Theater group presents contemporary Asian issues
Jamie Pope
Here and Now. a southern Oil
ifornia theater group made up of
a< tors of Asian des< «nt, pof
traced Asian-Amaru an lift' dut
ing a performance Saturday
night at South Eugene High
School
Thu group presented various
aspects of Asian life in the l Jolt
ed Stales through a series of
v ignette typo stories The stories
dealt with t on temporary issues
in Asian-American culture One
of the Issues dealt with was vio
lent e and hate i rimes within the
Asian communities
Many of the hate < rimes
< unlimited in the Asian commu
nity are often committed by
Asians, said John Mvasaki,
diret tor of Hen- and Now "Ore
reason lor this is be< a use there
are had feelings among Asians
I yet ause their i outlines have tru
dilinnallv Im-cii at war with eat It
other
Mvasaki said tins has made it
difficult to have unity among
Asian people He believes muc h
of the friction among Asians is
starting to dissipate
The group was founded in
lhH‘1 by a frustrated Mvasaki
ami some friends Mvasaki. who
is a Japanese American, said the
reason for the frustration is that
there are not many Asians per
forming on Stage
r
i
//
I think A suin’, are
seen as the last
rat e H< were the last
minority group to
receive respect, retog
muon and political
power
- JOHN MYASAKI
dsector of Hans mxj ffcw
M«n> people believe ihot
drama is mod*' up of weird
white and him K people,” Mvasa
hi mud "This is not true
Ho also said Asian* are not
recognized for I heir talents
I think Asians are s«*ttn as the
last ra* <«, lie said We were the
last minority group to r*M.«ivw
respeit, recognition and polite
< al power "
Despite this Myasaki S.ud the
main f<x us of Here ami Now is
to entertain the publii
' I think we re trying to put
things out there to entertain,
he said We don't want trv to
dispel stereotypies about Asians
Ikkatise yve will just i reate new
stereotypes
“Our main focus is to show.
I'.dm ating people is secondary
llowovur, if someone learns
something new that's great
lie said he believes Asian
A men rans atv stereo! y|xsl hy the
=:
COUHTfcS* PMOTCVtmw**!
Here and Now, a theater group from Southern California, performed at South Eugene High School Saturday
night. The group tries to convey the struggles Asian Americans face In contemporary American society.
media
" The media presents a lot of
stereotypes about Asians," he
said We are often seen as the
enemy Stereotypes an* difficult
to c ome up against We t an only
deal with them "
Myasaki said all of the mater
ial performed by the group is
original
■ CORRECTION
Mu ht*l« iirlou was incur
rts tl\ paraphrased in an arti
i U* that ran in Friday's paper
(ODfc Mav r>) about the elim
ination of an e-mail user
group in the School of Art.hi
lls turn and Allied Art-.
I lor offn ial quote should
have been, "Trie fact that
alternate forms of communi*
< ation i nod in are available,
does not excuse censorship “
The Emerald regrets the
error
ODE CLASSIFIEDS...
L
) worth looking into!
Do you think
you can fill
these shoes?
Try out to be the Oregon Duck.
And if you’re bard working, creative
and dedicated, the shoes may just fit.
Pick up info packe t and applications at the Casanova Center front desk
Mandatory meeting at Casanova Center,Thursday, May 11 at 5:30 p m
Tryouts at 7:00 p m on Monday, May 15 at Mac Court.
For more info call Laraine Raish, 346-5485.
"Our material comes in two
ways," he said. "Hither someone
writes a pirn e. or wo all bounce
ideas off each other."
He said that everything said
on stage is personal. For exam
ple, one story was about a young
man who was in college The
boy wanted to become a mush
major However, the hoy's par
(snls were opposed to (his nml
his father told the hoy not
change his major to music. The
story ended with the hoy leaving
his home in tears.
Myasaki said such stories don't
apply only to Asian-Americans.
"Different people come to see
our shows," Myasaki said. "Kvery
culture has many stories to tell,"
Awards honor dedication
to Chicano community
Natasha Shepard
OvQon Oa*r SmttMa
University students were hon
ored for their leadership m the
Eugene Chinano community at
an awards banquet Friday spon
sored by the Chic.mo/Mexicano
Hispanic and Latino Edu< ators
(CHALE) and MEChA
The nine students recognized
were chosen mainly for their
commitment to the community,
pursuing an education and
being community leaders, said
('HALF, member Marshall
Saw edn.
"The awards program is to
recognize excellence among
Chicano and Latino students in
Eugene," Sauceda said
University students and
recent graduates Jose Luis
Balderas. Norma Cavazos
Roque, Tomas Flores. Melania
Hoskmson. Jaime Mi Nicholas.
Maria Mendoza. German Nieto
Maquehue. Carmen Rubio and
Kick Vasquez were recognized
in the University category
In addition to University stu
dents, awards were given to out
standing members of the Eugene
Public Schools program, the
High School Equivalency Pro
gram, Lane Communit y College
and MEChA.
Each program was responsible
for nominating their own candi
dates and may have had slight
ly different criteria, Sauceda
said.
"The University focused on
students that have demonstrated
outstanding leadership," he
said
The ceremony was also meant
to recognize the students’ fami
lies and reinforce a more posi
tive image of the Chicano/Latino
community in Eugene, Sauceda
said.
"Too often we see negative
portrayals of the Chicano com
munity.” he said. ‘We’re saying
that there are excellent students
Here are some of the best and
the brightest in Eugene ”
The awards ceremony includ
ed entertainment by the Ballet
Folkldrico Estudiautil, German
Nieto Maquehue and the l ane
Community College Latin
Rithm.
Adaijiza Soso Riddell of the
University of California at Davis
was the keynote speaker at the
ceremony.
Riddell chaired the Chicano
Studies Program at the Univ ersi
ty of California at Davis for JO
years and established the Chi
cana/t.atina Research Center in
1990.
:z Emerald
f- open houso
300 EMU
Tuesday, May 9,1-4