The History of NYCAASC
The New York City Asian American Student Conference (NYCAASC) is now entering its fifth successful year since the first collaboration between New York University and Columbia University. The driving idea behind its inception was to establish an ongoing dialogue that addressed the different social issues faced by Asian Americans and to celebrate the rich, diverse heritages that fabricate the unique Asian American culture. The first conference was themed Break the Silence: Discover, Inspire, Empower. The keynote speaker was Carmen van Kerckhove, founder of the diversity training group New Demographic and a contributor to the blog Racialicious. Since the conference’s inaugural year, the committee has grown to include students from different schools in the New York area, including Hunter College, Baruch College, Fordham University, the School of Visual Arts, and Brooklyn College.
The theme for the second conference was Redefine, in which attendees explored the evolution of the Asian American community and were asked to redefine what it means to be Asian American. The third conference was themed ACT: Empowering Our Generation. This conference focused on mobilizing individuals and communities to challenge and transform injustices faced by Asian Americans. The fourth annual NYCAASC was titled Change in Motion and explored the movement and changes in Asian America, examining the past to inform the present and change the future. Each subsequent conference has increasingly drawn more participants from diverse groups, with our most recent conference in 2010 bringing in more than 600 registrants. We hope to maintain this trend of expansion as we continue to represent the ever-growing, ever-changing Asian American community.