In April 1990, an Asian American student at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), Tom Tieu, was assaulted by a Mathematics teaching assistant. On March 4, 1998, an article was published in the Daily Nexus titled “Number of Dogs Present in Classes Declining This Year.” The article associated missing dogs in Isla Vista to the Vietnamese and Hmong communities living there, supported by statements from an IV foot patrol officer.

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Incidents like these brought students of color together as they protested for more dedicated, safe cultural spaces on campus. The Asian Resource Center, or ARC, in the Student Resource Building, was part of the fulfillment of these demands. It’s been necessary for Asian American students to fight to have their needs met by the larger institution of the university.

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According to Erin Khuê Ninh, a Vietnamese American professor in UCSB’s Asian American Studies department, Vietnamese people were not always welcomed at university settings in America. “[Asian American Studies academics] had a moment of real suspicion and dislike, and you can see that in the literature,” she said. 

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These academics, who Ninh says were East Asian, demonstrate how, despite often being labeled by others as a monolithic “Asian American” group, there are distinct disparities in how East and Southeast Asians are treated.

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UCSB Professor Heidi Amin-Hong says it’s necessary to think about “the distinction between forced migration and immigration.” Hong elaborated on how East Asians, namely those from China, Japan, and Korea, immigrated to the United States for various reasons such as educational or career opportunities. Meanwhile, Southeast Asians from countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were driven from their home countries by war, by force.

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Many East Asians may have come to America with more resources and have thus been able to fulfill highly professional roles, while Southeast Asians did not have the same privileges. Hong stated that there is an obvious policy, educational, and wealth gap between East and Southeast Asians. 

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This may have been the story of older generations of Asian immigrants, but even for the younger generations of Asian Americans, it can still be hard trying to find a place where you feel represented.

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Those like Cali Poeu Huynh, a UCSB alum, found that being part of campus organizations like Kapatirang Pilipino (KP) helped him grow into his multi-ethnic identity. Huynh is Cambodian, Sino-Vietnamese, and Khmer Krom. Experiences like his are evidence of the importance of student organizations not just now, but in years prior.

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