Fall 2018 — 5C
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Combating the 
monolith: Part one

Asian/Pacific 
Islander 
American 
Heritage 
Month 
celebrations have begun, and 
while I am actively taking part 
in celebrating A/PIA history, I 
have also taken time to reflect 
on my engagement with the A/
PIA community on campus.
A/PIAs are often subject 
to narratives that paint us as 
a monolith — a homogeneous 
group 
of 
people 
from 
an 
arbitrarily 
drawn 
region 
of 
the world. These narratives 
constrain what we and those 
outside of our circles perceive as 
A/PIA, and they are — as I have 
increasingly come to realize — 
violently perpetuated not only 
by the forces of white supremacy 
but by our own communities.
The notion that all A/PIAs 
come from similar classes and 
cultural 
backgrounds 
paints 
all A/PIAs as holding equal 
privilege, entirely ignoring the 
ethnic hierarchies that exist not 
only in Asia, but in our Asian/
Pacific Islander communities 
in the diaspora. The forces of 
exclusion 
and 
elitism 
these 
dynamics create, however, go 
largely unacknowledged.
This 
is 
despite 
the 
fact 
acceptance in self-proclaimed 
A/PIA spaces on campus often 
necessitates assimilation into an 
upper-class, mono-racial/ethnic 
and East-Asian consciousness.
I have often felt the need to 
qualify my presence in these 
spaces 
with 
explanations 
regarding my bi-ethnicity or 
assertions that I am, in fact, 
just as entitled to the label of 
“A/PIA” as everyone else in the 
room.
It has been a lifetime of these 
qualifications that leads me to 
this; it is so crucial that we are 
able to confront the fact the 
monolith is not only an idea that 

is arbitrarily imposed on us, but 
also a rhetoric that defines who 
is recognized as a valid member 
of this community. I feel this 
every time I walk into an A/
PIA space where there is no 
one of my skin color, my openly 
bi-ethnic identity or my cultural 
background. I feel it every time 
we preach “unity” but fail to 
vocalize the ways in which 
intra-Asian/Pacific 
Islander 
imperialism has created tension 
between us. I feel it every 
time the notion of a unified, 
invincible A/PIA identity masks 
the realities of exclusion in our 
community.
Thus, 
“A/PIA 
Heritage 
Month: 
Combating 
the 
Monolith” begins today. This 
spotlight series will highlight 
A/PIAs who may not necessarily 
fall into the notion of what an 
A/PIA is or should be. Though 
this series will not paint a 
comprehensive picture of all A/
PIA narratives, I hope that this 
month we can begin scratching 
the surface of a community that 
harbors an immense diversity in 
culture and experience.
My reflection is not indicative 
of the thoughts, feelings or 
convictions 
of 
those 
who 
will come after me. They are 
simply my own. In this vein, 
the stories you will hear over 
the course of this month are 
not ones that should be viewed 
as 
representative 
of 
their 
respective 
identities. 
Rather, 
they are individual narratives 
that 
have 
developed 
and 
emerged from experiences just 
as vivid, intimate and whole as 
yours.
With that, I wish you all a 
happy A/PIA Heritage Month! 
Let us engage in the celebration 
of the rich cultures and identities 
that make up our community, 
and let us strive toward an ideal 
of unity that recognizes and 
celebrates our difference.

PRIYA JUDGE
MiC Assistant Editor

Visiting the Newseum: The present and future 

As a fourth grader, my 
afternoon 
routine 
was 
simple. After getting off the 
bus, I’d make myself some 
microwavable 
macaroni 
& 
cheese and settle in with 
a copy of The Detroit Free 
Press. I’d usually start with 
the sports section (no one 
knew the Pistons like I did) 
before moving on to the news 
section, film reviews and, 
finally, the comics. The day 
the Freep stopped delivering 
to my household was a dark 
one and I unconvincingly 
pleaded with my parents to 
pay for the new, much more 
expensive 
special 
delivery 
fee.
My love of the news didn’t 
stop as I grew older (even if 
daily newspaper deliveries 
did). In high school, I joined 
my school paper and fell 
in love with being on the 
other side of the business. 
While the readership was 
small, I relished the power 
of a platform and its ability 
to shape conversation. This 

led me to join The Michigan 
Daily where I found my way 
to Michigan in Color — the 
section of The Daily dedicated 
to uplifting voices of color.
However, as a member of 
MiC, my rosy view of the 
journalism industry began to 
dim. MiC was founded because 
The Daily lacked the voices of 
students of color, which led to 
the mischaracterization and 
oftentimes racist depictions 
of students of color. The 
founders of MiC felt they 
couldn’t 
trust 
journalists 
to properly convey the real 
experiences of people of color, 
so they created a section 
where we would write for 
ourselves.
Fast forward to a week 
ago. Since I first heard about 
the 
Newseum, 
I’ve 
been 
intrigued. The museum is 
intended as a testament to 
the 
First 
Amendment 
— 
freedom of the press, speech, 
religion and petition — and 
its importance to a thriving 
society. From my first steps 
into the building, I felt the 
weight 
and 
responsibility 
the 
press 
puts 
on 
itself. 

Famous 
quotes 
about 
the 
importance 
of 
the 
First 
Amendment, and the press in 
particular, covered the walls 
while 
exhibits 
contained 
information and old news 
clips explaining the role of 
the press in the Civil Rights 
Movement, the Vietnam War 
and 
uncovering 
injustice 
around the world. Highlights 
included a timeline of front 
pages of newspapers from 
pivotal points in history and 
the sobering memorial to 
journalists murdered for their 
work in pursuing justice.
The 
Newseum 
is 
a 
glorification of the press. 
In these hallowed halls, the 
press is always on the right 
side of history — always there 
to stand up for the rights of the 
oppressed, always objective, 
always the hero. However, I 
take issue with this the lack 
of nuance, and honestly, the 
reality of the building. The 
Newseum ignored one of the 
tenets of good journalism: 
Always tell the whole story. 
For all the headlines the 
Newseum 
showcased 
that 
exalted 
the 
Civil 
Rights 

Movement, they missed the 
ones decrying its protesters as 
“troublemakers” or “rioters.” 
The Newseum can cherry-
pick the front pages for the 
ones that portray the press 
in a good light, but it doesn’t 
erase the harmful work that 
has occurred and continues to 
this day.
For its faults, I cannot 
entirely dislike the Newseum 
or the industry and values it so 
lovingly portrays. The press 
is a vital institution for a fair 
society and historically it has 
been a part of social change 
and progress. However, for 
all its virtues, members of the 
media must come to terms 
with the harm those same 
actions can cause. For all the 
Watergates 
and 
Pentagon 
Papers journalism unveils, 
it does not mitigate that the 
news industry was the main 
driver of associating Islam 
with terrorism.
As the “first rough draft 
of history,” the news often 
shapes 
what 
and 
how 
people think. When the only 
stories of people of color are 
negative, how will society 
react? When Black people 
who march are rioters but 
white people who march are 
protesters, what will society 
think? I want to be clear, 
this isn’t a critique of the 
Breitbarts of the world. This 
is a critique of the New York 
Times, 
Washington 
Posts, 
and Michigan Dailys — papers 
that strive for greatness but 
either ignorantly or willfully 
continue the marginalization 
of vulnerable populations. It’s 
easy to rest on the laurels of 
journalism’s success, but we 
cannot act like journalism is 
immune to the racism, sexism 
and bigotry that permeates 
society. 
The 
press 
often 
acts 
as 
an 
accountability 
measure 
for 
governments 
and corporations — it’s time 
we shined that spotlight on 
ourselves.

SAM SO / DAILY
The author standing in front of the Journalists Memorial

ASHLEY TJHUNG
Managing MiC Editor

