Jack You ’10 to Discuss Impediments to Asian American Political Success in America

Start Date: November 18 6:30 PM
This event is open to the public

CAMD Scholar Jack You '10 will present “The Curious Underrepresentation: Asian Americans in U.S. Politics” at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Kemper Auditorium in the Elson Art Center on Chapel Ave. on the Phillips Academy campus.  You’s presentation, as well as the panel discussion and dessert reception that will follow, is free and open to the public. 

In a study of immigration history, pan-ethnic dilemma, and voter behavior, You will explore impediments to Asian American political success in the U.S. According to You, Asian Americans have found success in professional fields such as business, medicine, and engineering, but in politics Asian Americans are represented at a disproportionately lower rate compared to the general American population. In 2000, Asian Americans constituted 4.4 percent of the American population, but only 1.5 percent of the elected seats in the U.S. House and the Senate.

Following the presentation, You will present an esteemed panel of experts to discuss Asian Americans and Massachusetts politics. The panel will include Sam Meas, who is preparing for a 2010 run for the 5th Congressional District of Mass; Rithy Uong, the first Cambodian to be elected to public office in the U.S. when he became a Lowell city councilor in 1999; Leverett Wing, former executive director of the Mass. Asian American Commission and former business manager of the Mass. State Senate; and Fitchburg mayor Lisa Wong.

Created in 2006, the CAMD Scholar Program awards small stipends and faculty advisement to a group of students wishing to explore their interests in multicultural topics during their summer vacations. This is the third of five CAMD Scholar presentations scheduled into January 2010. All are free and open to the public. The remaining two programs are:

• Jan. 18, 2010 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day): Bijan Torabi ’10, “The Stigma of Class.” Advisor: Thomas Kane, instructor in English
• Jan. 29, 2010: Lily Shaffer ’10, “The Changing Face of Judaism: A Search for Jewish Identity in North America.” Advisor: Rabbi Michael Swarttz, chaplain