SPIFF

“Skate fast. Eat grass.”

[spiffaas]

Jennylou // Blog List (update)

1 // Biography // Finished //  https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/190809193863/jennylou-biography

2 // Mid Semester Blog // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/615179735214981120/jennylou-mid-semester-blog-editing

3 // Asian Fashion // Editing // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/617268032126992384/jennylou-asian-fashion-editing

4 // Manilatown // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/617269631192858624/jennylou-manilatown-editing

5 // “Chinese virus”or “Kung Flu” // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/617273386063839232/jennylou-chinese-virusor-kung-flu

6 // Jungle Asians // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/618535579129446400/jennylou-jungle-asians-editing

7 // Educational Equity // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/618587309223428096/jennylou-educational-equity-editing

8 // Affirmative Action // Finished // ttps://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/618588400274096129/jennylou-affirmative-action

9 // Asians in Schools // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/618588607855345665/jennylou-asians-in-schools

10 // Asian-American Girls // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/618589882304135168/jennylou-asian-american-girls/

11 // Class Recap // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/618778353328128000/jennylou-class-recap

12 // Vincent Chin // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/619037948271329280/jennylou-vincent-chin

13 // Representation in the Minority // Finished https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/619067919969730560/jennylou-representation-in-the-minority !4 // Claudia Kishi Club // Finished // https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/619076329473818624/jennylou-claudia-kishi-club

15 // The Dark Side // Finished https://spiffaas.tumblr.com/post/619076376143773696/jennylou-the-dark-side

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Jennylou // The Dark Side

The heat of the tropical sun touching the ever so warm tan skin I received from the many hours of playing langit-lupa and hide-and-seek would leave a stain of rancid smell and sweat in my body. I watched the sunset at the horizon, spreading its largess into a grateful sky. Rich hues of red blended with oranges, purples, and crimsons. 

Moments passed and the biggest star had set, giving way to a thousand others. I felt the first kiss of darkness asking me to go home. I entered our house sweating and huffing, only to have all my exhaustion lifted by the smell of papaitan that my mom was cooking. My stomach growled at me so I immediately prepared the table. I stared at the empty chair that was meant for my dad. It was my dad who taught my mom how to cook papaitan--a native dish in his province where he grew up--often prepared for when he goes out drinking with his friends underneath the same starry sky. Whenever my mom made it, she made sure to let me know that it was his favorite, and so its very existence would remind me of him. 

It wasn’t as bittersweet as I made it seem. It was more bitter, less sweet, and some aftertaste if you will. My mom had been coming home less frequently, while my dad was in America so he was never home to begin with. And so I was left alone in the dark. It was so dark I made sure my eyes were open, fearing I had gone blind. My only source of entertainment was the television that was overheating in fear that the moment I turn it off, the darkness will wrap me with loneliness. I watched a lot of American kids show that taught me better English comprehension, but it also ruined my eyes that would seem to split in different directions. I turned off the television as soon as I heard my mom's keys twitching the doorknob. I ran towards her and saw an unfamiliar silhouette of a man whom I had never seen before but was already kissing her. Questions after questions filled my thoughts, yet not once did I question.

My mom cooked papaitan that day as the unfamiliar man sat at my dad’s chair. The world turned dark and this time, it wasn’t because the sun had to set.

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Jennylou // Claudia Kishi Club

Claudia Kishi inspired many Asian-Americans for its unique portrayal of its character. She’s artistic, wild, and individualistic, not in a dehumanizing stereotype or one-dimensional sidekick. 

I grew up watching American shows, and I noticed how typical they depict female Asian characters on media. Timid and smart, often seen wearing glasses. To make these characters seemingly independent and rebellious, they add streaks of color in their hair to contrast against their dark brown or black hair. While there's nothing wrong with having highlights on their hair, it's quite an overused characterization, and it makes me wonder how it's required to simulate a unique Asian female character. By this comparison, they are implying that those who kept their natural hair color are submissive. The deindividualization of female Asian characters is apparent, and this mindset continues to spark in media. We need to have more Asian representation in the media to break the stereotypes and generalization. 

A prime example I had is Avatar: The Last Airbender. This show is one of the most beloved cartoons of all time. Many of its themes are heavily inspired by Asian culture with a unique taste of blending culture in the narrative. We should incorporate more of Asian culture and identity in media, and showcase the beauty that it has to offer. There is so much more to the idea of Asians than being bright and submissive. Asians are creative and innovative, and they have their set of individuality to offer.

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Jennylou // Representation in the Minority

Most people who are training to become an educator are white, monolingual, middle-class, and female, who are ought to teach an increasingly shifting population of ethnically diverse, English-learning students. They have limited direct experience with linguistic, cultural, or ethnic and other kinds of diversity, yet they are expected to guide students who are exceptionally diverse in every way. 

Dr. Mellisa Crum is an education consultant, diversity practitioner, and artist who administers workshops with many educators in urban schools. She talks about her experiences as a Black woman in a predominantly white community in a class setting where she never had a teacher who looked like her or shared her cultural heritage. Her teacher's lack of racial diversity caused her to believe the conceivable notion that she is less competent than her white counterparts. She is narrating her experience to give voice to those who are experiencing similar situations as her. She believes that educators should become more culturally aware and competent to provide sympathy and understanding to students who are struggling to assimilate. She addresses cultural bias but fails to provide perspective on language barriers and immigration. A viewpoint from an English-learner of ethnic background would have given an in-depth view of a wider variety of people. Educators need to learn how to teach a diverse population and attain multicultural perspectives, as well as cultivating teacher diversity for students to understand their place in the classroom. San Francisco has a large population of Asians and my school has many Asians teaching at school. I am lucky to be in an environment that surrounds me with teachers I can identify with.

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Blog#14 [Immigrants]

Immigration is an international movement of people from one country to another. The United States has been the land of immigrants for a long time. Now, we all have people from different nations and that is what makes America great. The positive pull factor may be for job opportunities, higher wages, educational opportunities, health care, family and friends. On the other hand, the negative pushe factor for a person to immigrate may be from poverty, famine, natural disasters, war, ethnic conflict, genocide, disease, political or religious reasons, lack of jobs, etc. People usually choose to immigrate for a better state of living for themselves and their family. Immigration isn’t always approved of or appreciated by everyone however. Immigrants often face hardships like racism and discrimination by those living in the communities they move to. They are not treated equally as all the fellow Americans. Many families have been separated because either they can’t leave the country or they can’t come to the country. Some of the examples are Syrian immigrants: we all might know how bad is the condition over there, people have no where to stay, they can’t even get out, and many lost their loved one’s. Because of all these they had to flee from their home country to seek refuge in another country for their safety and their children’s. I believe they didn’t want to leave their country for another country, but they had to because of the daily war. These immigrants are peacefully seeking support and refugees, but many see it as a threat. In a way we all are immigrants because no one owns this land. We humans made the rules, but everyone should be free to be where ever they want.     

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Blog #13 Early Chinese Communities

(Just wanted to share this lol)

Push & Pull factors 

External Pressures such as the Opium Wars (2 wars that fought around the mid 19th century 1839-1842 & 1856-1860) were the climax of a long dispute between China and Britain. 

In 1849 the discovery of gold in California reached China which meant for economic opportunities for those who wanted to take risks. When coming to America they arrived at Angel Island. Most came from the province of Guangdong which was a region occupied by poor farmers and peasants who speak Toisanese and Cantonese. Most of them who migrated were usually men.

Occupations

From 1849-1870 66,000 Chinese were in the U.S. They worked in mines and they worked in the worst mines. White American miners tried to eliminate competition and demanded state gov’t to remove non-American miners. By the 1960s, gold mining became unprofitable and the # of Chinese miners declined. So the CHinese starteed working for White mine owners who used them to drive down wages of white workers. 

They also worked on Railroads. In February 1865, 50 Chinese workers were hired by the Central Pacific Railroad and shortly afterwards 50 more were hired. 12,000 Chinese laborers were employed by the Central Pacific Railroad. They were typically paid 33% less than the white Americans. “Not a Chairman’s chance” was made in reference to the handling of explosives. In 1869, 2 railroad companies met in at Promontory Point and celebrated the completion of the first transcontinental railroad though the actual joining of the two railroads occurred later and about 35 miles away.

Working in factories 

Thousands of Chinese workers made their way to San Francisco as it transforms and they began to settle there. Chinese laborers quickly became a large and key source of labor. They concentrated in the lowest paying jobs. Most Chinese workers employed in factories making women’s and men’s clothings and got paid an avg of $597 a year. 

Agriculture 

The Chinese were essential in turning CA and the West Coast from a wheat and grain producing region to fruit and vegetable production. After the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act passed, Chinese workers saw that their value had increased and demanded higher wages. 

Laundries and Restaurant Workers

They faced discrimination and customers attempted to cheat Chinese businesses. Anti-Chinese sentiment begun with the foreign miner’s tax in 1852. Resistance- The Chinese Six Companies. They were not always victims. Many Chinese and organizations fought back. The Chinese Six Companies developed political and economic strength. 

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Jennylou // Vincent Chin

Vincent Chin was a 27-year-old Chinese-American man, who was celebrating a bachelor party with his friends in Detroit, Michigan. He then encountered two white autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, who went up to harass him for mistaking him as Japanese. During the '80s, many autoworkers faced unemployment due to the recession impacting jobs across the country. Japanese auto manufacturers at that time were growing in the U.S. 

Chin ran away after being chased by Ebens with a baseball bat. The two went to drive around in search of Chin, and when they finally found him, they beat him to death with the baseball bat. Ebens and Nitz were later charged with second-degree murder but were able to plea bargain down to the lesser charge of manslaughter. They were obliged to only pay $3,000 and serve three years of probation, with no jail time. Vincent Chin’s murder marked a turning point for Asian-Americans.

Even though the incident of Vincent Chin became a staple of Asian-American studies, not many people know about this part of history. Even to this day, many Asians face discrimination for the negative generalization and stereotypes in their identity. Now with the COVID-19, many people are inclined to harass Chinese and anyone who resembles one. Other Asians are now being targeted as the pandemic became more apparent. The predictable consequence is an upsurge in racial violence. 

I hope this moment urges Asian Americans to not turn inward, but use it as an impetus to empathize with and support other marginalized communities. 

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Blog #12 Stop Anti-Asian Hate Crime

Lately, there has been many Asian Americans being attacked publicly because of COVID-19. ‘They look Asian so they must have COVID-19.’ It is so sad how some people have the audacity to BLAME ALL for the actions that were done by individuals. It is extremely upsetting especially when they didn’t do anything. Matter of fact in the train clip no one did anything to stop the hate crime. What I’m also trying to understand is why was the old lady was being bullied. Racism still exists and it is sad to see how in most of the clips, African Americans are the ones bullying them. It’s ironic that Americans attack Asians thinking that they have the virus when America has 10x the amount of COVID-19 cases than China. We need to stop, and think before acting upon it. Let’s try to cultivate peace, compassion, and kindness. These are trying times for all of us. Race is a social construct designed to divide us.

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Jennylou // Class Recap

Nicole and I were checking what classes we have next. I have not inspected mine due to my tendency of negligence and uncaring attitude. It seems like I don’t have an Asian-American class added in my gator schedule, despite having it printed out and written on the paper my counselor handed to me. I crashed her class since it was the exact class I needed: similar times and the exact course. It fitted rather perfectly on my schedule. For us to discern such a problem before her class began was quite the timing too. It worked all too well, and part of me felt like it was faith.

I entered the class with little expectations except for class presentations, lectures, discussions, and the likes. Having been to school for 12 years, it all becomes a cycle. But instead, I was welcomed with interactive games, engaging topics, collaborative solutions, and it all happened in only 4 hours. Before I knew it, the teacher disguised herself, as well as her TA’s, as one of the students. 

A few weeks passed, and I noticed how fast our class started getting along. We only meet 4 hours a week, and quite frankly, I wish it were longer. I was the type to appear on the first day of class, sleep in for the next few days until I stopped attending only to return when there's an exam. There were days that I didn't go to any of my morning classes, as the idle individual that I am, yet somehow I managed to come to this class. 

College students already know the basic knowledge of most subjects, yet the struggle to motivate them becomes more difficult. We see ourselves giving up or not paying much attention as we begin to understand how the real world works. Our main objective is to receive a degree for more opportunities further in the future. Classes like this give me a new perspective of how schools can operate, especially for students like us who had been molded by social construct. 

Due to COVID-19, we're not able to go to our class the conventional way. Normally, I'd rejoice and continue my way of watching anime, journalling, and sleeping all day. Though in some days, this class had me thinking of what we could be doing now if there was no pandemic, such as what conversations would arise, topics to discuss, and moments to share with my group. Even without being physically in class, I can say that I obtained friends. With all the isolation and social distancing, we managed to keep our connection going. And in the end, I’m just glad that those few weeks happened.

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Jennylou // Asian-American Girls

A group of Asian-American girls collectively invented their own community where they feel a sense of personal and cultural belonging against multiple structural constraints. 

Asian-American students should learn to form a unity with others who share similar racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds while keeping openness and inclusivity. Growing up between two worlds, Asian-Americans struggle to make sense of who they are. They often feel the need to appear more "Americanized" to be accepted by society, yet they would resist it at other times to prove their Asian identity. Asian-Americans need to learn how to navigate the in-between by learning to accept both worlds as their own. 

By hearing how Asian-American students deal with the struggle in finding the in-between of their identity, we learn how they deal with social norms and peer pressure. Teachers influence their students with what they bring in class, and part of that is also teaching the students to embrace their roots and encourage hybridity.

The author of the book is Tomoko Tokunaga, who has a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. She conducted longitudinal ethnographic research on Asian-Americans assimilating and searching for belonging in the United States. It would have been interesting to hear what are the quarrels within the group, and the reason for some students to leave. The whole point of open space is to have a place where you feel comfortable and empowered. Whether it be a personal or group conflict would have helped the community to improve. 

Tokunaga, T. (2017). “Introduction: Focusing on the Experiences of Asian American Girls” In  Schuefftan, K (Ed.) Learning to Belong in the World: An Ethnography of Asian American Girls. (pp. 1-32). Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Jennylou // Asians in Schools

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/magazine/affirmative-action-asian-american-harvard.html

Harvard University took affirmative action into account in admitting students, putting many hardworking Asian-Americans in disadvantage. Skin color has become a primary factor for students to qualify that it overlooks their merit, immigration status, and socioeconomic status. 

Alex Chen is an 18-year-old senior who has impressive grades and an officer of many clubs and organizations. He expresses his dismay as a Chinese-immigrant preparing for college. He is among the many other Asian-Americans and immigrants who were interviewed for this topic, revealing their views and experiences regarding affirmative action. 

Teachers tend to judge their Asian-American students according to the model minority myth, causing Asian-American students to feel pressured to study harder and overlooked by their teachers and peers. The article spreads awareness of how affirmative action can affect different people in many ways. Society views Asian-Americans and immigrants as a model minority, shifting how racism plays out, and in turn, downplaying discrimination against Asians. Affirmative-actions run deeper than enforcing diversity. It robs opportunities for those who worked vigorously to escape poverty for someone whose skin color is needed more. 

The article should have included how affirmative action could also be beneficial and what changes has it done for the universities that implemented it. Comparing universities that are exclusive to meritocracy with those who account for affirmative action would give a more extensive perspective on this matter. 

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Jennylou // Affirmative Action

Article: https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/03/04/research-suggests-bias-against-asian-americans-after-they-earn-degrees

Affirmative actions intentionally discriminate against Asian-Americans' growing number of admission in universities. Asian-Americans will continue to thrive if the consideration of race were to be lifted. 

The article is dedicated to Asian-American students who seek to go to college yet are denied admission because of their race. It is unfair to deny Asian-Americans of their opportunity to go to universities to force diversity in schools. Asian-Americans demographically overrepresented minorities in several colleges, but the underrepresented relative to the applicant pool remains stagnant. People's negative stereotypes on Asian-American students as one dimensional with a lack of diversity in interest is being promoted as the model minority prevails in university admission. People criticize Asian-Americans for being the majority of the population on college campuses when they worked hard to have the opportunity, though they are still contested once they find jobs unlike white students.

(Many of the author's findings will soon appear in Ethnic and Racial Studies. Scott Jaschik also provides the level of degree in education and focus of the authors and the background stories of his interviewee. The article should have expanded more on colleges with majority Asian-American students beginning its affirmative action and how it benefited campus life and success rates in students. Knowing the opinions of White students in this matter would have made it more compelling as they are an advantage either way.)

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Jennylou // Educational Equity

Article: https://www.nsba.org/-/media/NSBA/File/cpe-educational-equity-research-brief-january-2016.pdf?la=en&hash=A0F139B97D13C589CE00F186E594BEF1C3396F93

Educational equity ensures that every student has equal access to the opportunities, support, and tools to succeed in the classroom and beyond. The student population is increasingly becoming more diverse, and knowing what they exactly need is necessary to contend with hundreds of years of oppression, poverty, and disproportionality. The educational system needs to comprehend that racial and socioeconomic lines are a huge factor in the student's development. Many students have been traditionally marginalized in their education because of their identity, capacity, and socioeconomic status. The article explains the current inequity on funding, obtainability to high-level curriculum, accessibility to qualified teachers, and how discipline policies are imposed in schools. 

Asian-Americans, especially those who recently migrated, tend to lack the necessity they need from their teacher. To assume that Asian-American students do not require learning assistance denies it to those who might require it or inhibits those who want to seek help. Teachers may be contributing unconsciously to these students' anxiety by assuming that they are high achievers. Every student is deserving of an education, and teachers and organizations shouldn't take away their chance to learn based on their identity and background. 

(The article shows the current charts and graphs from the National Center for Education Statistics and other platforms that analyzes and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information on students' achievement rates and class availability. The article should have broadened its research on funding as the government and organizations may not have the profit to dispense students' needs. We also need to learn how schools made significant advances in their facilities and classroom settings for other schools to follow.)

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Jennylou // Jungle Asians

I went to school with the majority being Asian, specifically: Chinese. It was not a surprise since my school resided near Chinatown. I had a particular Chinese friend who was rather ignorant and quite racist. He called me a “jungle Asian”. 

The use of the word “jungle” in Western literature represented a less civilized or unruly space outside the control of civilization, attributed to the jungle's association in colonial discourse with places colonized by Europeans. The “fancy Asians”, which are generally represented by East Asian countries in contrast to Southeast Asian ones are considered “civilized” in comparison because their physical appearances align closer to Eurocentric beauty standards since they have a higher occurrence of light skin and higher nose bridge, they have more developed economies which makes them less exploitable by Western capitalist powers (Southeast Asia has a truly rampant problem with mail-order brides and prostitution primarily catering to white men), and they produce more soft power through their media as East Asians market their own ethnic identities for white acceptance under neoliberalism.

I am from a tropical country who has tan skin and low nasal bridge, though that does not give anyone the right to call me jungle Asian. By calling me jungle Asian, you are also acknowledging that East Asians are fancy Asian, and this comparison demeans us. I was also called a monkey because he believes my facial features resembles that of one. Some people in school don’t even count me as Asian because I don’t have mono-lids or paler skin like many of them. When I retort back saying that I am indeed Asian, they reply that I’m not “Asian Asian”. I’m not, by all means, saying that Chinese are racists. However, the racism against Filipinos are undeniable. Some East Asians have a mentality that they are above Southeast Asians, often calling us destitute and filthy, degrading us for our darker complexion, and treating us like we are brainless people. Some Southeast Asians have their fair share of racist views against East Asians too. We shouldn’t degrade people for being different from us, but instead be proud of our culture and heritage. 

I am unapologetically brown, and I’m proud to be Filipino. 

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BLOG 13 [COVID-19]

The virus that has been going around the world is not only affecting people's health, but it is affecting the way they live their life, mental health, economy, and racism towards Asian people. We all heard that it started from China. I thought that since it is in a very far country, I thought it would not come all the way here. We all thought that it is small and it will go away in no time, but it proved us wrong. It started with a small number but within no time it spread so fast that many countries were unprepared. The virus not only infected people, but in many other ways. Some of the exam; many people went jobless, and they can not even work, so because of this many families are having hard time to support their family. In America let’s say it is a little better because we also get the money from the money which is not enough, but it will help us a bit. What I am trying to say is that countries who do not have good governments for example let’s say Nepal. Most of the people go abroad to support their family, and now even their abroad one’s can not make money to send them, or even to support them. They are stuck in one place, and because they share room with many people, they have higher chances of getting infected by the virus. And I was just reading the news; I saw that one person was dead in his or her room and no one knew it until 2 or 3 days. It is really sad to see how the virus is infecting people. People are already going through a lot and there comes a racist. What I mostly find disgusting is how they are yelling things and misbehaving seniors. I find that really disturbing and there was so much anger on me. I hope as time goes by people will  learn to respect each other despite their race, color, or gender.  

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BLOG 12 [Never Have I Ever]

The series was great, and the story was about the complicated modern day life of a first generation teenage an Indian American girl. This series had some parts where I could relate to. For example, how Devi’s parents want her to be all obedient and a bit cultural. It is very real that Asian parents can be way tough. She was very different from the typical Indian girl, what I mean by that is that she is more of like she doesn’t really seem to care,  maybe that could be because of her teenage years. She had her own life problems and the things she was dealing with in her teenage life and that stereotype life as a teenager. Something that I liked about her is that she often tried to get the negative things out, and focus on positive. On the other hand, she was struggling to keep up with her friends as well. And her friends were also struggling with their personal life issues. I think this is something we all can relate to. We all are always going to something, and sometimes it is hard to understand the person, and what they are going through. The series did really good job at showing the modern teenage problems and life as an first generation teenage girl and a family.     

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BLOG 11[Three Minute Hug]

For the first five or 28 mins documentary, I had no idea of what will take place

because it was basically aerial view of two cities along with phone calls between family

members. On the phone call they were talking about family reunion and how emotional

it will be, how they will hug each other and feel each other's presence. They also knew

that the reunion will not be long with no hope or promise that they will be seeing each

other again or not.

What the event wants to show is brief, reunion between families who were denied

asylum, deported from their families for years and years, and their loved ones who are

still living in the U.S.. In the event two groups of people were wearing two different

colored t-shirt. The people from Mexico were wearing white t-shirts and people from

the U.S. were wearing blue t-shirt. Other such as organizer and volunteer were wearing

red. I think it could be because that people won’t be missing or changing to one another.

First, the Mexican parts come to meet the family from the U.S.. It was very emotional,

even before they were lining up to meet you could see the tears and joy of meeting their

family, children waving at their father or mother, and families eager to meet each other.

When they finally meet each other, it was very emotional they hug and cry. I kinda felt

sad that the fact that they could not do anything else except crying and hugging their

family and loved ones. Few mins later, perspective groups were announced to return totheir perspective sides, so that the other group could reunite. Even though the

documentary was short, but it was bittersweet and a unique event that brings families

together.

Therefore, this 3 mins hug documentary basically shows us how family has been

separated and there are laws which separates them from entering to one another borders.

It is sad to see that they can't do anything because of the circumstances they are in and

to protect their family. On the other hand I am glad that they got to see their family for

at least 3 mins.