Introduction:
October 29th, 1999 students at the University of Pennsylvania hold the “Speakout” rally to push for the creation of an Asian American resource center. November 11th, 2000 Pan-Asian American Community House an Asian American resource center celebrates it’s grand opening. April 30th, 2002 students, faculty, and staff gathered at PAACH to say goodbye to the first director of PAACH, Karen Su, her husband Mark Chiang, and their daughter Miya.

April 30th, 2002 marked two-years of the Pan-Asian American Community House and Miya’s second birthday. Karen Su had served as the director of the Pan-Asian American Community House since its grand opening in the Fall of 2000. In two years time both Miya and the Pan-Asian American Community House had grown and matured. Miya had grown out of her baby clothes, could walk on her own, and form basic sentences. PAACH had also grown; it had formed its own reputation with its own programming, advising, and resources.

Following the reception a freshman asked, “It’s not that hard is it to get a resource center?”

An idea is born:
Asian Pacific Student Coalition (APSC) was an umbrella organization formed in 1995 to bring together the numerous Asian American groups together to facilitate communication between the groups and create a stronger uniform Asian American voice on Penn’s campus. Fall of 1999, APSC was faced with the universal problem of what issues to focus on for the upcoming year. During the course of a meeting a board member stated in frustration that it was necessary to focus on one issue and one issue only. The issue that was decided upon was to push the administration for the creation of an Asian American resource center at Penn.

The rationale for a resource center was that it addressed a multitude of problems within a single issue. APSC perceived that there was a lack of staff for Asian American programming and that the Asian American Studies program lacked strong visibility on Penn’s campus. A resource center would require new staff to be hired to staff the center and a resource center could provide a central point on campus for disseminating information about Asian American Studies. Furthermore, there were documented histories of students pushing for resource centers at Penn.

From that meeting, the APSC board took the proposal an Asian American resource center to its constituents. A resource center for Asian Americans was not a new issue for APSC constituents. There had been a perpetual problem of groups not having physical places to hold meetings, storage for props from cultural shows, and staff for mentoring and advising on Asian American issues.

APSC constituents voted to support the push for an Asian American resource center. This vote marked the first of many consensus that would be reached before PAACH opened its doors in the Fall of 2000.

Organizing:
Fall of 1999 - many groups rallied together in support for an Asian American resource center. Coalition building formed from the personal relationships of students, faculty, and staff lead to a clear and visible campaign.

Students organized around the benefits that a resource center would have on their individual organizations. Common themes that developed were a need for performance space for performing groups, advising for programming and events, and a desire for a central location on campus where Asian American students could come together to share and promote Asian American issues and culture.

Faculty organized around the benefits of a resource center that could promote student’s academic interests in Asian American Studies and related disciplines. Faculty involvement resulted directly from students contacting them.

Staff were interested in the benefits that an Asian American resource center could have on student life and the overall benefits to the Penn community in providing an educational and social center for students.

Strategies:
Through the coalitions that were formed between students, faculty, and staff, many meetings occurred that defined the approach that would be taken in communicating with the administration. During a meeting at 1920s Commons, many opinions were articulated about what actions should be taken. It was decided that a rally should be held to publicize the need for an Asian American resource center at Penn. The rally would be entitled “Speakout” and would feature student and faculty speakers.

The decision for a rally prompted the need to generate a declaration of intent that would articulate the concerns of the students involved in the rally. This declaration would need to be approved by all the APSC members and then distributed to members of the Penn community. The declaration highlighted the concerns of the Asian American community at Penn and referenced several reports that recommended the creation of an Asian American resource center.

In addition to the declaration, there was a need to create generic fliers that would garner support for the rally. These fliers were based on the idea of a report card for the university. The message that the flier needed to send was that the administration was failing to meet the needs of the Asian American community. The flier was created and it was posted widely. Students utilized known sources of free printing / copying to mass-produce the flyer. An estimated 1,000 + sheets of propaganda were produced.

The press (both campus and local) was contacted prior to the rally in hope of raising awareness about the issues facing Asian American students at Penn. The large press campaign lead to the success of the “Speakout” rally.

Speakout:
“Speakout” was structured to accompany an event for Asian Pacific American Heritage Week that would be held in the center of campus on October 29th, 1999. APSC constituent groups set up tables to sell food while a stage at the side featured performances and the “Speakout” speakers. Two television networks were present at the event to cover the speakers. The event was also recorded on videotape for future reference. The speakers focused on various themes that supported the declaration that had been drafted. A “Fact Sheet” was also distributed during the “Speakout” to elaborate on the points made by the declaration.

Favorable coverage of the “Speakout” event resulted from the careful planning of the organizers. Great care was taken to ensure that the reasons for the rally were clearly understood by all and well documented. The publicity that “Speakout” received propelled a series of editorials that would further highlight the efforts of Asian American students in the creation of an Asian American resource center.

Meeting with University President:
Following Speakout, it was decided that it was time to approach the administration. One morning during the week of November 15th at 9:00 AM, a group of approximately twenty students entered College Hall and requested a meeting with Dr. Judith Rodin, the University President. Initially, the students were told that the president was not in the office. The students informed the receptionist that they would wait for the president to arrive. The president arrived shortly thereafter, and a meeting was set for 10:00 AM. The speed in which a meeting with Dr. Rodin was arranged was exceptionally quick. Dr. Rodin had a reputation for rarely meeting with students. During the past year,, student groups had had success with meeting with Dr. Rodin by mobilizing a large group of people to enter her office. These tactics had successfully been used the previous day by the Penn Students Against Sweatshops to obtain a meeting with Dr. Rodin.

During the meeting, students presented their concerns from the declaration. The President was prepared to address the concerns of the students and insisted that the tone of the declaration and Speakout was “hostile”. At times when the President appeared unable to directly address students concerns, the Director of External Affairs, Jen Baldino would interject to address the students concerns. After about 45 minutes, a secretary called the President away from the meeting.

The outcome of the meeting was that the President requested that a proposal for the resource center be drafted to be reviewed by her office. The students also gained valuable insight on the tactics of the Presidents office. The meeting demonstrated that the President's office had researched the statements of both the fact sheet and the declaration and had prepared responses. The President captured the majority of the conversation time in long responses that prevented students from making further inquiries. The appearance of a secretary to call the President away from the meeting provided an acceptable excuse for her to leave the meeting.

Strategic Plan:
Following the meeting with Dr. Rodin, students, faculty, and staff began the process of drafting a strategic plan for the creation of an Asian American resource center. The creation of the strategic plan was coordinated by a smaller group of people due to logistical reasons.

The strategic plan focused on presenting a blueprint of the future of an Asian American resource center. The mission statement was carefully worded to match the goals of the University. This was intended to make integration with other University resource centers seamless. Mention of the openness of the center was made to address the President's concern that an Asian American resource center would have a detrimental affect on campus life by creating an exclusive student center.

The name Pan-Asian American Community House was chosen to address concerns by students. Originally, the name focused on the term Asian Pacific American. Representatives of the South Asian Society and Sangam (South Asian political organization) expressed concern over the use of Asian Pacific American. There contention was that APA excluded South Asians. Finally the term “Pan-Asian” evolved as a compromise. “Community House” originated from mimicking the College House, Writer’s House, etc… convention of names.

The goals of PAACH are outlined clearly in the Strategic Plan. This was done to provide tangible goals for the center. The goals address the issues outlined in the declaration. The strategic plan consisted of sections on: Mission, Strategic Goals and Objectives, Development of PAACH Infrastructure, Programs and Initiatives, Academics, Development and Alumni/ae Relations, and Resources.

Waiting for a response:
The strategic plan for PAACH was submitted prior to Thanksgiving 1999. During the drafting of the strategic plan, and while students awaited a response from the administration, activity continued from the group that had worked on “Speakout”. Emphasis was shifted to highlight the potential benefits of having an Asian American resource center. Flyers and quarter-sheets were distributed that quickly summarized the goals of the strategic plan.

The Response:
January of 2000 the University president, Dr. Judith Rodin responded to the proposal for the creation of the Pan-Asian American Community House. She stated that there were many merits to the proposal. The process of drafting a budget and locating a space for PAACH was next addressed. The budget plan was primarily created with the assistance of faculty, staff, and students. The location was determined by a recently created a university committee, “Locust Walk Committee” .

PAACH becomes a Reality:
Summer of 2000 a search committee was formed to enlist a director for PAACH. Due to budget constraints the role of director was made into a split position between Asian American Studies (ASAM) and PAACH. Dr. Karen Su was chosen after an exhaustive search of many candidates. A part-time assistant program coordinator, Yen Ling Shek, was also hired to serve a split role with the Pan-Asian American Community House and the Greenfield Intercultural Center. In the winter of 2001, Kusum Soin was hired as an administrative assistant. The staff of PAACH provided the leadership necessary in defining the newly created center and achieving the goals outlined by the strategic plan.

The Locust Walk committee placed PAACH in the newly purchased 3601 Locust Walk (later named “The ARCH”) with La Casa Latina (Latino Resource Center), Greenfield Intercultural Center Satellite Office, UMOJA (African American resource center, later named Makuu), Student Performing Arts, Student Performing Arts Council, and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.