Nation Briefs
January 30, 2008
25th Anniversary Lunar New Year Celebration
EVENT: Presented by the Asian American Coalition of Chicago
DESCRIPTION: This gala includes a reception, guest speakers, dinner, entertainment, a cultural program and an awards ceremony.
DETAILS: $700 per table of 10, Jan. 26, 5-10 p.m., Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 North River Road, Rosemont, Ill.
CONTACT: (708) 597-7777, info@aacchicago.org
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Asian American Voters Face Discrimination
ATLANTA — Asian American voters fear the discrimination some faced at polling stations in 2006 could resurface as they cast ballots in November’s presidential election, a civil rights group said.
The group cited examples of Asian Americans being asked to provide more identification than other citizens, in contravention of federal law. Those not on voter rolls but still eligible to vote were often not given provisional ballots to complete, it said in a report.
Under the landmark Voting Rights Act and a subsequent act, election officials in districts with more than 10,000 registered Asian Americans, or ones where their voting population exceeds 5% of a district’s total, are mandated to provide certain help.
On polling day in 2006 there were many examples of “racist and intimidatory” remarks to Asian Americans such as: “How come you don’t speak English?” “Why don’t you go back to your home country?” and “You’re turning this country into a dump.”
— Reuters
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Filipina Domestic Workers File Suit For Unpaid Wages
NEWARK, N.J. — Two Filipina domestic workers have filed lawsuits against a Bergen County couple for years of unpaid minimum wage and overtime pay.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund New Jersey–Asian American Legal Project, with pro bono counsel Troutman Sanders LLP, filed the federal complaint on behalf of these workers in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
The two workers, immigrants from the Philippines, had worked in their employers’ home for six years. They worked seven days a week, cooking, cleaning and taking care of their employers’ family. Their workday started as early as 6 a.m. and frequently went past midnight. Despite the fact that each worker often labored up to 120 hours a week, their employers paid them each merely $400 a week without any overtime pay.
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Asian Immigrants In U.S. Naturalized At Highest Rates
WASHINGTON — A study from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that Asian immigrants have been naturalized at the highest rates, while Mexican immigrants have been naturalized at the lowest rates, reports the World Journal. According to the statistics, from 1973 to the mid 1980s, 70% of Asian immigrants were naturalized, while 45% of Mexican immigrants were made citizens over the same period. From the mid-1980s onward, 60% of Asian immigrants became U.S. citizens, but only 35% of Mexican immigrants did. In the 1990s, the naturalization rate of Mexican immigrants dropped to 20%.
In spite of the rates, Mexican naturalized immigrants outnumbered any other immigrant groups.
— World Journal
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Kentucky Catching Wave of Chinese Courses
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Chinese is now among the top six languages taught in Kentucky, after Spanish, French, Latin, German and Japanese, said Jacque Van Houten, world language and international education consultant for the Kentucky Department of Education. Until just a few years ago, Chinese language courses were offered only in two public schools in Jefferson County, Ky.
Now, Chinese is also taught in the Jessamine, Fayette, Madison, Clark, Marion, Nelson and Covington Independent school districts.
Class offerings have grown nationally as well. In 2000, there were 5,000 public school students of Chinese; now, there are an estimated 50,000, said Marty Abbott, spokeswoman for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Parents and educators want today’s students to be ready to do business with China, which may surpass the United States as the world’s largest economy in the next 20 years.
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Near Silence for A Student’s Anguished Cry
Dan Kim, a 21-year-old Virginia Tech senior from Reston, Va., shot himself in the head last month. At least one and possibly two friends had contacted Virginia Tech to say that Daniel had bought a gun and was talking about suicide.
Despite promises after the April shootings that the college would be more responsive to warning signs, despite protocols requiring that any student who makes “any gesture or reference to suicide … must be seen by the psychologist on call,” no one from Virginia Tech’s counseling center contacted Daniel.
Instead, the university called the police, who drove by his apartment and reported that Daniel said he was fine.
Among the recommendations that came out of last spring’s tragedy, several would lower barriers to contacting parents when a student appears to be in trouble. These have not been implemented.
— The Washington Post
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