It's a big continent (re: Bezerkeley)

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Once upon a time, a friend of my mom from my hometown of Pleasanton, Calif., made a visit to Berkeley, Calif., a mere 35 minutes away. "I felt like I was at the University of Beijing!" she said. It got a laugh, which was kind of surprising, because they'd all heard that joke before.

The Asian population at UC Berkeley is 45 percent of the total student body. In the state of California, with the highest percentage and longest history of residency, it's still only 12 percent. The United States as a whole is about 4 percent. So don't forget how unusual the concept "near-majority Asian population" is to the rest of the United States, and how unusual UC Berkeley is as a prestigious university with a near-majority Asian population. The Ivy League, the East Coast colleges and pretty much every top-tier college except for here and a few other UCs have tight-knit, activist, but also relatively small Asian populations.

That makes UC Berkeley one of the great centers for producing Asian leaders, increasing political activism and debating the goals the community should have and what tactics it should use. And UC Berkeley is also home to unprecedented growth in primarily Asian organizations with a wealth of different purposes. There are Asian fraternities and sororities, religious groups and, importantly, a lot of fragmentation from what was formerly an all-encompassing "Asian community" into Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino and so on. Even the groups that are "Asian American" typically have a heavy East Asian majority.

Which makes perfect sense. Korean groups don't have all that much in common with regions as close as China and Japan. Leaving aside different languages, there are big differences in immigrant experiences, historical experience and religion, just to name a few. And those are moderate compared to differences between the Philippines, India, Cambodia and so on. Or even between Hong Kong immigrants and Chinese. The mass categorization of "Asian" was an artificial one imposed by census officials and perpetuated by stereotype. It seems not only probable but logical that UC Berkeley would be one of the first universities to have the numbers and confidence to fragment into more natural groups.

But it also seems probable that this runs counter to the goals of activists in the Asian community who aim to raise the community's notoriously low level of politicization. Great successes in the past came from the idea of Asian unity, where all the many different groups came together to raise the clout of the community as a whole. And yet at UC Berkeley the trend is toward political along with cultural fragmentation. The Filipino community has campaigned for a specifically Filipino American studies professor within the Asian American studies department. The Asian Pacific Council, specifically designed to coordinate all kinds of Asian groups, has struggled to get Indian groups on board.

The problem, ironically, is that being Asian at UC Berkeley implies being surrounded by more of the same culture and understanding than could be achieved virtually anywhere else in the world. Why get your social, academic or religious group mucked around in politics when things are comparatively good?

Still, the key word is "comparatively." UC Berkeley's near-majority and ability to diversify is also something of an illusion, an oasis of large numbers surrounded by a massive sea of otherwise. In the rest of the United States, Asian diversity has been forced to band together to achieve some sort of sorely needed political clout. That's what Asian activists see when they look outside UC Berkeley, and why so many want to educate and work together to get the hang of achieving common goals now, when everyone's still in the same area.

So that's the question: does UC Berkeley's teeming diversity portend a new freedom of expression in Asian communities nationwide, of a youth that is confident and large enough to not have to suppress differences to achieve clout? Or is it a temporary moment at college, brought on by high numbers that'll be dispersed to the winds, where unity will be key to achieving adequate representation? Is this cultural division impeding political unity?

Yeah, he's a typical leftist bigot. He wants 'minorities' to be independent and culture conscious, but not dare to stray from leftist orthodoxy.

I say, the fact that Asians are not too political is one of their blessings. God forbid they ever get a Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton to preach a persecution mentality. That would ruin them for sure.

Liberals arent big fans of Asian-Americans. Most Asian-Amer believe in strong family ties, hard work, getting a good education, and being successful.

This doesnt jibe well with Liberals..who believe people, especially non-white, non-Christian people, need to be dependent on big government, special interest groups, and, despise achievement.

Little known fact.....before California passed their law ending racial preferences in education... the affirmative action laws in CAL excluded Asian-Americans. I remember reading this when Ward Connerly's campaign was in full force

There is another angle to consider here. Asians entering the U. of California system are preponderantly interested in persuing a degree in the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, et. al.) and are not particularly interested in the physical sciences, social sciences or humanities (liberal arts). In a university system that prides itself on its broad spectrum of intellectual interests it does not wish to see an overweight in certain programs and the diminution of others. One History professor told me that he was disturbed by the number of Asian students who entered Cal-Berkeley under false pretenses, declaring a major in the humanities and then opting out as soon as possible. He suggested that the state of California needs a new Cal Tech, and that might not be a bad idea.

In a university system that prides itself on its broad spectrum of intellectual interests it does not wish to see an overweight in certain programs and the diminution of others.

Let the market decide...the students seem to hit the UC system because they think that they'll get the best education possible in their chosen field. The departments that teach the natural sciences should feel a justified pride in their efforts; the liberal arts profs should spend less time complaining and more time upping their standards.

In recent years, I've noticed Berkeley now resembles other leftist enclaves. It's no longer orders of magnitude to the left of other loony left locales such as Madison, Cambridge etc. In other words, it's moved to the right. One reason is the Asians. They're there to make it in America, or to make it in their own country. They actually attend class, graduate and even bathe once in a while. They're a positive force.

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