Hmong Movement 03 Fall 2002

FALL 2002 HSIC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION HSIC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION HSIC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION HSIC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION HSIC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION VOLUME I: ISSUE 3

Hmong Movement

ONE DROP. ONE RIPPLE.

IMAGINE A THOUSAND.

YYYYYouthEEEEEmpowermentAAAAAwarenessRRRRRecruitment

OOOOOrganizingNNNNNetworkingEEEEEducation

From the Editor

Welcome to our Fall edition of HM: Hmong Movement. Ithas been a tremendous foundation year for the Hmong Student Inter-collegiate Coalition as an organization with YEAR ZERO coming to aconclusion. YEAR ZERO included momentous logistical work donein terms of establishing the organization as a strong network on a state-wide level. Next is incorporating HSIC as a non-profit organization andwork on grant proposals for funding opportunities. Lastly, is the leadership of the YEAR ZEROBoard of Directors, which is composed of the four executive officers and nine regional repre-sentatives. This group of individuals is truly unique and has done a lot of groundwork to buildHSIC into an organization.

Some say for YEAR ZERO there were five individuals who could have all served ascapable presidents because these individuals exemplifies the spirit of HSIC with their passionin which they devoted their heart and soul into forming this organization. Additionally, HSICwould not be in existence without the support of the dedicated representatives and membersfrom each of the various organizations and campuses throughout the state. These organizationsand their members form the backbone of HSIC. Congratulations to California State University,Fresno Hmong Student Association (HmSA) and University of California, Irvine Hmong Stu-dent Association (HSA) as HSIC Organizations of the Year.

This is our the first issue for HSIC YEAR ONE (Youth Empowerment Awareness Re-cruitment Organizing Networking Education). You will find more in depth discussion in varioussections of this issue. Furthermore you will get to know HSICs executive officers for YEARONE, who are featured in the Executive Profiles.

YEAR ONE kicked off with a fundraiser at Marine World and the Leadership Retreatat UC Irvine this past September. In addition, this coming year there will be many more eventswhich you can participate in with HSIC stay tuned and if you want to get involve then sign upfor the many committees for the various upcoming events.

In regards to gauge the success of HM during the past few months, we are reaching faracross the nation networking with other student organizations; evident are, the two Midwestorganizations contributing organization spotlights in this issue. The purpose of this is to ex-change information and resources, to expose student organizations to see what each campus isdoing, to learn about some programs or projects that are effective, and to apply it to your owncampus and organization.

Additionally, there are many other interesting articles and sections that you will find.There are creative writings and intriguing articles on various issues such as early marriage anda personal struggle by a female Hmong American. Enjoy reading this issue and please do nothesitate to let the editorial board know what you think. Thank you for your support.

Until we meet again,

Alex VangEditor-in-Chief

HSIC Officers 2002-03

PresidentAmorette Yang, UC [email protected] PresidentXiong Moua, UC [email protected] Vang, UC [email protected] Lee, UC Los [email protected]

Editorial StaffEditor-in-Chief:Alex Vang, UC San Diego

Assistant Editors:Mary Xiong, St Marys CollegeCatherine Yang, UC Riverside

Layout:Julien Moua, UC Davis Alumnus

Cover:True Xiong, UC San Diego

Publication Committee:Nhia Vue, UC San Diego

Contributors:Pao HerMay LeeTou LorLucie PassusChris T. Vang, Ed. DVanessa VangGoodson VuePao Yang

HM: Hmong Movement is publishedquarterly by the Hmong Students Inter-Collegiate Coalition. (c) Copyright 2002.All rights reserved. No contents may bereproduced without expressed writtenpermission from the Editor. Unsolicitedmaterial will not be returned. Letters sentto HM: Hmong Movement become theproperty of the publication. Everyprecaution will be taken to ensure theaccuracy of information included at presstime, neither the Publisher or Editor shallbe liable for damages arising out of errorsor omissions. The opinions expressedherein are those of the authors and notnecessarily those of HM: HmongMovement or HSIC.

FALL 20022 Hmong Movement

ContentsHeadlines:HSIC Updates and News 4

UC Davis Community Effortto Recognize Hmong 4

Leadership Retreat 5

HSIC Executive Profiles 6

Feature Articles:Early Marriage: A GrowingProblem in the HmongCommunity 8

Perspectives:My Struggle: AcceptingYourself 9

Nkauj Nob: A HmongCinderalla Story 10

Good Girls 11

The Anrgy Hmong ManPoem 12

A Poem of Odyessy 12

OrganizationSpotlight:University of Pacific HmongStudent Association 13

University of Wisconsin-WhitewaterSoutheast AsianOrganization 13

Carleton College Coalitionof Hmong Students 14

Creative Corner:Paos Art Gallery 15

Letter from the President

FALL 2002 Hmong Movement 3

Greetings and nyob zoo!

It is my sincere pleasure to introduce myself as HSICs Executive President for the 2002-2003 school year. I would like to first congratulate Editor-in-Chief Alex Vang and his HmongMovement staff on the great success that our newsletter has reached! With HSIC serving as astatewide organization, Hmong Movement provides extensive coverage of myriad perspectivesand issues in the community and on college campuses. It greatly reflects HSIC in serving as abridge, voice, and resource for all. This coming year, however, with my awesome Executivesteam and Board members, HSIC hopes to expand our role beyond those three characteristics withYear Ones themes:

a a a a a Youtha a a a a Empowermenta a a a a Awarenessa a a a a Recruitmenta a a a a Organizinga a a a a Networkinga a a a a Education

Through various events and projects this coming year, I hope to see HSIC touch uponeach of these pillars. Weve already set the year off with a successful leadership retreat hosted inIrvine this September, as well as an enjoyable fundraiser at Marine World in Vallejo this pastAugust. Im truly excited to see what HSIC members will bring together for the college students,youth, and broader community this year!

As the Hmong community has resided in the United States for over 25 years now, it istime for a Hmong movement led by the passionate, dedicated college students of the HmongStudent Inter-Collegiate Coalition and our allies. Together as a cohesive body covering the state,HSIC is a powerful force that will shape the course of this generation and the next. While onepebble of sand cant do much, thousands of sand pebbles form the strength of an island ready touphold ourselves against the ocean currents. Similarly, HSIC has the potential to make a strongimpact on the community and in our society if we all come together in solidarity.

The Hmong Student Inter-Collegiate Coalition is merely one of the many Hmong move-ments marking history, and I am blessed to have this opportunity to serve as President. I lookforward to the many wonderful successes that are yet to come in HSIC and hope to meet newfaces! Thank you for your belief in HSIC and best wishes for the coming school year!

Sincerely,

Amorette YangExecutive President

HeadlinesHSIC Updates & Newsby Alex Vang

HSIC Board of Directors Meeting:HSIC Board of Directors met on FridayJuly 19th to discuss proposed amendmentsby each region and establish voting rightsin regards to the upcoming statewide meet-ing and elections.HSIC YEAR ONE Elections:HSIC representatives and members con-vene a statewide meeting at CSU Fresnoon July 20th to elect new Executive Offic-ers for the 2002-03 year. (see page 5 forExecutive Profiles)Fundraiser at Six Flags Marine WorldVallejo:On Sunday, August 4th, HSIC volunteersparticipated in the booster program at SixFlags Marine World in Vallejo to fundraisefor HSIC. Special thanks to the volunteers:Amorette Yang from UC Berkeley, TuaVang and Yabee Yang from UC Davis, BliaMoua and Maisee Vang from CSU Sacra-mento, Ric Ya from DeVry University,Mike Lor and Shawn Her from CSUFresno, and Tou Lor, Koob Vang, and JongXiong from the University of Pacific.Upcoming Events:HSIC will hold Regional Representativeelections for the 2002-03 year on October26 at CSU Fresno.In community news:California:This Fall marks a historic step for theHmong American community in Califor-nia in terms of civic participation and con-tributing to society. After two and a halfdecades in the United State for the first timethat two Hmong American candidates willbe running for public office in California.Steve Ly will be running for the Elk GroveSchool Board (Sacramento) and Dr TonyVang is running for Fresno Board of Edu-cation. At the present the only electedHmong American public official in Cali-fornia is Paul Lo, JD, who serves on theMerced School District Board of Trustees.Minnesota:State Senator Mee Moua who made his-tory by becoming the first elected HmongAmerican state senator will seek re-elec-tion this fall. Additionally, Cy Thao, fromSt Paul, will run for a seat in the Minne-sota state legislative this fall as well.Washington DC:The 8th Hmong National Conference willbe held at the National Sheraton Hotel heldon March 29 -31, 2003 in Washington DC.The theme for this years conference isSpeak Now, Act Now: Mobilizing forChange.http://www.hndlink.org

Confirmed programs and events for the Fall quarter.

October 22, 2002Sylvia Kwon: "Hmong Americans: Issues in Education",will discuss the misconstructions and miscommunicationsexperienced by one group of second-generation Hmongstudents in an urban high school.MU Room 164, Noon-1pmWarren Roberts: "Medicinal Uses of Plants", will speakabout the use of naturally growing things for healing.MU Room 164, 4-5pm

October 28, 2002Leadership Series Book Discussion, for more details

The UC Davis Community Effort toRecognize HmongBy Vanessa Vang

For the first time in HmongAmerican history, one of the University ofCalifornia campuses is making an effort torecognize and promote the awareness of thephenomenal tribe we know as the Hmong.UC Davis will be undertaking a Commu-nity Book Project this fall as an effort topromote a greater sense of community. Thefeatured book for this years project willbe The Spirit Catches You and You FallDown, by Anne Fadiman. In her book,Fadiman explores and elaborates the cul-tural conflict of traditional Hmong healingverse Western medicine. The account of theLee family exemplifies the culture shock,miscommunication, shifting roles and trag-edy experienced by migrating to the US asHmong refugees. The Community BookProject Council chose this book because itexplored a plethora of disciplines such as:anthropology, sociology, politics, psychol-ogy and history.

I strongly encourage everyone toattend as many of these events as possible.Hmong students of many other colleges anduniversities throughout California are notas fortunate to host their own quarter or se-mester full of Hmong oriented events.However, an opportunity like this gives us,Hmong students, a chance to voice the sig-nificance and uniqueness of our experi-ences. I hope that there will be more rec-ognition among the different universitiesin the near future as more Hmong studentsare entering higher education. I, along withthe Hmong Student Union of UC Daviswould like to extend an invitation for allothers to come join us as we unite effortswith the university to proudly introduce,present, and honor the beauty of our richculture and traditions.

Should there be any questions; feel free todirect them to [email protected]

please consult the Leadership Series Brochure. FacilitatedBy: Kou Her and Karen Roth.MU De Carli Room, 4-6pmOctober 29, 2002Video: "Split Horn" Life of a Hmong American Sha-manMU II, Noon - 2pmFacilitated By Members of the CA Health CollaborativeNetwork and a Hmong Shaman. For more informationabout "Split Horn," CLICK HERE. Co-sponsored byStaff Assembly Diversity Committee.

October 30, 2002Multi-Ethnic Journalism Forum126 Voorhies, 6:10pm - 7:30pmPanelists will fovus on multi-ethnic journalism: ethicalissues of journalistic objectivity or advocacy of position,techniques of cultivating sensitivity, which writing infor-matively about a specific culture's history, values, rituals,and belief system.

November 2, 2002Hmong Embroidery Class, learn the history andmethodsof creating Hmong embrodiery in this fun andinformative one day workshop. For more information,CLICK HERE. Co-sponsored by Craft CenterCraft Center, 2-5pm

November 4, 2002Dr. Yvette Flores-Ortiz and Nolan Zane: "Cultural Com-petency in Mental Health"3201 Hart, 4pmNovember 6, 2002Dr. Moon Chen: "Cross Cultural Issues in Public Health",Co-sponsored by Health Sciences AdvisingMU East Conference Room, Noon-1:30 pm

November 14, 2002Bo Thao and Doua Thor: "Hmong National Develop-ment: Public Policy and Hmong American Communi-ties." HND works to promote educational opportuni-ties, increase community capacity, and to develop re-sources for the well-being, growth and full participationof Hmong in American society.MU King Lounge, 6-8 pm

November 18, 2002Dr. Daniel C. West: "Cultural Competency: Lessons forma Real Life Experience at UC Davis Medical Center." Aparticipatory, problem-based learning workshop. Co-sponsored by Health Sciences AdvisingMU II, 5:30-7pm

November 19, 2002Through the Eyes of the Lee Family, Panel of membersof Lia Lee's family.MU II, 5:30-7pm

November 21, 2002Pos Moua, Hmong poet, reading selections from his book"Where The Torches Are Burning"126 Voorhies, 2pm

November 25, 2002Hmong Culture Night, featuring food, dance, history,fashion and art.Freeborn Hall, 6-8pm

December 2, 2002Grand Rounds Discussion, featuring: Anne Fadiman andDr. Dan MurphyCamelia Room, Marriott Hotel in Sacramento, 11:30am-1pmPanel Book Discussion with Anne Fadiman, May YingLy, Mai Lee, Dr. Neil Ernst and Dr. Peggy Phlip. Co-sponsored by Mondavi Center, UC Davis.Mondavi Center, 4-5:30pm.Anne Fadiman, author. Co-sponsored by Mondavi Cen-ter, UC Davis.Mondavi Center, 8pm


It was a weekend filled with long rides andlong talks, but the weekend is one thatwont be forgotten to soon. The HmongStudent Inter-Collegiate Coalition (HSIC)put on their firstLeadership Re-treat at the Uni-versity of Califor-nia, Irvine (UCI).This event tookplace from theevening of Friday,September 6 tothe afternoon ofSunday, Septem-ber 8, 2002. Theretreat caught theattention of college students statewide.There were over sixty people in attendanceat the retreat and representatives from asfar north as California State University,Sacramento to as far south as Universityof California, San Diego.

The Leadership Retreat was heldto provide students from various Califor-nia universities and colleges to gain valu-able leadership skills and knowledge withthe intent to take back the informationlearned and share with their campuses andcommunities. According to the May Fang,Leadership Retreat Committee Chair, theretreat was designed to foster an interac-tive environment in which problem solv-ing strategies can be formulated and/orshared and community improvement andempowerment can be discussed or initi-ated. The Leadership Retreat introducedparticipants to HSIC Year One theme:Youth Empowerment Awareness Recruit-ment Organizing Networking Education(YEAR ONE).

On Fridaynight the retreat kickedoff with a reception,sixty-five students, tiredfrom their long car rides,piled into the lobby ofthe Student RecreationCenter at UCI. How-ever, the long hours ofcommuting from theirvarious cities and townsdid not stop these eagerstudents from meetingnew faces and starting conversations. Infact, it was quite hard to for facilitators tocatch their attentions for directions to get-ting dinner. There were ice breakers and agame of Hmong Jeopardy for the par-

Special Report: HSIC Leadership Retreat 2002By Catherine Yang

ticipants to enjoy while waiting for regis-tration to be taken care of for that night.

The following morning, keynotespeaker Lee Pao Xiong, President and

CEO of the Urban Coalition,opened up the retreat. Xiongsspeech focused on: what a leaderis and understanding the dynam-ics of leadership in the Hmongcommunity and the mainstreamcommunity. After Xiongs openingstatement, the group of studentswas ready for the workshops thatwere offered that day. There werethree workshop sessions. The firstsession consisted of two work-shops. One of the workshops was

presented by JD Hokoyama, of LeadershipEducation for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP).The other workshop was presented byIosefa Aina, a staff member from the AsianAmerican Studies Center at the Universityof California, Los Angeles. Both of theseworkshops focused on various perceptionsand values of people andhow to apply those per-ceptions and values toleadership qualities.

At the end ofthe three-hour first ses-sion, the participantssettled down to lunch onsandwiches and soda.After lunch, the secondsession of workshopstook place. There werethree workshops for thesecond session. These workshops were:Member Retention by Lee Pao Xiong;Articulating Asian American WomensIdentity presented by Karin Mak and Sa-

rah Yamaguchi of theAsian Pacific AmericanLegal Center of SouthernCalifornia, (APALC);and last but not leastRisk Taking presentedby JD Hokoyama ofLEAP.

The third ses-sion of workshops wasthe last session. In thissession, participantswent to one of the four

available workshops. The InvisibleCrime was presented by Dennis Wu ofAPALC. Jennifer Kuo from Media ActionNetwork for Asian Americans (MANAA)put on a workshop about media stereotypes

and portrayals ofAsian Americans.Lee Pao Xiongpresented anotherworkshop focus-ing on HmongAmericans inpolitics. EdgarMedina of the Or-ange County Hu-man RelationsCouncil pre-sented the Build-ing Communityworkshop.

After dinner the participants allheaded out to Corona del Mar Beach alongthe Newport coastline. There, tiki torcheswere lit and reflections were said. Xai Lee,HSICs Treasurer, brought out his guitarand filled the night with music while sev-eral participants enjoyed the high tides atthe shore. This night was filled with op-portunities for the participants to mingle

and get to know eachother more.

The last day ofthe retreat opened withan slideshow presenta-tion depicting whatHSIC is. The slideshowillustrated how HSICwas formed over thepast year and a half, andmany of the variousevents HSIC membersparticipated in. Next

was a competitive quiz for the participantsto compete in and to be challenged by. Fi-nally, the passing of gifts and awards, andreflections along with the exchange ofphone numbers and emails summed up theretreat.

Overall the retreat was a greatsuccess! The long days have proved worth-while for the participants and as they allprepared for the long trip back home, par-ticipants all said their goodbyes, ex-changed their hugs, and picked up theirsymbolic candles to light the way into thefuture.


BiographyCatherine Yang is a native of Fresno, California. Shegraduated from Roosevelt High School as valedicto-rian. Her passion to explore the environment is themotivation for her to pursue a Bachelors Degree inEnvironmental Sciences at the University of Califor-nia, Riverside. She is currently a member of the HmongStudent Association of UCR and an active member ofthe Hmong Student Inter-collegiate Coalition.

May FangHSIC Leadership Retreat Chair

Students arriving in Irvine on Friday night

Having fun at the bonfire at Corona del Mar Beachafter a long day of workshops

Taking one final Group picture on Sunday Morning

What do you hope to accomplish:

I only wish that there was enough time to do everything myheart aspires to! After graduating from Berkeley, I anticipategraduate school in either Public Policy, Law, or Education, inorder to equip myself with the skills and knowledge to fur-ther serve the community. For the time being with HSIC, Ihope to bring together our members and promote the YEARONE themes (Youth Empowerment, Awareness, Recruitment,Organizing, Networking, Education) through various eventsand gatherings!

Why pursue higher education:

I believe that higher education provides various learning ex-periences that help us grow as individuals, whether it is in theclassroom or out on the campus. It comes with many ben-efits, but mainly provides us with the knowledge and legiti-macy to pursue our various career and life paths. In addition,your education is a valuable, precious possession that no onecan ever take away from you!

Words of wisdom/advice for younger students:

Try hard and never quit! It was my elementary school motto,but I still live by it today because I believe that persistenceand hard work really do pay off.

Additional information:

Role models are always great people to look up to and fol-low, and I really admire compassionate, hardworking leaderssuch as my mother, Maysee Yang and Senator Mee Moua.

2002-03 HSIC Executive Profiles


I hope that one day I can make a difference and if not only helpmyself, to be able to help others.


Higher education is what our parent wants us to attain. Theywant us to be educated and become successful lawyers anddoctors, so why not do it for them. But seriously, I want to behighly educated so I can speak up for myself and defend formyself in the world.


Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a tem-porary change in direction to set you straight for your next suc-cess. -Denis Waitley. I saw this the other day and was shockedthat this really applied to me and maybe to some of you. Oneshouldnt worry too much about what will happen before it iseven attempted. We should just do it and if we were to fail itwould be a learning experience to do better in the future. Lifesucks and things often do not go as planned. Suck it up and dowhat you can. Appreciate what you have because even if youthink you do not have much, there are others whom can onlydream to be in your situation. Motivate yourself for a betterfuture and those whom you care about around you to a betterlife.

Additional information:

Xiong is currently working at the Cal Aggie Alumni Center andalso as the Academic High School Outreach Coordinator forSoutheast Asians Furthering Education. He has always realizedthat family and good health is important for him so he visits hisfamily at least once or twice a month and plays grass volleyballfrequently to relieve stress from academics and other personalproblems that may come up.

PresidentName: Amorette YangSchool: University of Cali-fornia, BerkeleyOrganization: LaotianAmerican Student Repre-sentatives (LASR)Class status: JuniorMajor: Political Scienceand Mass Communications,Education minor

Vice PresidentName: Xiong MouaSchool: University of Cali-fornia, DavisOrganization:Hmong Student Union(HSU)Class status: JuniorMajor: Economics


What do you hope to accomplish:As the current treasurer of HSIC, I hope to maintain a stable anddependable financial account for HSIC. Beyond my job duties,I hope to help establish HSIC as an organization of equal contri-bution from its members. I really enjoy working with people, soin this term as Treasurer, I hope to work with as many othercolleagues as possible. Along those same lines, I hope to in-crease the amount of active members in this organization. Withthis I hope for HSIC to develop more concrete relationshipsbetween all college students throughout California. My dreamcome true for this organization would be to see HSIC becomea bridge to all of the gaps that have become barriers for HmongAmericans in their pursuit for higher education.

Why pursue higher education:Rigor pursuit of higher education had always been a mentalitythat was force-fed to me as a child by my parents. My parentswere recent immigrants to the states in the early 80s with sevenchildren and no formal education or job skills. What they sawto be the only hope for a better life in America was throughcreating a better life for their children. I am the last son in myfamily of seven children and all of my older siblings are settlingdown into a stable life of adulthood in America with educationas their careers backbone. I pursue higher education becausemy parents have and still are living in America through personalsacrifice to provide for their childrens success in America. Ipursue higher education because I understand that it will allowme to achieve an endless array of accomplishments for me andthe important people in my life.

Words of wisdom/advice for younger students:Younger students should appreciate the opportunities that theyare fortuned with in America. Appreciate your world with a strongground in your culture, family and personal beliefs. Understandwho you are and provide yourself with a unique perspectivewith your life experiences. Your life experiences should alwayshelp you see the world in a more complex perspective; theyshould never turn into any personal barriers. Love yourself.


My goal for HSIC this year is to make its foundation stron-ger. How do we do this? Improve the communication, buildstronger relationships between one another and the differentschool organizations or chapters, and publicize our great or-ganization to the greater California community.


Many of the Hmong students in higher education today didnot come from middle class and less from upper class fami-lies. In fact most of the Hmong students in higher educationtoday come from the poverty stricken, refugee families. I cansay that I come from that same background.


Let me be the brave soul and admit itits all for theMONEY!!! Well, that used to be the reason. Like many otherHmong students, Ive bought into the American dream that acollege degree offers you a high paying job. I came to UCDavis wanting to be an ER doctor. However, all of that haschanged. I took a couple of sociology and Asian Americanstudies classes and I found my true passion the commu-nity! Through sociology, I discovered that I really liked study-ing people and the way they interact with one another andwith the social construction of society. My immediate goalin the near fiture is to lobby or work on some legislativeproject to help benefit the Hmong community!


Dreams without action, is only a dream. I strongly encour-age students to dream big and follow through on their dreams.It is one thing to dream, but if you really wanted it to cometrue, work on making it possible and you will have your way.

TreasurerName: Xai LeeSchool: University ofCalifornia, Los AngelesOrganization:Association of HmongStudents (AHS)Class status: JuniorMajor: Political Science

SecretaryName: Mee Vanessa VangSchool: University of Cali-fornia, DavisOrganization:Hmong Student Union(HSU)Class status: SophomoreMajor: Sociology withemphasis in Law and Soci-ety

2002-03 HSIC Executive Profiles


Feature ArticlesEarly Marriage: A Growing Problem in theHmong CommunityBy Catherine Yang

Recently on the news, there havebeen reports of Hmong youths who havelost their lives as results of troubled mar-riages. Not to mention, everyday our par-ents, aunts and uncles, and friends talkabout Hmong youths who have gone offto get married and have returned as divor-cees. Incidents such as those on the newsare all results of the urge of Hmong youthsto get married at an early age. Many ofour younger brothers and sisters get mar-ried before graduation from high school,not counting those getting married beforeentering high school. Marriage has be-come an alternative to getting out of thehome.

Our parents are all too often pro-tective of us, especially of us girls. Ourparents still carry with them the old tra-dition where young girls are discouragedto go out. The reasoning for this traditionis the mentality that their daughters willbecome inappropriate and irresponsible.They fear that their daughters will nolonger know how to be good housewivesand how to serve their future husbands aswell as in-laws. What our parents are ne-glecting to realize here is that this is a newworld.

In this new world, keeping chil-dren cooped up inside the home does notmean that daughters will become obedi-ent and proper. In fact, being shelteredleads to daughters wanting to escape thehome because they feel they are not ableto breath. They feel as if they are missingout in the world, or as if the world is miss-ing from them. In a desperate attempt toescape, or in confusion of what the realworld is, young girls get marry to the firstguy that comes along. However, confu-sion and desperation is not limited to theHmong female youths.

Young males these days are alsoin a hurry to get married. They too aretired of being controlled by their parents.Hmong parents tend to allow their sons togo out more, however, parents also expecttheir sons to carry on a bigger burden dur-ing traditional get-togethers, weddings,funerals, and other traditional gatherings.Parents expect their sons to learn the ritu-als that accompany such events. To top

that off, young boys are also stressed toget an education and to start providing forthe family as well as a family of their own.With such pressures, these boys turn toearly marriages as a way to gain some au-thority and some respect.

Although it may seem thatHmong youths are the only ones feelingtrapped in society, reality is that Hmongparents are also trapped and confused.They struggle to hang on to life as it waswhile trying their best to understand lifeas it is. However, language and culturebarriers obstruct the views that Hmongparents should see of their new surround-ings and therefore lead them to misunder-stand the new needs. This results in thefears of losing a child to the new world.This world is foreign and confusing toHmong parents, therefore creating a fieldof insecurities.

As always, Hmong youths areexpected to bridge the unfamiliar to theirparents. However, the question here is:How can Hmong youths be that bridgewhen they have no understanding of theirparents old world? That is perhaps themost important question that both partiesare not addressing here. As a result,Hmong youths distance themselves awayfrom their parents through marriage,gangs, and so forth, while Hmong parentscling to their children even more.

The solution to the problem is thatboth parties need to address the questionof how parents want their children to be abridge. First off, Hmong parents need tounderstand that this new world requires theyouths to grow up in the mainstream sothat they can become familiar with the so-cial, political, and economical norms thatsurround them. Parents also need to un-derstand that it is a necessity to be able togrow up Americanized in order to ad-dress problems of the Hmong communi-ties in America. Hence, allowing theirchildren to go out and socialize is an ad-vantage because the children could andwould learn about their world.

Secondly, Hmong youths need tocomprehend that early marriage is not theway out of their problems. These youthsneed to step into the shoes of their parents

and grasp an understanding of what theirparents are feeling and seeing. Hmongparents still feel like foreigners living a lifethat is far from home. Understanding thateach restriction that Hmong parents use isbacked up by the life that they had andwhich they fear to lose, is an important stepfor Hmong youths. That is the first step toworking, as well as the key step to beingpatient, with Hmong parents.

The second step comes with a lotof patience and persistence. This step isthe key to securing the insecurities ofHmong parents. In order to do this, Hmongyouths need to get their parents involvedin community socials outside the Hmongcommunity. By asking parents to go watcha high school volleyball game, the perspec-tive of Hmong parents might become moreflexible. However, the biggest and mostimportant way to loosen up the restrictive-ness of Hmong parents is to build a rela-tionship with them. Hmong parents wanthonesty; by being open minded and hon-est, Hmong youths can start to build trustbetween themselves and their parents.

Marriage is not an easy way outof frustration at home, because frustrationdoes not stay at home, it travels with thefrustrated. Patience and understanding arethe missing pieces of the puzzle. Hmongyouths need to understand that life is morethan that of frustration from the insecuri-ties that their parents have. Hmong par-ents need to stop pushing their childrenaway by refusing to understand the needsof their children to go out and grow indi-vidually. A life is worth living. Dontthrow it away by walking into marriage inorder to take a breath. The result mightjust be the opposite.


My Struggle:Accepting Yourself

One of my high school teachersonce said to me, Its not whether you areknocked down; its whether you get backup! This teacher always challenged me tocome out of my shell and allow the worldto see who I really was. My biggest step inopening up was accepting the world andallowing myself to be who I was. However,being a Hmong American consists of fac-ing many conflicts between the two cultures.Many of the values that were once accept-able in the Hmong culture are now in a grayarea. That gray area is between right andwrong making the acceptance harder tograsp.

My family moved to Fresno, Cali-fornia in the early 1980s. Farming was oneof the few trades that my parents had at-tained from Laos and so they applied it inAmerica, so, like many other Hmong fami-lies, my family farmed. We worked fromsunrise to sunset. I do not remember a sum-mer where I did not dread going to the farm.Unlike other school children that spent sum-mers at pools, camps and traveling, I was atthe farm helping my parents in the one hun-dred plus degree weather that Fresno is in-famous for. I would have done anything tomake my parents leave me at home with theair conditioner turned on full blast.

As I got older I realized why myparents worked so hard at the farm. Theyworked hard to be able to provide for mysiblings and me. Whether they could affordit or not, they were always able to pay for,and give me money for school field trips.They gave up other things in order to beable to pay for my trips. When they couldnot pay for my trips, I would kick andscream when they said NO! but they al-ways gave in. Only now, do I realize thatthey could not afford my trips and it wasnot because they did not want me to go. Myparents sheltered my life to hide all the frus-tration they had in their life.

Growing up in America we learnabout equality and individual rights. Theserights conflicted with some of the traditional

values that were and are practiced in theHmong culture. There will always beclashes between the Hmong and Americanculture and it is up to the person to decidewhat is acceptable and what is unaccept-able.

Going away to college was the big-gest step of my life. I was not prepared togo through my four plus years without fail-ing somehow. I did not have the same sup-port system that held me up at home. Mytwo best friends would not be by my sideanymore when I needed them more thanever. College threw me more curve ballsthan I had anticipated, and my lonelinessled to depression.

During my first year, I nearlydropped out to go home because I felt likecollege was not my place. I was out of mycomfort zone and I had no one to cushionme. However, when I thought about myparents I realized how disappointed theywould be if I were to drop out of school.Not only would it ruin my familys and myreputation, it would devastate my youngersisters chances of being able to attend col-lege away from home. With this in mind, Istayed and finished my first year success-fully and gained a scholarship.

After I finished my first year ofcollege, I slowly came out of my shell andno longer held back. I had become the in-dependent Hmong woman that was proudand ready for anything. However, the fol-lowing summer I received a challenge leav-ing me in shambles. I would have my lifeflipped upside down.

That summer, my ex-boyfriendhad become angry and devastated that I hadmoved on. His solution was to kidnap mein hopes of keeping me as his wife. As Iwas being carried away, my life flashedbefore my eyes as two men shoved andslammed the car door onto my limbs in anattempt to stop me from resisting. The firstthing that came to my mind was the disap-pointment on my mothers face, and myfathers deep sadness that his daughter had

failed in her endeavor. With this, I foughtas much as I could to get away. I was ableto get away only due to an imperfection intheir plan. The girl who was supposed towatch the other door that was opposite theone I was being shoved into had froze inher seat. She was too terrified to get out ofher seat to block the door. Because of herfear, I was able to escape through theunwatched door with nightmares that wouldhaunt me for years to come.

I made it out of the car with multi-colored limbs that only allowed me to walkwith flip-flops for weeks. I went to workwith long-sleeved shirts to cover my arms,long pants to hide my feet and ankles, andmy hair down to cover the bruises on myneck. I told my co-workers that I had fallendown climbing a tree so no one would sus-pect anything. For the rest of the summer,my co-workers joked around about my care-lessness.

It was with the help of my won-derful roommate and my new boyfriend thatI was able to keep going without breakingapart. Even though I was mentally break-ing down, I did not allow it take over me. Icalled my parents when I knew I was safefrom harm. My mom comforted me, sayingthat everything was okay and that if I werenot able to get out of the situation, she wouldhave gotten me out of it. It was not until Iactually returned home to Fresno that mymom told me that it would not have been aseasy as she had said. She said things aremore complicated, and that if I had notfought my way out, I would be living a dif-ferent life.

I failed in reporting the event tothe police because I was ashamed of theevent and for some time I blamed myself. Ijust wanted the issue to be out of my hair. Idid not want the complications that dealtwith this event to come back to me. But myfailure in reporting the committed crimeagainst me would only be the beginning ofmy struggle for acceptance.

In the many ways that my parentstried to comfort me, they were also tryingto figure out what I did wrong to have thesituation be inflicted upon me. I did notknow how to explain what I did wrong, es-pecially when I feel I did nothing wrong.Not only were my parents the only onesquestioning how I provoked the situation,many friends and outsiders have done as

By Lila Blue


Perspectives

Nkauj Nog: a Hmong Cinderella StoryBy Pao Her

Once upon a time, in a remotetown far away from the city, there was acouple who had a daughter name NkaujNog (Go Nog). She was worked very hardthroughout her young age, until she metthe son of the mayor. At the time that herparents and Nkauj Nog farmed a lot ofcrops such as rice, corns, and vegetables.Since her parents had such a big farm overthe season they couldnt handle in harvest-ing and plowing up the land. The fathertold the mother that they needed a waterbuffalo to help them harvest the land overthe season. The next day, they went to thecity to buy a water buffalo, but there werepeople who already bought the last one andso they couldnt get one. They came backhome empty handed.

On the way back, the mother sug-gested that the father to turn her into awater buffalo since they could not buy one.The father agreed, so the father turned themother into a water buffalo. When the fa-ther got home, Nkauj Nog saw her fatherand a water buffalo. She didnt see hermother.

The daughter asked the fatherwhere her mother was? The father toldNkauj Nog that the water buffalo was hermother. Nkauj Nog then cried and cried.When Nkauj Nog approached the waterbuffalo, she talked to it, but the water buf-falo could not talk to her. She was verydepressed about the whole situation. NkaujNog couldnt say anything to her fatherabout how sad she was that her mother wasa buffalo. Although, they made plenty offood and money with the water buffaloover the season, but corollary the fathercouldnt turn the water buffalo back intothe mother.

Days passed by, the father founda new wife with a daughter. They livedtogether in that the remote town. Duringthose years that Nkauj Nog grew up shedid not receive any good advices from the

stepmother. She was treated badly by thestepmother and her stepsister. They letNkauj Nog perform all of the entire hardand dirty chores in the house.

Whenever Nkauj Nog got lectureor she felt sad, she always talked to thewater buffalo. Unfortunately, the step-mother found out that the water buffalowas Nkauj Nogs mother, and then she or-dered the father to kill the water buffalo.Since Nkauj Nog knew that the stepmotherwas going to kill her mother (water buf-falo), she went and cried to the water buf-falo. She told her mother that her step-mother ordered her father to kill the buf-falo. Surprisingly the buffalo spoke andtold the girl that when she is dead the girlshould not eat any of her meat and let onlyother outsiders eat her meat but to keepher head safe. The next day the fatherkilled the water buffalo. However, NkaujNog did not eat any of it meat, becauseshe was told not to eat the meat of hermother, and then she buries the saved headof the water buffalo, and buries it. Unfor-tunately, after the father killed the waterbuffalo he died from natural causes andleft Nkauj Nog to live with her stepmotherand stepsister.

Nkauj Nog grew up to be knownas Nkauj Nog. Nkauj Nog was very beau-tiful and the stepmother and stepsister werevery jealous of her beauty. When the NewYears came, Nkauj Nog wanted to par-ticipate, but the stepmother told her that ifshe finishes her chores then she could goand if she could find or get some newclothes to wear so that she would not em-barrass the family, she could go to the NewYears. After, Nkauj Nog finished herchores, she went to where her mothershead was buried and cried because she didnot have any clothes to wear but the clotheson her back. When she came home, shesuddenly found in her mothers basket, avery beautiful dress, a pair of silver shoes,

and a silver torque. Nkauj Nog thencleaned herself up and puts it her beauti-ful clothes. She looked so beautiful shedidnt even recognized her herself.

At the New Year, she met a younggentleman who was very handsome. Hewas the son of the mayor. They were bothhaving a wonderful time together and soshe lost track of the time and forgot to gohome before her stepmother and stepsis-ter. When she realized that the stepmotherand stepsister were gone, she ran home.Nkauj Nog lost one of her shoes on herway home. By the time she ran home andsmeared ashes on her face and changed,her stepmother and stepsister came throughthe door. Though she was safe with heridentity, she had no idea that the mayorsson gave chase to her when she ran off andfound her lost shoe. After the New Year,the son of the mayor asked his father toorder all the young girls in the village totry on the shoe. However, he could not findanyone whose foot fitted into the shoe. Hewent from house to house until he finallyarrived at Nkauj Nogs house. The step-sister tried on the shoe but her foot wastoo big for the shoe. The mayors sonasked Nkauj Nog to try the shoe on butthe stepmother refused to let her try on theshoes so he left.

The mayors son thought that itwas weird that her stepmother wouldrefuse to let Nkauj Nog try on the shoe sofinally, one night, the mayors son broughtback the shoe and asked Nkauj Nog to tryit on. Surprisingly it fitted on Nkauj Nog,and so the mayors announced to the vil-lage that he is going to marry Nkauj Nog.Therefore, they got marry and lived hap-pily ever after.

well. I have had and still have to argue casesthat say I afflicted the event on myself andthat he was the victim. I tolerated their be-havior because I understood that a cultureclash existed, but I was not willing to al-low the event keep me from my reachingdreams. My aspirations have motivated meto move on allowing the event to reside inmy past.

Today I have grown from thisevent, realizing that it allowed me to see

my life in a new light. I do not blame himfor what he did; all I want to ask of him aswell as others is to understand my positionand that of other Hmong women. I want topose these questions for it to be thoughtover: How can you justify your actions?How would you feel if this situation hap-pened to your sister or daughter? Wouldyou just accept it as tradition or would youfight it?

I have been knocked down but I

am back up and going full force ahead!!! Ichose to fight against the situation; how-ever my decisions do not speak for every-one. We all make our own choices and thiswas MY CHOICE! All my life I haveworked hard to be accepted for who I am.Now I have realized that, that acceptanceshould not come from others, but frommyself first.

The author of this article has requestedto use a pseudonym.



The Angry Hmong Man PoemBy May Lee

I will not be your chauffer.I will not pay for all our dinner dates andcover charges for clubs you want to go to.I will not buy roses every time we meet.I will not take out your trash and do your dishes anddrive your little sister around just to prove thatI am manly, sensitive, and caring.I will not sit by while you give me permissionto cheat by saying, If you fall in love withsomeone else, its okay for you to leaveme just so you can feel like a so-called martyr of loveI will not be your Russell Wong-AndyLau-Jackie Chan boy toy fantasyMaking your eyes light up with every rising sunMaking your heart swoon with songsworthy only of kingsAnd making your blood rush with every karate chopI will not even be your Tou Ger Xiong-Tou Cha realityOf hip-hop humorOr bare-bursting bulgesBut I will be just another Hmong guyA Kou or a Pov, a James or a JohnAnother guy trying to make it in this worldAnother someone searching for their placeJust like you.

A Poem of OdysseyBy Christopher Vang, Ed D.

Ua Neej Nyob

Xav muaj , Tsis xav pluagXav nyob, Tsis xav tuag

Xav noj qab, Tsis xav noj tsuagXav hluas, Tsis xav lausXav zoo, Tsis xav phem

Xav tau zoo, Tsis xav txom nyemXav hnav tshiab, Tsis xav hnav qub

Thaum ua neej nyob, Yuav tsum sib hlubXav txawj, Tsis xav ruam

Rau siab kawm, Luag thiaj tsis thuamKhaw qhov zoo, Tso qhov phem

Kev vam meej, Nyob ntawm kev txom nyemSib pab, Thiaj tau ntuj ntoos

Kev kawm txawj, Yog kev tau zoo

Hos peb cov me tub ntxhais kawm ntawv Hmoob.

HM: Hmong Movement is a forumfor individuals to share and and ex-change experiences through fictional ornon-fictional writing and/or poetry,where socio-cultural, political, andeducational issues can be discussed.Hmong Movement will be publishedquarterly in January, April, July, andOctober of each year.

Submission Guidelines:a a a a a Headlines: Current events, reportsand news.a a a a a Perspectives: Creative writing,fictional and/or non-fictional composi-tions, poetry, artwork, and folkloreliterature.a a a a a Features: Forum for professionals,educators, graduates and undergraduatestudents to contribute articles relevant totheir disciplines or area of expertise onimperative issues concerning the HmongAmerican community.a a a a a Organization Spotlights: Informa-tion regarding a student organizationand/or campusa a a a a Student and/or youth profile(s):To feature a collegiate student and/oryouth(s) displaying exemplary leadershipor outstanding academic excellence.

Submissions may be in English orHmong must be double-spaced andsaved as word document. Submissionsshould be limited to 5 pages.

You may send submissions via email asan attachment(s) to:[email protected]

Your submission must include thefollowing:Name:Address:School: (If Applicable)Phone:Email:Organization:Male/Female:Year of college or Profession:Photo: (Optional)Personal Description: (please limit to250 words).

This information is necessary incontacting you if your submission ischosen. If you submission is chosen youwill be notified by email and/or phone.For further information please contactAlex Vang @209.380.5971 or [email protected]

Good Girls By May Lee

After talking to me just a little bit,most Hmong boys will say, Youre a goodgirl, arent you? Good girl? What was thatsupposed to mean? I suppose that, in theHmong sense, being a good girl means notgoing out, listening to your parents, and notplaying sports. Once, when I was thirteenyears old, some visitors came to visit my par-ents. After I let them into our apartment, Icurled back onto the armchair that I alwayssat in: a yellow piece of furniture with brownflowers all over. I sat there reading a book,and the couple sat on our living room couchwaiting for my dad to appear. From where Iwas, I could hear the wife whispering to herhusband, Their daughter is so obedient,which essentially is another way of sayingthat I am a good girl.

I knew, however, that her assump-tion was purely based on the way that Ilooked then. I was wearing loose stretchedpants that my mom had sewn for me from apink, cotton fabric and a shirt that did notmatch in anyway. My hair was pulled backin a messy pony tail. My thick glasses werehard to disguise. It wasnt that they knew Iwas actually obedient. It was just that I wasso incredibly nerdy, there was no possibilityI could be a bad girl.

The first time I really heard theterm, good girl, from a guys mouth waswhen I was sixteen and babysitting at mybrother Kaos apartment. During the sum-mer, Kao received quite a few out-of-townvisitors who came to play volleyball andother sports in St. Paul. I woke up one day tofind one of them in the living room.

Wheres Kao and nyab? I asked.They went to the store. Said theyd

be back in an hour or two.

Oh. I went to sit on an armchairto read my book. I had started reading GoneWith the Wind two nights ago. It had beenone of the books on my English teacherslist of books we should read for our reports.As I flipped through it, I saw that I still hadmore than seven hundred pages to go.

From my brief glimpse of the guywho was sitting so serenely on the couchwatching ESPN on the television, I couldntquite tell how old he was. Hmong men aretricky in that way. He could have been any-where from sixteen to thirty for all I knew,but I didnt bother to ask him. As I started toread, I found myself merely staring at thewords, feeling uncomfortable.

Ill go fix you something, I said,thinking that was the proper thing to do. Be-sides, my parents and Kao had been scold-ing me lately about my duties as a daugh-ter. Might as well hold up our so-called fam-ily name, I thought. Since I rarely cooked athome because my older sister did most of it,I did the best that I could. I salted two slicesof pork chops and deep-fried them. The re-sults were a dark, slightly hard specimen.

Sorry, I said as I handed the porkchops with rice to the guy. I was crossingmy fingers that he wouldnt ask for chili pep-per. I wasnt in the mood to ground or chopchili peppers into a dipping sauce.

Dont worry, Im not particular.As he started eating, I felt an urge to justifymyself.

I dont cook much, I said. Heseemed surprised. I already knew what was on his mind. A teen-ager and not cooking? That was odd indeed.

Well, you should practice. Youknow, for when you get married.

Because he was a guest ofbrothers, I didnt want to offend him by say-ing that I didnt plan on getting married anytime soon, much less to a man who wouldconsider good cooking a prerequisite for

marriage. The odd thing was that, I knew thisguy didnt mean to offend me. He was merelyrepeating what most Hmong people had al-ready told me, my parents included. He mighthave even thought that he was helping meout by offering that bit of advice.

So, youre Kaos younger sister?he asked, changing the subject.

I nodded.How old are you?Sixteen.You play volleyball?Nope.He put the pork down for a second

as if that was the most startling thing he hadever heard. But your brother plays volley-ball. He said it as if it meant that everyoneelse related to Kao should be volleyball play-ers too.

I dont like sports, I said simply.He seemed unable to comprehend

the concept. After all, looking at his clothesa pair of black shorts and a white top with ablack line going down the right side all madein a sleek fabricI suspected he was a soc-cer player. He decided to venture with ques-tions again. What do you do for fun then?Go to the park?

I read. I flashed him Gone Withthe Wind as evidence.

Oh-ooh. I see, he said as if sud-denly comprehending something great.Youre a home girl.

I suppose I am since I do live in ahome.

I guess he didnt think home girlswere capable of sarcasm because he clari-fied himself. I mean, youre a good girl.

I might have read him wrong, but Icould have sworn he had a fun, flirtatioussound to his voice before. Now, there was adifferent tone, more solemn, more respect-ful. I guess good girls were for looking, nottouching.

He went back to watching ESPN.

Biographies

Pao Her is currently attending DeVry in Fremont, California and enrolled in the Computer Engineering Technology Program. Addi-tionally, he serves as vice president of Hmong Organization Technology (HOT), a student organization at DeVry.May Lee is a super senior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She is the current Chair of VISION (Validating and InspiringSuccessful Initiatives for Outreach and Network). She works as a Sexual Health Educator. Her aspiration for the near future is to be anovelist and playwright.Christopher Thao Vang is assistant professor of Teacher Education at California State University, Stanislaus. He earned his Bachelorsof Arts in Public Administration from California State University, Fresno. Dr. Vang also earned his Masters of Arts from the NationalUniversity, Fresno and Ed. D in Educational Leadership from the Joint Doctorate program of California State University, Fresno andUniversity of California, Davis. In addition, he is one of three faculty advisors for the Hmong Students Association at CSU Stanislaus.


The Hmong Student Association (HSA) at University of the Pacific wasestablished in 1990 by a small group of students who were interested in the Hmongculture. The goal of HSA is to provide an opportunity for Hmong students at UOP tocome together, communicate, interact with others, and to promote higher education.

Over the last twelve years, HSA of UOP has developed from an organizationinto a family. With most of so members coming from towns outside of Stockton, weneed to be family. We know each other very well. We are very supportive of each other.If someone comes in need of a ride all he/she has to do is ask. If someone needs helpmoving, were there, whenever and wherever, we are like family. Also, when doingsomething we make it our business to invite everybody, and sure enough, the people whocan make it, will come!

Although most members are studious, we always find time to socialize. However,most of the gatherings here are unofficial. Club events include movie nights and picnics.We usually play sports or other activities such as scavenger hunts during the weekend.When our spare change adds up, we engage in gambling nights, and/or take part in twodollar pho cook-offs.

In our more than ten years at UOP, we as a club have developed many traditionalevents, but few outside HSA know what they are. With such a small club, we encounteredmore barriers than those that larger clubs encounter. When trying to organize events, weare limited on people, but we have always had the ideas and motivation. But for too longwe have let this hold us back from getting involved and helping our community andaccomplishing our goals. Recently our members have found renewed dedication to helpingthe community and accomplishing new goals and this trend looks to continue.

Just last year we had our first alumni dinner. It gave our alumni a chance tocatch up on old times and allowed the different generations to meet. It was very refreshingto see the members of past years reflect on how HSA impacted them during their stay atUOP.

Since 1998, our club has been involved with the Stockton Adopt-A-Park program.Our members are at Panella Park two times a month in a park beautification project.Recently our community involvement has also been more noticeable. Last year membersof HSA played a major part in making the Stockton New Year Miss California Pageant areality. This year they are in charge of organizing the show under the supervision of LaoFamily of Stockton. This summer our members worked with the Hmong InternationalCultural Institute, and the Stockton Unified School District to make the Farmington/Montezuma Tutoring Center a success. Four of our members spent their summer at thiscenter tutoring kids and encouraging the kids to keep learning during their summer break.One of our members volunteers her time every week to teach a Hmong class at this samecenter. She has been teaching the class since the Spring of 2002. Additionally, ourmembers have been very active with the Hmong Students Inter-Collegiate events thispast year.

With such a small organization we experience hardship in developing projectsbut our dedication in helping our community has allowed us to hold events that willbenefit the community. We also have a big impact on campus because HSA is widelyrecognized throughout the school. However we feel that HSA is still not known verywell in Stockton and the Hmong community. We hope that with new interests andinvolvement in community, HSA of UOP will to establish an even better base foraccomplishing our goals in the future.

University of the Pacific HmongStudent Association

University ofWisconsin-

Whitewater:Southeast Asian

OrganizationBy Goodson Vue

The Southeast AsianOrganization (SAO) was established in1993 by three students with a visionof uniting Asian students on campusto support and encourage individualsin academic, personal and culturalendeavors. The organizations originalname was Asian Student Association,but it was changed in the spring of1998 to Southeast Asian Organization(SAO), to accommodate the ethnicmake-up of the members.

Recently the organization hasmore than doubled from 24 membersin 1999 to over 70 members in 2002.Since 1999, SAO has sparked andbecome more active throughout thecampus and community. Although theorganization has been around for aboutnine years, we are still a young andrapidly growing group of students.

The three missions of SAO are:Unity: To assist students on campusinterested in uniting and promotingSoutheast Asian Cultures.Education: To offer valuableassistance through academic servicesand inspiration to students with theireducational goals.Cultural: To promote interest andappreciation of the history, customsand valuable contributions of theSoutheast Asian cultures.

Throughout the school yearSAO hosts many educational andsocial activities. One of SAOs biggestevents is Asian Month during themonth of April. We bring in speakersto educate about Southeast Asianhistory. We also display SoutheastAsian artifacts throughout campus.The month long celebration ends witha culture show. During the show,

BiographyTou Lor is from Sacramento, California. He is a junior attending the University

of the Pacific in Stockton, CA where he is majoring in pharmacy. He is a very activemember and is the current president of the Hmong Student Association.

By Tou Lor


Organization Spotlight

Carleton College: Coalition ofHmong StudentsBy Lucie Passus

Biography_________________________________Goodson Vue is a senior at the University ofWisconsin-Whitewater with a major in Sociology anda minor in Asian Studies. He has served on variouscommittees for the Wisconsin Asian Pacific AmericanCouncil Conference and the United Front for CulturalEmpowerment. He is currently the Public Relationsfor the Southeast Asian Organization and is servinghis 3rd year on the executive board.

Biography_____________________________________________________________________

Lucie Passus is a senior attending Carleton College in Minnesota. She recently completed an internship workingfor Hmong National Development in Washington DC this past summer. She plans to conduct research on theHmong in the areas of education and political participation. Additionally, she serves as co-chair of the Coalitionof Hmong Students (CHS) at Carleton College. More recently, she was selected to serve as a board member onthe National Asian American Student Conference. http://www.naascon.org

Northfield, Minnesota: The city of Cows,Colleges, and Contentment. In this smalltown in southern Minnesota, there existsat Carleton College a small but energeticHmong student-run organization, theCoalition of Hmong Students (CHS).Current number of Hmong students: 7. CHS is dedicated to providing andenhancing the awareness of Hmong cultureat Carleton and in the surroundingcommunities. CHS also exists as aresource for those who would like to learnmore about the Hmong people and culture.Throughout the academic year, CHSsponsors and hosts a variety of events forthe community. Additionally, CHSsupports various multicultural groups oncampus in their endeavors and works tobuild coalitions among various studentbodies. CHS collaborates with the HmongAwareness Group (HAG) at St. OlafCollege, a Hmong student organization, ona variety of events, one of which is theannual Northfield Hmong New Year. Morethan 300 attendees from the Northfieldcommunity, the St. Olaf and Carletoncampuses, and from the Minneapolis/St.Paul area (mainly college and high schoolHmong students) joins us each year tocelebrate the New Year, fun-filled withdemonstrations, Hmong speakers, Hmongfood, and a dance party. Tri-annually, CHS holds a CarletonHmong Alumni dinner in the schoolsGreat Hall to build bridges betweenHmong alumni and current students andto recognize their achievements and pastcontributions to Carleton. This event alsoserves to inform the Carleton community

of the present good works Carleton Hmongalumni are currently engaged in. Every spring term, in an effort tocontribute back to the Hmong communityin the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitanarea, CHS members work diligently on ourannual Egg Roll Sale (where weve madeup to a 1,000 egg rolls!) CHS donates thesale proceedings to various non-profitorganizations in the metro area. In the past,the recipients have been: MinneapolisHmong Boy Scout Troop 100, HmongWomens Circle, and VISION. Throughout the academic year, CHSbrings in Hmong speakers to the campusto expose and educate the communityabout Hmong culture and issues, as wellas greater APA issues. Past speakersinclude: the first Hmong woman Ph D, Dr.Dia Cha of St. Cloud State University,Executive Director of Hmong WomensCircle Kashia Moua, Executive Directorof Council on Asian Pacific MinnesotansIlean Her, and MN State Senator MeeMoua. CHS also works in conjunction withthe ASIA organization and theMulticultural Office on campus, developsand maintains relationships with the othersmall and various APA groups on campus,builds networks with other organizationsby supporting them through attendance andcontributions to their events. For example,every year CHS works with ASIA on theirannual Lunar New Year celebration, whichattracts a good portion of the Carletoncommunity. Though our numbers may be few, weare an organization devoted towardsfostering Hmong cultural education, APAissues, and student activism.

members get to show off their talents incultural dances, singing, kwv txhiaj, andqeej. It closes with a beautiful fashionshow of various Southeast Asian clothing.

Social activities that SAO has aresuch as: ski trips, recreation nights, movienights, camping trips, laser tag, and soforth. These activities are some of the wayswe honor the members for their hard workand dedication. The activities also alloweveryone to take a break from their studiesand bond with one another.

A program that SAO co-hostswith the Admissions office is Wheels toWhitewater. The purpose of this programis to recruit high school students forenrollment at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. We reach out to studentsacross the state and invite them to visit theWhitewater campus. During their visit wegive them a tour of the campus, spendlunch with them and end the day with astudent panel. We discuss issues that rangefrom tuition to everyday college life. Thisprogram is very beneficial to theorganization along with the university. ForFall of 2002-03, we have recruited 31 newincoming freshmen. This number alonealmost doubled the previous yearsincoming freshmen.

SAO is a very active organizationthat promotes educational and culturalawareness for the campus and community.The organization is a great support serviceto the Southeast Asian students since itserves as a second family for all of itsmembers. SAO provides academic supportand advising to the members to maintainthe student retention on campus. We aregrowing every year with younger and moreactive members who have a hunger tobecome leaders. Now that our roots areplanted and strong; we are elevating andprepared for the future.


Jimmy BoyThis is a sketch of my little brotherJim Yang. One sunny day I took aphotograph of him and later Isketched this portrait of him.

KobeHeres a picture of Kobe Bryant inpencil. I like the lightness and darkshading. This piece took about fourhours to complete.

Eye of the TigerThis piece was created by littledots. I used a pencil to completethis picture, which added additionalshading and texture of the tigersface. This is one of my favoriteworks.

Sitting JimA watercolor portrait of my littlebrother Jimmy with the coolsunglass. Watercolor is prettytough but I think this piece turnedout well.

Forgotten SoldierI used a ball point pen to createthis picture. The picture made upof tiny dots which took about threeweeks to complete.

UntittledThis piece is not finished yet. Iplan to color it when Im done.

Nkauj HmoobThe head is done in animationstyle. I borrowed the clothing froma magazine. Figure drawing is dif-ficult.

OlympianThis is a comic character that I cre-ated using color pencil, ink, andwatercolor.

Biography

Pao Yang is currently an undergraduate student attending the University of the Pacific, majoring in Biology. At the present he serves as the Sports Coordinator of theHmong Student Association at UOP. He also served as the Historian for the 2000-2001 year. As a member and officer he has participated in community service activitiessuch as tutoring and cleaning up a local park area in the Stockton community. His future goal is to attend graduate school.

Winter 2002 Hmong Movement 15

Creative CornerBy Pao Yang

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If you would like a subscription to Hmong Movement, please mark the option that you prefer. Subscribing to HM: Hmong Movementis FREE. However, we do request that you make a generous donation of the amount next to the subscription choices. Thank you foryour support. Your generous contributions will continue our commitment to distribute the publication to the public free of charge.

___ Annual Subscription 4 issue (Individual = $10)___ Organization Subscription 4 issues (10 copies of each issue = $75)

Enclosed is a contribution to the: Hmong Student Inter-Collegiate Coalition (HSIC)*** HSIC is in the process of incorporation, donations will be tax-deductible.___$10 ___$25 ___ $50____ $75____$100 ____ $150 ___ $250 Other: __________________

Attn: Alex Vang, Editor-in-ChiefHM: Hmong Movement Magazinec/o Hmong Student Inter-Collegiate Coalition (HSIC)Hmong Student Association of San Diego Mailbox#G-10University of California, San Diego9500 Gilman DriveLa Jolla, CA 92092-0077

Hmong Movement 03 Fall 2002

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Transcript of Hmong Movement 03 Fall 2002