The Asian American Cultural Center’s (AACC) main lounge room was filled with students discussing the uproaring sensation Alexandra Wallace caused in the Asian American community.
Asian interest sorority, Kappa Phi Lambda, or KPL, held a discussion at the AACC yesterday regarding the issue of Alexandra Wallace and her rant about Asians in the library at UCLA.
Kenneth Importante, the Associate Director of AACC and discussion facilitator, opened up the discussion by showing Wallace’s original YouTube video. Importante explained that Wallace posted the video on a Sunday night, the weekend before finals, and could have been angered or stressed out, causing her to record and upload the controversial video. Importante added that Wallace is an adult and should take responsibility for her actions.
Cindy Rong, junior in ACES and Liason of KPL, said there could be steps taken to break down racial stereotypes on university campuses.
“In our university, we have the ACE IT workshop that’s mandatory for all freshmen,” Rong said. “I feel like in the beginning of the school year, maybe we could hold a workshop that is mandatory for all freshmen just to realize that it is a big issue and it can make a big impact towards the community.”
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Genevieve Paik, junior in LAS, said she didn’t think that Wallace’s video was a big deal. She didn’t take it personally but said she understands how it could be offensive. Paik said bringing the issue to this campus is beneficial.
“I think this brings Asian awareness here. Even though this campus is pretty diverse, it is predominantly white so they might not necessarily know what’s going on,” Paik said. “I think this is a really good way to bring it back to the Midwest and discuss it here.”
Cheryl Chao, sophomore in FAA, said it’s important to have opinions but to be cautious about voicing them publicly.
“People always have had feelings about these issues but I don’t think they should be publicized on YouTube,” Chao said. “It’s something you can share with your community or friends but I don’t think it should be done in public where you can personally attack other people.”
