you attend in your local chapter, or even the sum total of the hundreds of alumni who attended over 30 events in 6 cities in 2011.
You’re a part of a movement that’s been decades in the making. Asian American alumni first showed up in significant numbers on Yale’s campus in the 1960s. It wasn’t until the 1980s that there were enough alumni to convene an informal alumni group on the West Coast. In 2006, after an aborted attempt to convene an Asian American reunion on Yale’s campus, alumni in New York and San Francisco decided to formally organize AAAYA and build a grassroots organization – through local chapters in major metro areas.
The idea was to start local, start small, and then build up to something big: a national alumni organization that would bring Asian and Asian American alumni together to accomplish all sorts of things that we wouldn’t be able to do on our own: strengthen our personal and professional networks, provide mentorship and guidance to students on campus, and support Asian American causes through our local Asian American community organizations.
In Annual Reports from past years (2008, 2009, and 2010), we’ve talked a lot about building our membership base, growing our local chapters, and building a truly national organization. This year, five years after we started this effort, that message remains: we’re still growing, and we’re still building. But now that we stand at this five year mark, we can safely say that yes, we have built something big.
Can it become even bigger? Absolutely, and at the end of this report, we’ll talk about how you can help continue our growth. But for now, let’s recap a year’s worth of exciting activities, reflect on the decades of work that’s made all of this possible, and recognize how it’s all much larger than the sum of our parts.
NACC gets its own home at Yale, AACC to solely occupy 295 Crown St
Saveena Dhall, Director of Yale’s Asian American Cultural Center, shares news of the Native American Cultural Center (NACC)’s upcoming move and AACC’s future in its current home, 295 Crown Street:
Dear alumni,
As the AACC celebrates its 30th anniversary, there is some great news to share about our neighbors at the NACC. Soon, the NACC will soon move into its own center, a new space located on 26 High Street (around the corner from us)! This is a great move for the growing Native American population at Yale as they need their own center and a space to call home that is apart from the current space they share with us at 295 Crown Street. We all are thrilled for the Native American community and congratulate them on this new chapter of their history at Yale. As you all know, our center is too small, even as a stand-alone center for the large Asian American population (in fact, the largest group of color on campus). It has been a shared center for many decades (first, with the Chicano students and then, with Native American students). Having multiple communities in the same center has not been easy for our communities and staffs. As we look ahead, having our own space is an exciting place to be for the Asian American students and alumni populations. It’s also an opportunity to re-imagine what we want our space to look like and how can alumni play a role in shaping our physical space as well as how we may make improvements to our facility. If anyone has suggestions, please email me directly at saveena.dhall@yale.edu. Again, our congratulations and best wishes to our friends at the NACC!
Best wishes,
Dean Dhall
Video from AAAYA’s Southern California Day of Service site
2011 marked the third straight year that AAAYA participated in Yale’s Global Day of Service! On May 14, volunteers in Chicago, New York, Northern California, and Southern California did everything from plant flowers to sort clothes donations and even helped put on a benefit concert with the Yale Glee Club and Dukes Men!
It’s an impressive and inspiring showing of commitment to our communities. Thanks to the dozens of volunteers who showed up at our sites and the organizers who worked so hard to create these opportunities.
CHICAGO
Site: Chinatown, Chicago
Coordinator: Tiffany Co
Despite the weather not cooperating (it was 46 degrees and raining), we had 32 Yalies and guests participating in the 2011 Yale Day of Service co-sponsored by AAAYA Chicago and the Yale Club of Chicago. Working alongside our collaborator, the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, we joined forces to kick-off the Beautification of Chinatown campaign in Chicago. The day started with short and inspirational speeches to kick off the event, including thoughts from Commissioner John Daley and Chairman of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Dominic Lai. Our group managed to plant all the flowers in various flower beds around Chinatown in 1.5 hours! We then proceeded to pick up garbage on the streets of Chinatown. Our turnout and efficiency impressed the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. They said our group finished the planting in record time!
AAAYA Chicago (thanks to Gene Lee) also sponsored a BBQ that day as a post-Yale Day of Service get-together. Originally, the BBQ was held at the park at Lake Point Tower, but we decided to move it indoors given the cold and windy weather. We enjoyed delicious food, such as Korean kalbi, thanks to the grilling expertise of AAAYA members Gene Lee and Max Mong. AAAYA Chicago would like to thank everyone who participated on the Yale Day of Service. Not only did we give back to the community, a great time was had by all at both events!
AAAYA NorCal: Dragon Boat Racing Practice 2011 – Foster City, CA – Recap
Adventures in Dragon Boat Racing (Recap of June Practice and Future Events):
Bay Area Dragon Coach Angie with AAAYA Rowers Julie Wong, Marc Robert Wong, and George Lai
Everyone’s nice, friendly atmosphere (even Coach Angie — see more detailed account below), harder than it looks, good exercise, fun to go fast. If you want to try it out, you can go any Saturday morning and check it out for free at http://bayareadragons.org/content/view/17/36/
WHAT DRAGON BOAT RACING IS REALLY LIKE (FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO MISSED THE FIRST FREE TRIAL)
By Marc Robert Wong (son of Julie Wong)
