I’m tired of this ECAASU bullshit This back…

I’m tired of this ECAASU bullshit. This back and forth. This not getting the facts straight. This lying, hiding, and MANIPULATING. I just read the blog post “ECAASU Welcomes Dialogue on Sponsorship” and the comments underneath and I’m just so…UGH.

I’m speaking for myself (and not ECAASU in any way) when I really don’t think military funding was appropriate for our conference. With the workshops I chose and the speakers we invited, government funding simply does not fall in line. I would like to point out, however, the difficulties in finding sponsorship for such an extremely expensive conference, but realize also that as programming chair (and the person who invited Professor Prashad) I did NOT have a choice in picking the sponsors. The same people (Navy, Coast Guard, etc) have been funding ECAASU for years and I assumed it was “tradition” when I stepped up as Programming Chair in October. I should have been more vigilant.

Personally, I’d like to see alternative sources of funding other than corporate and government. But personally, I am also skeptical about what alternative it could be. OCA and JACL? Sorry folks, we tried, but in this economy, nonprofits can barely stay afloat themselves, much less sponsor. Local business? Sorry, we ALSO tried that–but the local businesses here do not need the ad space and even if they do give, its a few hundred max.

Instead, I think we have to REEVALUATE the mission of ECAASU and go from there. If we want to go back to grassroots and truly commit ECAASU to social justice, then it is imperative to cut military and corporate funding and along with that, CUT ALL THE FAT. That is, eliminate “big name” performers that cost tens of thousands of dollars (where the majority of ECAASU money is spent). But in this light, the number of attendees will also decrease SIGNIFICANTLY due to the lack of “draw.” And, as you can imagine, there’s always such emphasis on the number of attendees. We always want our organization to grow, right? It makes sense that each year planners of ECAASU hope for more and more attendees–sometimes disregarding the side effects.

If we choose the other path, to stay big, corporate and government (or one or the other) funding is INEVITABLE. The Michigan U conference everyone is pointing to is on a MUCH smaller scale and thus they can AFFORD local funding–in fact, the UMass 5 College area hosts an annual 5PAN conference as well which is purely locally funded. But our attendance at 5PAN is around 200…ECAASU is over SIX times that amount. Even if we just go a bit bigger, say BSC or MAASU, they have corporate sponsors. It may be possible, for this route, for us to find government money from other areas (grants, special funds, other Departments other than Defense–like, seriously?!).

The reality is, we live in a CORPORATE, CAPITALIST nation and world. At this current point, grassroots cannot be purely grassroots when it’s a 1500-member student conference. So due to its’ scale, I believe that if any change wants to be made to ECAASU, there has to be a compromise (big, social conference or smaller, less emphasis on numbers). The mission has to be reevaluated. The conference board and national has to be on the same page.

In conclusion, I’d just like to raise another consistently overlooked topic, and that’s PROGRAMMING. I’ve been to ECAASU before, and BAASIC…and I consistently see a few of the same appalling workshops on rotation year after year. As the programming chair for UMass Amherst, I was careful to include as many critical, educational workshops as I could, and exclude the unecessary. But in fact, I was forced to add extra “fun” workshops to the program like..”a sushi making workshop.” What are people doing at ECAASU? What has it become? Why would you travel a hundred miles to MAKE FUCKING SUSHI?

I’m dismayed, disappointed, and defeated. Year after year, we continuously see ridiculous workshops like “BETTER ASIAN MAN,” whom I seriously despise. His “feedback” page on his website boasts thank you letters from programmers from BAASIC, ECAASU, and NYCAASC, thanking him for his “awesome” workshop, which in fact remains misogynistic, sexist, and perpetuates stereotypes. So while we critique funding and sponsorship, can we also take a look at programming? And even entertainers? Stand up comedians who joke about other races and women are NOT funny.

I’m glad for this “controversy” if it opens up new avenues for discussion. Can we talk now? And National Board, will you listen and attempt enforcement? ECAASU’s direction needs to be decided, and the programming needs to be monitored.

Where is our movement going? Are we all working towards the same goal? Are we making progress? WHY ARE WE SO AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT, AND MAKE TIDES? A revolution is in order.

I’m tired of this bullshit.

Something needs to change.