In an ideal world where the AAC had unlimited resources, I would put on concerts and cooking classes every week. The concerts would feature A/AAPI artists (my personal favorites include Joji, Rich Brian, Olivia Rodrigo, Jhené Aiko, Mitski, Laufey, etc.). They would all have a Q&A and a Meet-and-Greet. For cooking classes, it would be cool to spotlight a three-course meal from each country every week (appetizer, entree, and dessert… maybe even a drink?).
I would also devote resources to supporting students’ research endeavors such as funding or grants outside of URF, but that definitely stems from a personal bias as a student researcher. I also recently read a Harvard Extension School thesis paper called “Savoring Sacrifices: Unraveling the Impact of the Restaurant Industry on Fuzhounese American Lives,” which taught me a lot about the unspoken difficulties my mom’s side of the family faced in their immigration to the United States and decades in the restaurant industry. It was the first time I’ve seen or read any academic paper relating to a specific regional Chinese-American community and it resonated strongly with me. It would be great to fund more research that highlights the experiences of various groups of AAPI.
