AAPI at UM

This page focuses on prominent Asian/Pacific Islander student organizations at University of Michigan. This page will discuss the types, functions and goals of various student organizations. We aim to showcase the variety and history behind many of the A/PIA groups on campus as well as their influence on the student body. This is only a handful of groups who are covered in this list due to archival limitations. A full list of Asian American organizations can be found here.

University of Michigan has a variety of Asian American organizations that are devoted to social, cultural, and political causes. Prior to the 1980s, there were multiple Asian American advocacy organizations in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and anti-war years that specifically advocated for Asian American students and faculty on campus. Organizations such as East Wind worked with UM administration to ensure an Asian American studies department with Asian faculty was developed on campus. Other organizations included the Third World Coalition, which banded with other students of color to advocate for more racially equitable policies within the administrative system.

Since the 1980s, the number of Asian American organizations at UM has grown to include multiple country-specific organizations, such as the Indian American Student Association, Chinese Student Organization and Korean Student Organization, among many others. These organizations aim to form a broader community based in campus around identity and culture. Other organizations, such as the Michigan Asian Student Coalition, were developed out of the outcry over the Vincent Chin case and functioned to provide Asian Americans students a way to get involved in advocacy work as well as a way to develop a community on campus. Some organizations, such as South Asian Awareness Network and Liberty in North Korea, were created to have students on campus get directly involved in policy and advocacy work based in their ethnic region. Asian American Organizations on campus also include multiple sororities and fraternities through Greek Life, professional development organizations, religious practice spaces and mentorship programs.

References

https://lsa.umich.edu/apia/student-life/student-organizations.html

“United Asian American Organizations, University of Michigan Records.” Mixed Material, 1990.

“Indian American Student Association (University of Michigan) Records.” Mixed Material, 1983.

“Filipino American Student Association (University of Michigan) Records.” Mixed Material, 1993.