Even so, based on their outstanding grades and test scores, Asian-Americans increasingly say their enrollment should be much higher — a contention backed by a growing body of evidence.

Whether elite colleges give Asian-American students a fair shake is becoming a big concern in college-admissions offices. Federal civil-rights officials are investigating charges by a top Chinese-American student that he was rejected by Princeton University last spring because of his race and national origin.

Founded in 1973, Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) is a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States. OCA aims to embrace the hopes and aspirations of nearly 12 million Asian Pacific Americans in the United States.

OCA’s goals are:
• to advocate for social justice, equal opportunity and fair treatment;
• to promote civic participation, education, and leadership;
• to advance coalitions and community building; and
• to foster cultural heritage.

To achieve these goals, OCA is engaged in organizing its 80 chapters and affiliates across the nation to develop both leadership and community involvement. OCA chapters and our organizational and college affiliates are establishing strong local programs in all parts of the country.

OCA’s based in Washington, D.C. gives the national office an effective vantage point for monitoring legislation and policy issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans. In addition, OCA is able to build national support and to work in coalition with other national groups around issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans. Visit the national OCA website for more information.

OCA takes no collective position on the politics of any foreign country, but instead focuses on the welfare and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States.
Our chapter is here to address your needs, through education, activism and community service. Get involved in Asian American issues, locally and nationally!

OCA Facts

* Founded: 1973
* Legal Status: Non-profit, Non-partisan
* National Office: Washington, DC
* Number of Chapters: 50
* Representing: Over 10,000 people (Affiliate, College Affiliates, Young OCA, OCA Young Professionals, General membership)
* First and only national Chinese American civil rights organization headquartered in D.C.

OCA History

* Oct. 14, 1976 – OCA National President K.L. Wang meets with President Ford.
* Fall 1977 – OCA National Headquarters sets up in Washington, D.C. with the first Executive Director Hayden Lee.
* 1977 – OCA begins publishing quarterly issues of IMAGE.
* June 29, 1984 -Vincent Chin assailant convicted of civil rights violation.
* January 10, 1986 – OCA President Andrew Chen meets with President Ronald Reagan for greater opportunities and recognition for Chinese Americans and AAPIs.
* July 19, 1989 – OCA President Frank Liu meets with President George Bush to discuss APA issues.
* May 15, 1990 – OCA President S.B. Woo meets with President George Bush on the Civil Rights Act of 1990.
* November 29, 1990 – OCA Executive Director Daphne Kwok witnesses the signing of the Immigration Act of 1990.
* January 1992 – OCA President Claudine Cheng is instrumental in the issuance of the first Chinese American commemorative stamp – Year of the Rooster. The idea was initiated by OCA-Georgia Chapter member Jean Chen.
* June 27, 1993 – OCA meets with Attorney General Janet Reno on AAPI and Hispanic issues.
* August 15, 1995 – OCA National President Michael Lin meets with President Clinton and Secretary of Defense Perry on affirmative action.
* June 28, 1996 – OCA presents the first Pioneer Awards in San Francisco.
* Fall 1996 – OCA coordinates historic first national AAPI voter registration campaign.

More highlights and history can be found on the OCA National History, OCA Year in Review and OCA Facts.

“OCA is so pleased to be part of this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month festivities,” said OCA National President Ginny Gong. “We have been a part of APA Heritage Month from the beginning and look forward to working with communities of all colors to expand knowledge and appreciation for the myriad Asian cultures in America.”

This year’s national theme, “Dreams and Challenges of Asian Pacific Americans,” was set by the Asian Pacific American Heritage Council. OCA local chapters will be hosting events that reflect this theme in cultural shows and banquets that will highlight the diversity of the Asians and Pacific Islanders (APAs) in America as well as educate the American mainstream public.

“There will be many opportunities for Americans to learn about the dreams and challenges of Asian Americans,” said OCA Executive Director Dorothy Wong. “All of the APAs here in the US have either descended from immigrants or are immigrants themselves. With the ongoing debate over immigration reform issues, we can re-visit the dreams of APAs as they first arrived in America, whether they were here hundreds of years ago, or if they were newly minted citizens last week. The challenge we have before us is to recognize our ethnic differences while maintaining a unified APA identity.”

OCA is proud to have played an integral role in the founding of APA Heritage Month. The first APA Heritage Month was proclaimed in May of 1990, under President George H.W. Bush, and OCA is proud that the tradition has continued strong ever since. Inspired by the proclamations for Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Week, congressional staffers Jeannie Jew and Ruby Moy, sought to have similar legislation enacted for APAs. The nationwide effort was coordinated by the National Coalition for a Pacific/Asian American Heritage Proclamation, which was founded and chaired by Ms. Jew, an OCA National Board member and included K. L. Wang, founder of OCA.

For more information on APAHM events in your local area, please contact

Anh Phan: 202 223-5500
aphan@ocanatl.org

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Its been a while hasn’t it? Hope everyone is doing well!

After getting off to a slow start at the beginning of the year, we’re going all out for the month of March. As you know, our grant to do free citizenship workshops in a certain area of LA County has been extended to March. Now we have from today to March 31 to help as many Legal Permanent Residents apply for citizenship in order for us to be eligible for the grant for the rest of this year. We hope to continue our work in helping
immigrants such as you and I (at one time) become citizens. The area that
we’re focused on is from as west as El Monte to as east as Pomona, from as north as Covina to as south as Long Beach.

For the month of March we currently have 5 workshops, and a couple of mini workshops on the fringe. The following is the list of workshops and their time and location. Please let me know if you can donate your time to any of them, and I can give you more details.

March 4, Saturday 9:30-12:30 APALC Offices, LA
March 10, Friday 10:00-12:30 CCHC, San Gabriel
March 11, Saturday 9:30-12:30 Mt. San Antonio college, Walnut
March 17, Friday 10:00-12:00 El Monte/Rosemead Adult school, El Monte
March 18, Saturday 9:30-12:30 TBA
March 21, Tuesday 5:30- 9:00pm Cerritos Library, Cerritos
March 24, Friday 10:00-12:30 CCHC, San Gabriel
March 25, Saturday 9:30-12:30 West Covina Senior Center, West Covina

Thank you all for your help in the past, we would not have come this far without you! Please let me know if you are able to join us. If you have any questions, feel free to mail, email, call, page, IM, EM, or stop me on the street if you see me.

Sincerely,
Marianne

Marianne M. Lo
Outreach Coordinator, Immigration & Citizenship Project
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
1145 Wilshire Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
T: 213. 977.7500 ext. 272
F: 213. 977.7595
E-mail: mlo@apalc.org

http://www.asianweek.com/061397/feature.html

Wanted to wish you all a Happy Chinese New Year (which is this weekend).

If you’re not familiar with Chinese New Year, (Chinese: ??, ??, Ch_nj e; or ????, ????, N ngl X_nni n), also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year’s Day, celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, i.e. the day of the second new moon after the day on which the winter solstice occurs. The Chinese New Year period ends with the Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the festival.

Legend has it that in ancient China, Nian (“Nyehn”) was a man-devouring beast that could infiltrate houses silently. The Chinese soon learned that Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, and they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of color red domestically. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations.

Celebrated internationally in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered to be a major holiday for the Chinese as well as ethnic groups such as the Mongolians, Koreans, the Miao (Chinese Hmong) and the Vietnamese (see T t), who were influenced by Chinese culture in terms of religious and philosophical worldview, language and culture in general. Chinese New Year is also the time when the largest human migration takes place when Chinese all around the world return home on the eve of Chinese New Year to have reunion dinners with their families.

Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_new_year

And if you’re a 2nd or 3rd generation Asian American that would like to learn more, check out Good Luck Life : The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture (Paperback) by Rosemary Gong, one of my favorite asian american books.

Good Luck Life is the first book to explain the meanings of Chinese rituals and to offer advice on when and how to plan for Chinese holidays and special occasions such as Chinese weddings, the Red Egg and Ginger party to welcome a new baby, significant birthdays, and the inevitable funeral. Packed with practical information, Good Luck Life contains an abundance of facts, legends, foods, old-village recipes, and quick planning guides for Chinese New Year, Clear Brightness, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn, and many other festivals.
Written with warmth and wit, Good Luck Life is beautifully designed as an easily accessible cultural guide that includes an explanation of the Lunar Calendar, tips on Chinese table etiquette for dining with confidence, and dos and don’ts from wise Auntie Lao, who recounts ancient Chinese beliefs and superstitions. This is your map for celebrating a good luck life.

Good Luck Life book @ Amazon

Once again, happy chinese new year!!!

Oh BTW, I will be in San Jose next week, I’d like to see if there are others who would like to have dinner wednesday night. If you’re interested, please send me an email!

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
2264 E. 17th St
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Restaurant phone: 714-542-5307
Cost: Free admission, pay for what you eat/drink
RSVP: info@oca-orangecounty.org

Want to talk about something about something besides the
usual “What’s your name?” and “What do you do for a living?”? Join us for this series of informal chats over coffee (or the beverage of your choice) in Orange County where you can share your opinions and experiences and ask anything that’s on your mind in a casual setting.

Lunar New Year is on Sunday, January 29 this year. Help us ring in the Year of the Dog by sharing your stories about Asian traditions in your family – how do you celebrate the New Year? Do you believe in Asian astrology or superstitions? How do customs differ from family to family and culture to culture?