Live Coverage

"Too Asian"?: Calling Media to Account

Three speakers conduct a Talk Back at Ryerson University in response to a Maclean's article titled "‘Too Asian: Some frosh don't want to study at an ‘Asian' university"

Welcome! Tonight's event was organized in response to Maclean's offensive article titled, "‘Too Asian: Some frosh don't want to study at an ‘Asian' university".
by abosanac1/26/2011 11:46:12 PM
RSU member Rodney Diverlus, Vice-President Equity (RSU), talks about his brushes with racism on campus.
by abosanac1/26/2011 11:48:20 PM
Rodney Diverlus
by abosanac1/26/2011 11:48:54 PM
At 8:30, university administrators and media will be asked to leave the auditorium to create a "safe space" for students to discuss strategies on how to keep the media accountable.
by abosanac1/26/2011 11:53:10 PM
J-Source will not be leaving.
by abosanac1/26/2011 11:53:20 PM
On tonight's panel: Dr. Roland Coloma
by abosanac1/26/2011 11:55:29 PM
Roland Coloma is a professor in the Deptartment of Sociology and Equity Studies at OISE. Dr Coloma's research and teaching focus on race, gender, transnationalism, history, and socio-cultural theory.
by abosanac1/26/2011 11:56:08 PM
Coloma: The accusation of being overly-sensitive becomes more common during times of instability -- a defense mechanism by the powerful to keep people from the margins from exerting their agency.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:00:37 AM
Coloma: Some readings of the article are more privileged and then become mainstream. Others become marginalized and are then dismissed.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:02:27 AM
Coloma: Asian-Canadians are both "wanted and unwanted" in Canada simultaneously. Their labour and capital are highly desired -- many universities aggressively recruit Asian students -- but they still face racism.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:05:51 AM
Coloma: We must be mindful of Canada's current conservative political, social and economic context.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:07:42 AM
Next speaker is Karim Alam (?). He was not on the speaker's list so the spelling of his name might be wrong.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:16:11 AM
Correction: it's Khurrum Awam
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:18:16 AM
Awam: In a post-9/11 context, the media believes it's right to target minority groups.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:19:06 AM
Awam: Maclean's use of a picture of an Asian student carrying the CCP flag was inflammatory and wrong-headed.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:21:17 AM
The picture in question
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:22:25 AM
Awam: There are a variety of ways to hold the media accountable, but press councils are largely ineffective. Issuing complaints to human rights commissions is the best strategy.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:28:21 AM
The next speaker up is Irene Chu. Chu is the Executive Producer of "Once Upon a Time in Toronto," a 20-part Mandarin-language drama series and first-ever mutually supported television production between Canadian and Chinese companies. It airs on OMNI Television.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:30:36 AM
Chu: On September 30, 1979, CTV’s W5 Program aired a segment entitled “Campus Giveaway.” The program depicted university students of Chinese origin as foreigners who were taking away academic opportunities at our universities from “true” Canadians.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:32:31 AM
Chu produced Stephen Lewis' rebuttal to the CTV segment. Watch part one here: www.youtube.com
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:35:37 AM
Winnie Ing is the next speaker.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:54:00 AM
Winnie Ing has held the CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University since January 2011. In her role, Ng will build upon the work of inaugural chair Judy Rebick, a well-known journalist, author and activist who was first appointed in 2002. The chair's mandate is to create a hub of interaction between social justice activists and academics at Ryerson.
by abosanac1/27/2011 12:54:39 AM
Ing: The Maclean's article is a continuation of the same narrative, the narrative of white dominance. This narrative is crafted by media to perpetuate anti-asian racism and stereotypes. The "Too Asian" story raised the alarm, again.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:03:02 AM
Ing: On the surface, the Asian-stereotype seems flattering. On the flip side, to be hard-working means to be mechanical, maladjusted, unlikable individual.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:06:13 AM
Ing: We need to end the sensationalism in the media, which is profit-driven.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:08:38 AM
Ing: Not one Chinese or Japanese last name on Maclean's masthead.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:10:00 AM
Kenji Tokawa: The Maclean's articles misuses word 'segregation': segregation makes full participation by a certain group of people illegal. This is not what's going on Canadian campuses. The article itself is segregational.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:18:43 AM
Tokawa: Article implies that Asian students create their own barriers. Diversity itself is the problem and there is no need for funding for anti-racist programs. However, under-funding is what keeps dialogue closed in university.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:22:00 AM
Tokawa: Maclean's article sources comments from a random blogger and an unnamed study.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:22:44 AM
Tokawa: Poor editorial and layout (photo) decisions make it so that the reader doesn't even have to read the article -- are schools too asian? The answer is a definitive 'yes.'
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:28:27 AM
Question and answer time. I'm supposed to "leave" now.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:29:47 AM
Question: If we start a headcount of how many asian or non-white students are currently on canadian campuses, would we play into Maclean's agenda?
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:40:56 AM
@you Awam: Media publications routinely publish false 'facts,' which are joined up with ideology. We're seeing a move to Fox News-style coverage.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:43:54 AM
Question: Do we use ignorance as an excuse to publish articles of this nature?

Answer from Coloma: Ignorance is a refusal to know. These myths can be reversed by research, which is easier to do than ever.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:45:22 AM
Demands: Maclean's must issue an unqualified apology, must implement measurable anti-racism policies and must publish results of these policies and must also adopt an equal-opportunity hiring policies. Full list is available on 'Too Asian Talkback' Facebook page.
by abosanac1/27/2011 1:54:35 AM
The audience has now split up into groups to discuss strategies on how to fight racism in the media.
by abosanac1/27/2011 2:07:53 AM
Strategy #1: Changes in j-school curriculum must be made.
by abosanac1/27/2011 2:12:53 AM
Strategy #2: We can hold journalists responsible by signing the petition. We must also create our own alternative media.
by abosanac1/27/2011 2:15:22 AM
Strategy #3: Workplaces need to implement visible-minority hiring practices. Provide diversity training for journalists. We need to hold marches to get media attention.
by abosanac1/27/2011 2:17:11 AM
Strategy #4: We need to spread our message to people who don't think the conclusions made in the Maclean's article are racist. We can use social media to do this.
by abosanac1/27/2011 2:18:38 AM
Strategy #5: There needs to be more diversity in journalism school faculties. The curriculum should be anti-racist as well. J-schools need more "spaces to be critical."
by abosanac1/27/2011 2:20:22 AM
That's a wrap -- would've helped if there were some journalists on the panel.
by abosanac1/27/2011 2:21:15 AM