For Immediate Release
August 4, 2010

 

Editorial contact: Melany Dela Cruz-Viesca, melanyd@ucla.edu, 310-825-2974
Review copies: Ming Tu, aascpress@aasc.ucla.edu, 310-825-2968

 

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AAPI Nexus Journal Releases Special Issue on Asian American and Pacific Islander Higher Education

 

Los Angeles - AAPI Nexus Journal has released its second issue of a three part education series, focusing on Higher Education. Guest editors Mitchell J. Chang (UCLA) and Peter Nien-chu Kiang (University of Massachusetts Boston) have assembled articles that expand the horizon of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) educational research in exciting ways that extend beyond well-trotted model minority paradigms. The articles in this issue discuss not only the many challenges that AAPI college students face, but also potential solutions that have implications for future generations of AAPI college students.

 

Ling-chi Wang writes of the struggles that community members in San Francisco faced for nearly thirty years to establish a Chinatown campus of the City College of San Francisco. Wang emphasizes the roles of neighborhood demographics and political alliances that affect the construction of community colleges for AAPIs.

Rick Wagoner and Anthony Lin document issues and events that deal with Southeast Asian American community college students who transfer to four-year institutions. They show how state- and federal-level policies are neglecting to acknowledge the disadvantages that Southeast Asian students encounter in community colleges, such as inadequate mentorship and programs, which have a negative impact on their transition into a four-year university.

 

Next, Jillian Liesemeyer finds a significant parallel between the historical trends of exclusionary quotas against Jewish students in American universities and the contemporary controversy over Asian American student enrollment in higher education. Liesemeyer highlights the responses of students and university administrators to these issues that had been largely publicized and debated in newspapers and articles. By understanding the similarities in these two cases, Liesemeyer hopes that policymakers can better confront the exclusionary practices against Asian Americans.

 

Similarly, Oiyan Poon examines the recent policy changes in eligibility of admissions in the University of California system. In her article, Poon concludes by proposing a national research-based education organization to facilitate communication among educators, students, and community and institutional leaders in order to develop an education policy agenda based on community interests and research and to help advocate more effectively for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

 

Julie Park and Mitchell Chang close this second issue by providing insights into the development of legislation for the federal designation of AAPI-serving institutions. They document the experiences of policy makers, congressional staffers, and community advocates, with an eye toward improving the future influence of AAPI communities on educational matters.

 

AAPI Nexus copies are $13.00 plus $4.00 for shipping and handling, and 9.75% sales tax for California residents. Make checks payable to "UC Regents." VISA, MASTERCARD, and DISCOVER are also accepted; include expiration date and phone number on correspondence.

The mailing address is:

UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press,
3230 Campbell Hall, UCLA,
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546.
Phone: 310-825-2968.
Email: aascpress@aasc.ucla.edu.

Annual subscriptions for AAPI Nexus are $35.00 for individuals and $175.00 for libraries and other institutions. AAPI Nexus is published twice a year: Winter/Spring, and Summer/Fall.