The Undergraduate Advisory Board

The Undergraduate Advisory Board (UAB) for Asian American Studies (ASAM) at the University of Pennsylvania has been established to facilitate the improvement of the Asian American Studies program. It is committed to addressing current issues that pertain to the development of the ASAM program.

UAB Members

Eswarie Subrahmanyam Balan UAB Member Eswarie has been a member of the ASAM UAB since Fall 2006. She is a Dual Degree Candidate: Bachelor of Science in Economics concentrating in Actuarial Science and Finance, Bachelor of Arts in Economics Email: eswarie@wharton.upenn.edu

Rahima Dosani UAB Member Rahima Dosani is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Health & Societies and South Asian Studies, with a career interest in global health in Asia. Born in Pakistan and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she is involved with a variety of Asian American interest groups on campus. Apart from the Asian American Studies Undergraduate Advisory Board, Rahima is co-chair of PEER, Penn’s Pan-Asian American Mentoring Program, a graduate of APALI, a PAACH Advisory Board Member, and is involved with the South Asian Society and the Muslim Students Association. Email: rahimafd@sas.upenn.edu

Mary He Work-Study Student and UAB Member Mary He is a sophomore majoring in management and marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also interested in East Asian languages and culture. Email: maryhe@wharton.upenn.edu Office: 166 McNeil

Elizabeth Lee UAB Member Elizabeth is a sophomore in the College, double-majoring in English and History. Her concentrations include gender studies and Hispanic studies. In addition to the Asian American Studies UAB, she is also involved with ALLIES and Propaganda Silk. Email: Elmlee@sas.upenn.edu

Brian Singh Work-Study Student and UAB Member Brian is currently a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a double majoring in Economics and South Asian Studies along with a minor in Consumer Psychology. Brian also plans to study abroad at the School of Oriental and Africana Studies at the University of London this coming spring. Email: sabrian@sas.upenn.edu Office: 166 McNeil

ASAM UAB Constitution

I. Statement of Purpose
The Undergraduate Advisory Board (UAB) of the Asian American Studies Program (ASAM) at the University of Pennsylvania has been established to facilitate the improvement of the Asian American Studies program in the following ways:

A. to promote and facilitate communication between students and faculty;
B. to serve as peer advisors for current and prospective ASAM minors;
C. to develop and maintain the Asian American Resource Collection;
D. to enhance the quality of the ASAM curriculum;
E. to help increasing enrollments in the ASAM curriculum;
F. to survey student evaluations of the ASAM curriculum to meet students' needs;
G. to participate in the expansion of the current ASAM minor to a major curriculum;
H. to increase general awareness of and interest in the ASAM program;
I. to provide a voice for ASAM within and outside the Asian Pacific American (APA) community at Penn;
J. to promote unity within the APA community;
K. to organize events that promote or relate to ethnic studies.

II. Structure of the ASAM UAB
A. Basic Setup

1. The ASAM UAB consists of five members. Most if not all of them are ASAM minors.

2. Members come from a diverse background in schools, graduation years, and majors. Members share different positions in the board. They are Chair, Secretary, Internal Coordinator, Community Coordinator, and Publicity/External Coordinator.

B. Membership

1. Each term of membership of the ASAM UAB lasts two semesters. Members are selected at the end of every spring semester by the ASAM faculty and the UAB members of the present term.

2. Applicants, including members who wish to continue their membership, need to submit an application to the ASAM program's director via e-mail by the deadline, which the director and the UAB determine.

3. Under normal circumstances, ASAM minors will be given the priority to serve on the board.

C. Election within the UAB

1. The new board should meet for the first time after the announcement of the next year's board is announced and before the end of the spring semester. Elections within the board should be held at that time.

2. Members who renew their terms should call a meeting among all members to decide on the roles and responsibilities in which each member will assume. All members should be informed of the basic structure of the board, and that elections will be held at the first meeting.

3. At the meeting, members should make a brief statement to show their intent to run for the positions.

4. Members should vote on each position, unless all members consent to another method. Members should apply the simple majority rule, such that for each position, the candidate with the largest number of votes wins.

 

III. Responsibilities for All UAB Members

A. Participation

1. Participation in the UAB should remain each member's primary responsibility.
2. Members are expected to attend every meeting on time.
3. In case of absences, the chair needs to be informed at least a day in advance.
4. Members are expected to remain at the meeting for its entirety.

B. Preparation for the Meetings

1. Members need to be prepared for the meetings. This includes e-mailing the Chair contents of the agenda at least a day before each meeting, such as progress of individual projects, deadlines, and announcements.

2. Members need to maintain responsibility over their individual projects.

IV. Roles and Responsibilities for Individual UAB Members

A. Chair
1. Coordinates and supervises all activities of the UAB.
2. Primary representative to the Asian Pacific Student Coalition (APSC) (with the Community Coordinator), the ASAM Steering Committee, the Pluralism Committee, etc. The Chair attends meetings held by the Committees when his/her attendance is needed.
3. Sets meeting times and agenda items and runs the meetings.
4. Maintains direct communication with the ASAM director and faculty.
5. Visions.

B. Secretary

1. Takes meeting minutes and reports them via e-mail prior to the next meeting.

2. Maintains (with the Internal Coordinator) the asamuab@dolphin.upenn.edu account. Updates the account's registration with the Office of Student Life every semester.

3. Designs and updates the ASAM homepage. ccat.sas.upenn.edu/asam.

4. Creates and maintains the ASAM calendar of events, which includes deadlines of individual projects and other important dates.

5. Drafts the ASAM UAB Constitution, which helps to set precedents for the boards in the future.

C. Internal Coordinator

1. Coordinates the Asian American Resource Collection, including collecting materials, budgeting, fundraising, sponsorship, and the logistics.

2. Maintains and schedules office hours for peer advising purposes.

3. Prepares and distributes course evaluations, which are held at the end of every semester. The Internal Coordinator also compiles the results, and arranges meetings with the faculty to discuss the results. Maintains (with the Secretary) the asamuab@dolphin account.

D. Community Coordinator

1. Primary representative (with the Chair) to the APSC and its Political Action Committee. The Community Coordinator represents the ASAM UAB at APSC's biweekly coalition meetings.

2. Primary representative to the member organizations within the APSC.

3. Primary representative to the Asian Pacific American Heritage Week; coordinates ASAM UAB--sponsored events.

4. Notes all general meetings, announcements, newsletters of the Asian/Asian American organizations.

5. Maintains communication with the academic departments which have courses that crosslist with ASAM courses. Some of the departments are Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, English, Folklore, History, Sociology, South Asia Regional Studies, and Urban Studies.

E. External/Publicity Coordinator

1. Creates all fliers and visuals.

2. Coordinates all publicity efforts, such as mixers.

3. Updates the ASAM brochure and coordinates the distribution.

4. Updates "ASAM & you", a poster that connects ASAM courses with the four schools' academic requirements. The current course listing can be obtained from the ASAM director.

5. Maintains communication with different schools in terms of their ASAM policy.

6. Coordinates Major Fairs (organized by the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education every semester), from scheduling time slots to preparing materials for the event.

7. Creates new publicity projects. Possible items include bookmarks, stickers, and frisbees.

V. Electronic Account

All Articles of the ASAM UAB Constitution are subject to amendments as the ASAM program and the UAB evolve over time. The UAB has the authority to amend any part of the constitution, provided that UAB members achieve unanimous consent to the amendments, and that the board informs the faculty of any significant changes.