<p>
</p>
<p>Agree that this has certainly become an issue on UC campuses. </p>
<p>But why should the answer be–let’s make the UCs more representative of the demographics of the state. If so, we’ll have to increase the number of Hispanics at the UCs immensely over the years. How will the UCs accomplish that?</p>
<p>Shouldn’t the real answer lie in teaching racial sensitivity both in the home and in the society?</p>
<p>What an idiot – especially if she’s never seen a non-Asian using a cellphone in a library. Just one word describes the person in the video: trailer trash.</p>
<p>
It probably already is - i.e. it probably already represents the demographics of the subset of students who qualify for admission. If this subset happens to be imbalanced from a racial perspective (or gender perspective or the perspective of other physical attributes that have nothing at all to do with scholastic ability) from the demographics of the state excluding this level of scholastic qualifications, it’s not the fault of the UCs.</p>
<p>ucbalum: not sure if you were kidding, but whites wouldn’t be designated URMs even if 209 were ever to be repealed (which i think it should be)–that speaks to an assumption that white people ‘should’ be the majority on all american college campuses (and why should they be, when they’re no longer in the majority in CA?). white students are not ‘underrepresented’ at an average of 40-something percent representation at UC. </p>
<p>the broader point is that a rigid focus on GPA/test scores is inadequate. holistic admissions myth aside, this laser focus on numbers solely isn’t working. but again, the issue is very complex, and i’d like to see UC at least attempt to try to tackle it, as both a UC alum and a current UC parent. </p>
<p>ellemenope: what’s wrong with increasing hispanic enrollment?</p>
<p>
There’s nothing wrong with an increased enrollment of hispanics if it’s because they happen to make up a larger percentage of the group that would be admitted based on attributes directly related to scholastic ability but ethnicity isn’t one of them. To admit more simply because they’re hispanic would be discriminatory and would be, rightly, illegal in California at public colleges thanks to prop 209.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, it was a joke.</p>
<p>But white people are 42% of California’s population, and underrepresented as undergraduates at most UC campuses:</p>
<p>Berkeley: 30%
Davis: 35%
Irvine: 19%
Los Angeles: 32%
Merced: 22%
Riverside: 17%
San Diego: 38%
Santa Barbara: 55%
Santa Cruz: 51%</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What would you like them to do, and how?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hypocrisy is alive and well on CC. Nice.</p>
<p>It is probably a good thing that UCLA did not discipline Ms. Wallace, otherwise they would have had to discipline all of the UCLA students who posted retaliating videos, which were specifically directed at her, used her name and called her disparaging names. These are probably violative of the code of conduct prohibitions on harassment and sexual harassment.</p>
<p>If you have seen the video, it’s easily apparent that this girl is probably drunk, into self-promotion, and an idiot to boot. As Bill Maher said last night on “Real Time”, her safety school was Hooters. What more can you say about her, except I’m so glad she is not my daughter.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How could Wallace’s imitation not remind you of that? The taunt you remembered was “Ching chong Chinaman.” Wallace’s imitation was “Ching chong ling long ting tong.” And to address your rhetorical question, I personally wouldn’t be as peeved if she had actually mocked an Asian language by saying words that actually existed in any Asian language. (“Shay-shay” is an accented way of saying ‘thank you’ in Mandarin. Ching chong ling long ting tong is nothing.)</p>
<p>But if you don’t think the taunt is offensive, obviously I can’t convince you otherwise. And why let it be offensive? BCEagle91 already referenced one of the two most viewed responses to Wallace’s rant, a parody song by Jimmy Wong, who “reclaimed” the schoolyard taunt to tease Wallace for her ignorance (and looks) in a playful but still serious way. (The other response was a humorous rant by David So, who dissected almost all of Wallace’s remarks in a facetious manner but again, still serious manner.)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your family is certainly entitled to love Gedde Watanabe’s character from Sixteen Candles. But you seem unaware that many Asians, myself included, do consider the character offensive as it has become a kind of stock stereotype in Hollywood of Asians. In Hollywood, male Asians are either “Long Duk Dongs”–geeky, perpetual foreigners with horribly accented English and no sexual drive–or martial arts masters who most likely still can’t speak fluent American English and still can’t end the film with “the chick.”</p>
<p>With the advent of Youtube, however, American Asians are sidestepping Hollywood and its antiquated racial stereotypes. Freddie Wong’s videos routinely reach over a million hits, and if he is not the star, he is usually featured prominently in them. Kevin Wu (kevjumba) is a Top-10 subscribed comedian whose videos also routinely get over a million hits. Neither speaks in broken English, as both are American-born and raised.</p>
<p>And really, that’s the rub. Why do I still get asked, “Do you speak English?” What, because I’m neither white nor black, I must be a foreigner? Why can’t I just be treated as any other American?</p>
<p>I do think it was good that Wallace’s video sparked more outrage than The Daily Princetonian’s mocking of Jian Li four years ago. The discussion we should’ve had then is being held now. Thanks Youtube!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Maybe because I heard it all of about twice 45+ plus years ago, and it was spoken in a sing-song cadence, not like the mumbled spew that Ms. Wallace put forth. Sheesh. Excuse me for not being hyper-politcally-sensitive when I was 6 years old.</p>
<p><a href=“The%20other%20response%20was%20a%20humorous%20rant%20by%20David%20So,%20who%20dissected%20almost%20all%20of%20Wallace’s%20remarks%20in%20a%20facetious%20manner%20but%20again,%20still%20serious%20manner.”>quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Humorous? I found So’s rant quite shocking - how could you not - when he suggests wanting to kill Ms. Wallace. I guess you are only sensitive when it involves people you care about, right fab?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You got that one wrong - Long Duk Dong was quite a ladies man.</p>
<p>And by the way, many ethnicities and nationalities are stereotyped in the media, not just Asians. When was the last time you saw a German portrayed as anything but a Nazi or Nazi-type character? Don’t blame average Joe American for the media’s bias.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Have you been denied your Constitutional rights, fab? If so, lay out your claims. Otherwise, answer that question yourself - in what ways are you not being treated as any other American, and why do you think that is happening?</p>
<p>
I wonder if that’s because of the part of the country you’re in. I can’t imagine it happening around here where there are large numbers of Asians. Some of this can be natural in a practical way even if it’s annoying - when I’ve gone to Japan I can guarantee you that no one there would start speaking to me in Japanese assuming I speak Japanese - they’d assume I was a foreigner who didn’t speak Japanese (and they’d be right). I wouldn’t be offended by it in that example but in your situation I’d be at least annoyed. </p>
<p>
I’ve never heard of that taunt. Maybe it also was regional.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh, she wasn’t mumbling. That particular schoolyard taunt has been around for a while; it predates your elementary school years.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you just watched the video, you would’ve seen the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>He put a disclaimer in the video description: “What I say is for comedic purposes and in NO way should anyone harm another person no matter HOW STUPID their opinions are ok?”</p></li>
<li><p>Starting around the 0:45 mark, he puts a text bubble: “In NO WAY SHOULD YOU HARM THIS GIRL…”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>
</p>
<p>How about *Wanted<a href=“2008”>/i</a>? Thomas Kretschmann’s character is not specifically named as German, but the character features Kretschmann’s German English accent and has nothing to do with the Third Reich.</p>
<p>How about *Salt<a href=“2010”>/i</a>? August Diehl played a German arachnologist in modern times who had no connection whatsoever to the NSDAP.</p>
<p>And on TV, a recent Simpsons episode guest-starred Werner Herzog as an adult Augustus Gloop, again with no connection to the Nazi Party.</p>
<p>But we’re forgetting an obvious thing: most Germans are white. While there may be a stereotype associating the modern German Federal Republic with the Third Reich, German actors can play “other” characters. Michael Fassbender played a Greek in 300 even though he’s half-German, half-Irish.</p>
<p>And I don’t blame the average Joe. I blame Hollywood for continuing to be close-minded, and I praise people like Freddie Wong for using Youtube to reach a broader audience, uninhibited of Hollywood’s biases.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You already quoted my answer to this. Why am I still asked “Do you speak English?” Something tells me that the people who ask this don’t ask whites or blacks that. They assume they’re American first and only change their assumption if they hear a European or African accent upon opening conversation. By contrast, they assume I’m a foreigner first and usually still assume that I’m a foreigner even after conversing, just one who has “good English.” Why is that?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So what? What does that have to do with me remembering it, or even knowing that the words “ching chong” are offensive to Chinese Americans today? Cobrat provided us with some history of the phrase and jogged my memory. Without his post (or someone else pointing it out), I still wouldn’t know that “ching chong” is an insult today. Apparently, I am not up to date on the racial epithets du jour, and I consider that a good thing.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t know, fab. Maybe its because you live in an area where there are few Asians, or lots of ignorant people, or because you have a look of confusion or incomprehension on your face that makes people think you don’t understand what is going on.</p>
<p>As ucladad pointed out, if you lived out here in CA, I would bet a bundle that you would rarely, if ever be asked that question.</p>
<p>If the worst aspect of your life as an American is being asked if you speak English, then you are blessed.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It means you have no excuse. It was around when you were in elementary school, and it still exists. If you want to say that you weren’t PC as a six-year-old, fine, no worries there. But as an adult now looking back, if you can’t connect the dots and see that it’s offensive with all your adult experience and years, then there’s little point to this conversation.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>LOL. You mean David So’s look when he started his video? I assure you I do not go around with that expression on my face as default.</p>
<p>According to UCLA’s CDS, 35.69% of UCLA’s student body is non-Hispanic Asian, either with U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent residency, and less than 6% of its student body is “nonresident alien.” For argument’s sake, let’s suppose that 100% of that 6% is from Asia. (Of course it is not.) Wallace was ranting about the “hordes” of “Asian students” that UCLA accepts every year. Uh, well, which ones? The 299/1,522 who are on F-1 visas? Or the 1,562/9,336 who either have U.S. birth certificates or green cards?</p>
<p>You saw David So’s video. Did he strike you as “foreign” in any way? His speech, facial expressions, mannerisms were 100% American. While not all 9,336 Asian students at UCLA have So’s sense of humor or vocal dynamism, they should all be as fluent in the English language as he is. They should all be as culturally American as he is.</p>
<p>So really, who was Wallace ranting against? The 9,336 Asians who are as American as she is? Or the 1,522 who aren’t? UCLA accepts over 1,500 American Asians each year but fewer than 300 foreign Asians. Which is more likely to be the “horde” she was referring to?</p>
<p>To me, that’s the real problem that should be discussed, the notion that Asians are foreigners by default whereas whites and blacks, even if they are from Europe or Africa, are domestic by default.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What??? I get that it is offensive now, fab. Before I read this thread, I did not know that that words “ching chong” were offensive to Chinese Americans. I also don’t remember the sing-song from grade school 45+ years ago being a taunt at all - I don’t think there were any Asian kids in my school in Eastern Canada, so the little song would not have been directed at anyone in particular. It probably went with a jump rope game or something, that is when we would have sung little songs and poems on the playground.</p>
<p>Fab,
I don’t know why you are arguing with me as though I support Wallace’s opinions about Asians at UCLA. I do not. If you want to discuss the issues that her video raises, I think that is a good thing, but it is not me you should be directing your anger at.</p>
<p>fabrizio, I too am mightily appreciative of the power of YouTube on behalf of Asians to fight back against the numerous ways in which we have been insulted and scorned. It gives us a voice and face in real time. Until the mainstream media accepts us in front of the camera, it’s our best option for the moment.</p>
<p>I literally read every post in this thread and mostly everybody made some good points.</p>
<p>Here is my take on it.</p>
<p>Okay, watching the video it made me do three things…</p>
<p>~Chuckle
~Scratch My Head
~What the what?</p>
<p>I do not believe this girl is a die-hard neo-Nazi racist nor do I believe she was trying to be Family Guy race jokes funny.</p>
<p>She seems more clueless and um, dumb, more than anything.</p>
<p>“Hoardes of Asian people UCLA accepts into school every year, which is fine.”</p>
<p>I really chuckled on that part. It reminds me of when my mom was in school during the integration and telling me how fellow classmates saw her and others as “hoardes of n******” and it wasn’t fine by them.</p>
<p>“But, if your going to come to UCLA, then use American manners.”</p>
<p>Golly! She just don’t know how many Americans I would love to tell “use American manners” on a daily basis. Whatever happen to please, thank you, and excuse me nowadays? D:</p>
<p>“All the Asian people that live in all the apartments around me, their mom’s and their brothers and their sisters and their grandmothers and their grandpa’s and their cousins and everybody that they know they brought along from Asia with them comes here on the weekends to do their laundry, buy their groceries, and cook their food for the week.”</p>
<p>Man, I just can’t tell you the share of mama boys and prima donna Americans I know who are taken care of like that too. Sheesh, they got it good.</p>
<p>"You will always see old Asian people running around the apartment complex every weekend. That’s what they do. They don’t teach their kids to fend for themselves. You know what they don’t also teach them is their manners which brings me to my next point.</p>
<p>(Hai or Hi?) In America, we do not talk on our cell phones in the library!"</p>
<p>I seriously lol’ed on this one. As a bookworm and someone who worked in a library for two years I don’t know where to even begin on the hoardes of Americans who wouldn’t follow the rules of putting their phones on vibrate and exiting the area when they answered them. We even had a area designated where they could go to. But alas, they just did how they pleased.</p>
<p>Apparently she can’t make up her mind between five or fifteen minutes.</p>
<p>“When I’m about to reach a epiphany.”</p>
<p>You know what? I’m going to start using that. HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! I’M ABOUT TO REACH A EPIPHANY!!!</p>
<p>Far as her mocking the “Asian voice”, I think everybody is guilty on that. Besides, I just LOVE doing my ditzy, blonde valley girl voice. My friends love it too.</p>
<p>“So being the nice, polite American girl my mama raised me to be.”</p>
<p>I lol’ed hard on that part too. Everybody belives they were raised to be nice and polite.</p>
<p>Even Ghadafi believes it.</p>
<p>“But if your going to go call your address book, you might as well go outside because if something is wrong you might really freak out in the library and everybody is quiet you seriously should go outside if your going to do that.”</p>
<p>You make sure you remember that when the big one hits the west coast sweetheart.</p>
<p>“Even if your not Asian, you shouldn’t be on the phone in the library. I just never seen it happen before.”</p>
<p>I don’t even…</p>
<p>This girl just screams ditz all the way. Nothing more and nothing less.</p>
<p>Far as the death threats, I can guarentee you they are probably not coming from other students. More likely than not their coming from random folks through out the U.S. who’ve seen this video. But trust me, they’re not any better nor do they help the situation.</p>
<p>I still don’t understand why people are so compelled to post every single thing online.</p>
<p>But if you’re still compelled to do so, at least be “anon” all about it. </p>
<p>I also noticed how she would say, “that’s fine though, not anything is wrong with that, don’t be offended.”. It really reminds me of this:</p>
<p>~I’m not racist! My best friend is black!~</p>
<p>I’m far from being a hyper-sensitive PC person but I don’t see where she helps the inPC crowd nor do I see where she can be a poster child for it either.</p>
<p>But alas, this will eventually fade on and before you know it some other person will post how they feel about whatever and get their fifteen minutes of fame. Now lets get back to Charlie Sheen.</p>
<p>Nice cleavage though.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I generally don’t feel the insult and scorn that you see. Yes, there’s Alexandra Wallace but I think that she doesn’t know any better. Asians in general go with the flow. I don’t expect to see a million man march of Asians in DC.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I work in an engineering building with really nice jobs at really nice wages. It is roughly one-third white, one-third Chinese and one-third Indian.</p>
<p>That translates to a powerful economic and cultural voice but it is below the radar.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>The mainstream media is hurting pretty badly financially. They do a lot of things that I see as counterproductive and they are only hurting themselves but they have the right to fail as does everyone else.</p>
<p>Do Asians need revenge?</p>
<p>Some say that success is the best revenge. Given UCLA’s demographics, I think that the quiet, subdued approach is working quite well.</p>