Asian Americans have been perceived as the invisible or silent minority in America and, some claim, at Cornell. In an attempt to dispel that stereotype, more than 1,200 students gathered Feb. 15-16 on campus.

In keynote addresses at the 31st annual East Coast Asian American Student Union conference, Becky Lee and Yul Kwon said they fought against the "invisible" stereotype as contestants on the 13th, and most recent, season of the television program "Survivor." Lee said she quit her job as a lawyer to elevate the presence of Asian Americans on television because she felt that Asian women are inaccurately portrayed as hyper-sexed or passive and Asian men as nerds and kung fu masters. She also spoke against the model minority myth.

"We fail to address the reality of people who have not obtained our success. We forget that poverty, domestic violence, even mental health issues are epidemics in our communities at home," she said. "Our silence is acceptance. There is strong culture pressure. It's about shame, trying to save face."

Survivor winner Kwon said he decided to stay on "Survivor" in an attempt to ameliorate racial tensions when the show's producers took the controversial step of dividing contestants by race. He says that he became a leader, successfully leading a multiethnic coalition to victory, and consequently making a statement about the power of diversity.

He said that while growing up, he put education above all else. But he criticized the lack of community among Asian Americans. "We were taught to focus on our careers and not care about others."

In workshops and presentations, the two-day event addressed such relevant Asian-American issues as identity development, the view of homosexuality as a stigma in the Asian community, having immigrant parents, being adopted and how to become an activist.

"It's awkward to talk about being Asian or being white at Cornell," said Michael Betourney, CALS '09, who has Korean heritage. The Asian-American conference, he said, gave him an outlet to talk to people about his identity. He said he related particularly to the many other biracial delegates at the identity deconstruction workshop where they said they felt white among their Asian friends and Asian among their white friends. "It's like I have two separate lives," said Betourney.

Some attendees came from as far as the Midwest, including Ceev Sue Xiong '10, a student at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. "In Wisconsin, I feel the Asians are not willing to step up to create awareness of Asian people," said Xiong, a Hmong whose parents emigrated from Laos. "I think this is because of fear, basically the fear of being rejected."

Cornell has hosted the conference three times over the past 31 years. This year the campus welcomed a record number of attendees. Other speakers included Gary Y. Okihiro, professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, and writer and activist Jeff Chang.

Nina Zhang '09 is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.