Whether you see him hanging out in Olin or gracing the “Roving Reporter,” Fielding Hong ’07 is that guy you see everywhere and just want to know more about. Hong is a stylish mid-westerner and he has a lot to say.
Laura: Do you have an iPod?
Fielding: My iPod’s been broken for years. I got it discounted when I bought my computer through Wesleyan, and then it broke, soon thereafter. I sent it in, but they didn’t fix it.
Justin: They just said no, we’re not going to fix it?
F: Yeah, they said it wasn’t broken.
J: So tell me about your thesis. You’re working on a senior thesis film?
F: Yes, it’s a digital film. It’s about an Asian American male struggling with his identity; not only as someone who’s Asian American but also as someone who’s a male. Sort of the gender roles that are prescribed, and the ways in which he, sort of, can’t belong to dominant ideas of maleness, I guess.
J: Does this hit close to home for you as an Asian American male?
F: Yeah it does, I mean, it’s not autobiographical, but a lot of it came from things I’ve dealt with and I continue to deal with.
J: I’ve read that you’re from Iowa. Do you know any other people here from Iowa?
F: I don’t think so; I know maybe three people including myself, so I guess I know two people.
L: I know you said [questions] about your ethnicity come up a lot [on campus]. Is it the same at home?
F: There’s not that many people of color in Iowa. I think the last statistic I read was Iowa’s four percent non-white. I think my family and maybe two other families made up the people of color population in my rural community. I guess [Iowa’s] not really that different besides the landscape, and the majority of jobs people hold. I think the same dynamics of privilege and oppression that exist at Wesleyan are the same; they exist where I grew up. I think it’s maybe more disheartening that it’s at the Wesleyan community because my assumption is that there’s more access to knowledge about issues of diversity and oppression if people seek them out, but there really wasn’t where I came from.
L: Are you in the Midwest club?
F: I was, but it was really lame.
L: I see the bandanna you have.
J: It’s really western.
F: Oh, well I’m just trying to be really hip.
J: What are your feelings on the elections?
F: I guess I feel good that the democrats took the house. Perhaps we’re in a better position than we were with both houses and the executive branch being Republican, but I’m just really skeptical if it’s going to make that big of a difference.
L: Did you vote in Iowa?
F: I actually chose not to vote this year. I’ve just been thinking about the myth of the democratic process in this country and what it means to participate in the state in that way. I’m fine with my decision; I don’t know if I’m going to continue to abstain from voting in the future. Just thinking about who’s enfranchised and who’s disenfranchised in this country and the candidates that run in this country and who their allegiance or support is for and not always.
L: Is there anywhere in particular that you’d like to go to live or work after this?
F: I’m not sure. Lately I’ve been telling people that I’m trying to get to Korea, either through a grant or some sort of program. I would like to try to find some family; my dad’s grandmothers were “Picture Brides” in 1913 and 1914 and his grandfathers were both migrant laborers before that. I would also like to just learn more about Korea and that aspect of my history.
J: I noticed at the bottom of your e-mail you had some sayings in Hawaiian; is there anyone in your family who’s Hawaiian?
F: My dad and most of his family is from Hawaii. Last time I visited, which was a long time ago, we went to the royal palace where Queen Lili?uokalani was in prison for many years when US imperialists/capitalists took over the country as a business venture and situated it so it could be annexed by the US government. She sewed that saying onto a blanket, which means “strive for the summit.”
J: To totally change subjects, I see that you’re in the roving reporter a lot, do you have any idea why that is?
F: Probably because every time I see the roving reporter I hound them. I just think it’s a really funny page. I really like to be really college-y sometimes.
L: Yeah, I see you in Olin a lot.
F: Oh, yeah, the library’s definitely college-y. I don’t really spend as much time there as I used to, just because I used to spend every waking moment there.
L: Do you feel bad about that?
F: I don’t really miss it at all. I’m really only there when I have to be.
J: What about the name Fielding; is that a family name?
F: Yeah, it’s an age-old Scottish name; it was my grandfather’s middle name, then his father was Fielding Williams, and it goes back and forth between the generations.
J: Are you going to continue the tradition?
F: Um, I don’t know. I like my name, we’ll see.
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