Asian America: June 2013

by: Mary Tablante

1.Fighting Hunger

LOS ANGELES—Five Indian American freshmen at UCLA are competing for $1 million in seed funding for a student project with the goal of solving the global food crisis. The students, Aditya Aggarwal, Anushka Bhatia, Varadh Jain, Sajal Khanter and Sagar Patel, are developing an idea to purchase grain in bulk in India, package them into family-sized portions and then sell then to the needy at a low cost.  Even if they do not win the prize, the students still plan on traveling to India to start their project.

 

2. Tiger Mom Study

Austin, TX—A University of Texas study about “tiger moms” showed that children were often more depressed, got worse grades and felt more alienated from their parents. This was the first major study done on the topic and followed more than 300 Asian-American families. The study found that the supportive parenting model produced better outcomes for children.

 

3. Poverty Rate

Asian Americans had higher poverty rate than whites in 2011, a study found. The official poverty rate of Asian Americans in 2011 exceeded the poverty rate of whites by 2.5 percentage points, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These findings go against the perception that all Asian Americans are financially secure and are working high-income jobs.

 

 4. Bone Marrow Donor Meets Leukemia Survivor

SAN FRANCISCO—Leukemia survivor Vicky Tran, 13, met her bone marrow donor, Vincent Pan, in person for the first time on May 1. Tran received the bone marrow transplant one year ago. Minorities make up 15 percent of people on the National Bone Marrow Registry and f for minorities like Asian Americans and African Americans can be difficult.

 

5. Privacy Officer Appointed

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Obama chose Nicole Wong, Twitter’s legal director, to be the White House’s first chief privacy officer. Wong is an attorney in Silicon Valley. According to CNET, she will become a senior adviser to White House Chief Technology Officer.

 

6. Sikh Man Victim of Hate Crime

Fresno, Calif.—An 82-year-old Sikh man was beaten with a steel pipe May 5 in an incident that is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Plara Singh suffered broken bones and ribs, and head injuries that required 20 stitches. The incident happened after Singh was walking out of Nanaksar Sikh Temple. Fresno police arrested Gilbert Garcia, 29, on charges of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the attack.

 

7. Mario Machado Remembered

LOS ANGELES—The first prominent Asian American, specifically Chinese-American, newscaster in Los Angeles, Mario Machado, died May 4 from complications of pneumonia at age 78. Machado won eight Emmy Awards and started his career in the 1960s.

 

8. Fraternity Under Fire

Irvine, Calif.—Lambda Theta Delta, the largest Asian American fraternity at the University of California—Urvine, started controversy when one of its members performed in blackface for a video cover. The fraternity suspended itself until fall 2014 and officials are investigating the fraternity. Lambda Theta Delta also started a new advisory board to address racism and propose a new recruitment and pledge process.

 

10. AAPI Leaders meet with Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Asian American Pacific Islander leaders met with President Obama at the White House May 8 to discuss immigration reform, health care and civil rights. The AAPI leaders urged President Obama to appoint more Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to White House positions. Leaders who attended the meeting included Deepa Iyer, director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and Bill Imada, Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

 

“Asian Fortune is an English language newspaper for Asian American professionals in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Visit fb.com/asianfortune to stay up to date with our news and what’s going on in the Asian American community.”