Controversy over a College Club

In a feature issue last year entitled "The Color of America Is Changing," Time magazine examined the large-scale growth in the population of many minorities in the United States over the past decade, among which the 108 percent increase in that of Asian-Americans received a great deal of attention.

According to the U.S. census, Asian-Americans not only had a higher population growth than that of any other immigrant group, they also led average Americans in terms of educational level, family income and professional occupations. This fact is reflected in microcosm on the campuses of American colleges and universities, Cornell being no exception.

Cornell has more than a dozen clubs and associations for Asian-American students, including the Korean Students' Association, the Hong Kong Students' Association, the Asian-American Coalition and the Asian-American Heritage Association, but the biggest of them all is the Chinese Students' Association (CSA), which, with 400 members, is in fact the largest student club at Cornell.

The main purpose in founding the association, according to club president Cindy Ma, was to provide an opportunity for Chinese-Americans or other students interested in Chinese-American affairs to get together and "share their feelings and concerns."

The association has mostly held social activities like outings and dances, but it has also sponsored cultural events like Chinese Night (on lunar new year's eve), Mahjong Night and a party to make tzung-tzu (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) on the Dragon Boat Festival.

In October of last year, however, an article appeared in the campus newspaper castigating CSA as "exclusionary." Even though students of other ethnic backgrounds are allowed to join, it was made clear that they weren't welcome on certain occasions, and posters sometimes said, "For Chinese only." Some non-Chinese students said no one would dance with them at dances.

The article also said that CSA, as the largest club on campus, should be more involved in the school and hold more activities to increase understanding of China and Chinese-Americans. That way it could help draw ethnic groups closer together instead of driving them further apart.

Club president Cindy Ma says she can't understand these criticisms. CSA is a social club, she says, and doesn't want to get involved in ethnic issues. Participating more in campus affairs and holding more Chinese cultural activities are suggestions they could follow but don't necessarily have to. What's more, there are already a number of clubs centered around cultural affairs, such as the Asian-American Coalition and the Asian-American Heritage Association.

Social stratification is a problem on campus, Cindy Ma admits, but she doesn't feel that means it is wrong for an organization to strive to promote a sense of community among people sharing a common heritage.

The whole fracas eventually blew over, but the question remains: Did the article merely express the personal views of the writer, or does it reflect the views of most Caucasian students? CSA member Henry Liu believes that in either case it shows that CSA has drawn unfavorable attention. "Why not listen to what other people have to say?" he asks.

There has never been a better way to solve ethnic and racial problems than through increased communication and understanding. Viewed from that perspective, the controversy over the Chinese Students' Association is nothing less than a warning.

[Picture Caption]

The association's magazine gives students with a similar background the chance to share their feelings and concerns.

(Below right) With more than 400 members, the Chinese Students' Association is the largest club on campus.

With more than 400 members, the Chinese Students' Association is the largest club on campus.