2020-2021

By Jia Mei Webinar hosted by Dr. Emily Chan at Colorado College, Joined by five panelists: Dr. John Williams (Colorado College), Dr. Christian Sorace (Colorado College), Dr. Keisha A. Brown (Tennessee State University), Dr. Catherine Liu (University of California, Irvine), and Dr. Maria Repnikova (Georgia State University). Amidst the increasing political tensions between the United States and China—arising from both the trade war and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—US politicians have used anti-Chinese rhetoric to suit various political agendas. These include scapegoating China to cover up the US mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of “Chinese Virus” among other anti-Chinese rhetoric has led to a climate of fear and “Othering” for Asian Americans and Chinese nationals ab...

Growing up, I never really understood why people would wear their outdoor shoes into their homes. It was even more shocking to see people wear their shoes into their rooms, a place I imagine one would want to keep clean, especially if they would walk barefoot after showering. To me, taking off our shoes and leaving them by the door was an “Asian thing” that non-Asians typically did not relate to. So why do we take off our shoes? There is a deeper historical context to this tradition across different Asian cultures, but in general, one main reason is hygiene. Our shoes have walked down many dirty roads that have been spat on, muddied, littered, and more. Invisible to our naked eye are the thousands of bacteria on the underside of our shoes. When we go home—or even to sacred places—the cu...

By Kelly Yue Dr. Yogesh Chandrani joined Colorado College in 2015 as Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and is now Assistant Professor of Religion and Asian Studies. His academic interests include Modern South Asia, religion and secularism, colonial modernity, nationalism, violence, memory and subjectivity. Why did you decide to come to CC? I have always wanted to teach at a liberal arts college and consider myself fortunate to be here.  In 2015, my wife Nadia Guessous was appointed to a tenure track position in Feminist and Gender Studies and I was offered a visiting appointment in the Anthropology Department.  As a visiting faculty, I taught courses in Anthropology, Religion and Asian Studies and in Fall 2019, I was offered a joint-tenure track by Asian S...

By Jia Mei Rishi Ling ’18 is a CC alumnus who majored in Music. Following graduation, he worked for one year as a Paraprofessional at the Department of Music at Colorado College. He received a Princeton in Asia Fellowship ’19 to teach English at the University of Macau in Macau, S.A.R. China. He is currently supporting PiA as an intern and also working as a tech facilitator for speech communications classes at various liberal arts and community colleges in the North Shore Chicago area Why did you apply to Princeton in Asia? I applied to PiA because I was looking for ways to connect with my own Chinese heritage through service-oriented work in Asia. Ideally, I had hoped to work as a teacher in a non-profit and support communities in the eastern and southeastern regions of China...

By Kelly Yue Mateen Zafer joined Colorado College in August 2019 as the Coordinator of Mentorship and Diversity Initiatives at the Butler Center. He advises the Quest Scholars Network and the Enclave Living Learning Community.  How has working from home been for you? Has it affected your interaction with students? I am privileged to be able to work largely from home, knowing that many other CC staff and millions of folx across the country do not have this same luxury. I have spent more time with my partner this year than our 5+ years together combined. We continue to navigate together through this pandemic and we have deepened our bonds in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. I am eternally grateful for her partnership and presence in my life. Knowing how real Zoom fatigue i...

By Kelly Yue Is Inner Mongolia part of China? What is its history?  Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China established in 1947, bordering the country of Mongolia. In the 1940s, Mongol leaders allied with Mao Zedong’s Communist Party as they were convinced that the communist system would give them true autonomy. Soon, large numbers of Han Chinese settlers moved into the region, rapidly outnumbering the Mongols. During the Cultural Revolution, Han Chinese officials accused Mongols of separatism — and more than 20,000 Mongols were ultimately killed, according to official numbers, in a purge against a “secret party” that the Chinese government later acknowledged did not exist. Nowadays, the Mongols only make up 17% of the Inner Mongolia...

By Kelly Yue Young people in Thailand have long been disillusioned by years of military rule. They are now taking their frustration to the streets and demanding amendments to the constitution, a new election, the prime minister’s resignation, and an end to the harassment of activists. The movement has primarily been leaderless as protesters use Telegram as their means of communication, reminiscent of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protest that started last year. In fact, when asked about the intentions behind the leaderless movement, protesters often refer to the success of Hong Kong’s decentralized protests in maintaining momentum despite arrests. The protesters have found creative and whimsical means of protesting, such as turning the Japanese hamster character, Hamtaro, into a pro...

Riley Hutchings – Chinese CPC Favorite Food: Xiaolongbao (Chinese steamed buns) Hobbies: Reading and cooking; hiking if not during pandemic Email: rhutchings@coloradocollege.edu Office Hour: By appointment through email; flexible in time Our new Chinese CPC is Riley Hutchings from Portland, Oregon. Riley graduated from Colorado College with a degree in Economics and a minor in Chinese in 2019; she worked for a year and came back to CC this year as the Chinese CPC. While she considers herself the outdoor type, she also enjoyed staying inside during quarantine. When asked what was her greatest accomplishment in the past few months, Riley stated she was happy as she got to read a lot of books she liked for fun.  As a non-native Chinese speaker, Riley wished to stay neut...

Asian Student Union/Korean-American Student Association (ASU/KASA): Asian Student Union/Korean-American Student Association aims to provide a space on campus for students of Asian heritage to build community and create a sense of belonging. We will engage with topics and issues that are currently transpiring in our world today, through forms of media, discussions, and engagement. Meeting times: TBD Contact: j_lam@coloradocollege.edu  South Asian Students’ Association (SASA): South Asian Students’ Association (SASA) brings together students who may or may not share a lineage with the South Asian region. The club typically meets on Fridays at 5 sometimes for a good chat, sometimes for planning an event over some good South Asian food and other times to discuss the ongoing...

By Kelly Yue Edwin Toshio Hamada joined Colorado College on September 1 as our new Assistant Vice President for the Residential Experience. He identifies as a Japanese-American and is beyond excited to join CC’s tight-knit community after previously working at numerous larger public universities. We started off the interview with a typical CC icebreaker question: “If you could be an item in the kitchen, what would it be?” Edwin said he would be a coffee maker or Espresso machine. “Being a Northwest transplant from California converted me into a coffee fanatic,” he shared. To delve into Edwin’s personal story, we asked about his favorite dish to make. It didn’t take him long to think: Hamada chicken. Edwin and his wife use a teriyaki chicken recipe handed down to them by his mo...