Mabuhay ignored

It disheartens me that for the second year in a row the Argus has either chosen not to or failed to cover in its reporting Mabuhay, one of Wesleyan’s most significant and well-attended events of the year – and certainly one of the highlights of [April] Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. More than one hundred organizers and performers from varying Asian and Asian American communities on campus worked tirelessly over four months to put together the type of show that would not only adequately provide a “safe space” for Asian and Asian American artistic expression but one that would also, quite simply, be great for everyone.

No one reasonably expects the Argus to cover everything that takes place on campus, and of course, the Argus certainly reserves the right to maintain control over the selection of material for coverage. At the same time, the particular issues that are covered and eventually printed are indicative of what the Argus staff deems worthy of reporting. The Asian/Asian American community makes up 16% of Wesleyan’s student population; Mabuhay being its “it” show of the year. That the Argus does not see Mabuhay as being an event fit for coverage is problematic, indeed, especially since this year’s Mabuhay opened to a full house at Crowell Concert Hall. Mabuhay is not just an Asian/Asian American tradition; it is a Wesleyan tradition.

One more thing, Mabuhay is not an “Asian American Cultural Show,” as Argus Staff Writer Evan Barton chose to mark out the event in “Convocation Sets Off Identity Celebration (04/05/2005).” Surely, the reporter’s intentions were good, attempting to briefly provide a context for a word many of his readers could very well have found foreign. But, would anyone dare call Jubilee the “African American Cultural Show?” Beyond political incorrectness, the designation makes little sense. For the past three years, the Mabuhay Committee has made a conscious effort to refer to the show as “The Asian/Asian American Show” – as dry as the clarification may be – in its recruitment and promotion of the show because the Committee was unable to satisfactorily define either “Asian culture” or “Asian American culture.”