An Unfulfilled Promise Spurs Protest at UCI : Students Seek Classes in Asian-American Studies

Frustrated over the lack of an Asian-American studies program after years of pleading, more than 200 protesting Asian-American students occupied UC Irvine’s administration building Thursday and marched on the chancellor’s office to demand an audience.

Asian-American students will no longer be ignored, particularly at UCI, where they are the largest single ethnic group at 43% of the more than 17,000 student body, demonstrators said.

“We are no longer the sleeping giant,” said Vu Pham, a history major and co-editor of Rice Paper, the campus newspaper for Asian and Pacific Islander students.

“We want programs now that will educate anyone who is interested in the accomplishments of Asian-Americans, in the discrimination we have suffered and in our experiences in general,” said the 20-year-old junior from Huntington Beach, whose family emigrated from Vietnam in 1975.

Acting Chancellor L. Dennis Smith was not present when students marched into his office and lined the hallways outside, pounding on walls, shouting and demanding an audience. Reached by telephone, he later agreed to meet with them at the campus student center.

But when Smith took the stage to speak to the increasingly angry crowd, he was booed, heckled and cut off mid-sentence by students who accused him of reneging on past promises.

“I’m hopeful that we can have something started by this summer,” Smith said over the jeers and cursing of noisy students inside the Emerald Bay auditorium.

He said academic deans and faculty have more control over the creation of new classes and programs than he does. “It is not a cop-out,” Smith said, but he added, “We’re trying to make them move faster.”

Thursday’s demonstration--the second major demonstration at UCI in two months--began shortly after 12:30 p.m. to the persistent beat of Japanese taiko drummers performing for UCI’s Asian Heritage Week.

The throng of mostly Asian-American students waved banners and chanted: “We have the right, we gotta fight, Asian-American studies now!” Wearing yellow armbands to signify Asian unity, they marched into the campus administration building. In the crowded lobby, they took turns at megaphones, demanding that Smith make good on his promise two years ago to create an Asian-American studies program.

They demanded the hiring this year of at least two faculty members whose research focuses on the Asian-American experience. They also demanded more such professors in the next few years.

It is unconscionable, say members of the university’s Asian-Pacific Students Assn., that as a university with the largest percentage of Asian students in the continental United States, UCI lacks such a program. They point out that an African-American studies program began this year and that a Latino studies program is soon to follow.

Even parents and members of the Asian-American business community joined protesters and spoke of the need for immediate action.

“The pity of it is that there are so many Asian-American students at UCI,” Betty O. Yamashiro, a Newport Beach attorney, said in an interview. Yamashiro, who is also a member of the Asian-American business community group, Community for Academic Relevance, added: “I have a son who is a junior this year at UCI and he has to go to take Asian-American studies classes at UCLA, which does have an established program.”

UCI does have two Asian-American faculty members who teach such classes. But one is a part-time counselor and the other, Assistant Prof. John Liu, is in the department of comparative cultures and has other responsibilities as well. Some non-Asian faculty members also refer to Asian-American issues in their classes.

But students say that is not enough. The university must hire more “Asian-Americanists” such as Liu. They need not be Asian themselves, the students say, but must be professors who study Asian communities and their experiences in American society.

At a meeting Tuesday with student leaders and other members of a special ad-hoc committee on the issue, Smith said a search to hire faculty for the Asian-American studies program continues, according to participants at the meeting. But he also said qualified Asian-American studies experts are rare and in great demand by other universities.

At the student center Thursday, Smith reassured them that searches for faculty members are underway. Straining his voice over the catcalls and boos of a skeptical crowd, he said one Asian-American professor turned down the university’s offer two weeks ago, opting to go to North Carolina’s Duke University instead.

“I certainly promise to do everything I can to get Asian-American studies started and to get the faculty,” Smith said. “I reiterate that commitment.”

But dissatisfied students began chanting: “Give us a deadline!” and “We want action!” At that point, Smith turned and disappeared behind a phalanx of police officers and their patrol cars parked on a lawn outside.

The demonstration was unusual for the size of the crowd and its vitriol. A similar number of students took over the administration lobby in March to protest new student fee increases for next fall.

Students and Asian business community members remained skeptical Thursday that any progress would be made, given the disastrous state of the California budget and the deep cuts in state funds predicted for UCI and the rest of the University of California system.

The real answer, community supporter David A. Buxbaum said, is more protests.

“The only way to change things,” said Buxbaum, a Newport Beach attorney, “is for this group to put on a demonstration like this every week--until this administration gets tired of it and puts into place the program it promised two years ago.”

Times staff writer Phuong Le contributed to this report.

Asian Ranks Growing Asian student enrollment at UCI, which includes Pacific Islanders, has increased steadily during the last five years, as has their percentage in the overall student body. Numbers do not include those in the College of Medicine. Asian Enrollment ‘92-93: 39% / 6,313 ‘91-92: 36% / 5,710 ‘90-91: 34% / 5,297 ‘89-90: 32% / 4,782 ‘88-89: 30% / 4,484 Student Body Composition During the same five-year period, the percentage of white students declined by about 20% while that of other groups remained relatively steady. 1988-89 White: 50% Asian: 30% Latino: 7% Black: 3% Indian: * Decline to say: 10% 1992-93 White: 39% Asian: 39% Latino: 10% Black: 3% Indian: 1% Decline to say: 8% * Less than 1% Source: UC Irvine