Elizabeth Zu Elizabeth Zu

Profiles for APAHM: Maya Lin

Maya Lin is an award-winning artist, architect and designer. Read more about her in this profile in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage month.

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David Kim David Kim

The Common Cold: A Review

In which I rate the common cold on a 5-star scale in the style of John Green’s “The Anthropocene Reviewed.”

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Anjali Thontakudi Anjali Thontakudi

Indian Classical Dance, Commodified

Rangapravesams and Arangetrams are landmark performances in Indian classical dancers’ careers, allowing them to push the limits of their technique, strength, and artistry. But many Bay Area dance schools have turned these celebrated performances into marketing machines, losing sight of their purpose in the process.

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Elizabeth Zu Elizabeth Zu

Why Asian Skincare is trending in the US

In late 2018, Sephora launched its first K-Beauty collaboration with Memebox, introducing the Western beauty world into Asian beauty. And just this September, the Korean brand Innisfree had its exclusive launch at Sephora. This marked another major milestone for the growth of Asian beauty in the West.

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Megan Li Megan Li

A Sweet Return to Neopets

On a whim, I decided that at 19 years old, it was high time to make a reappearance on Neopets. The website had given me so much as a child, and I was caught with the sudden urge to see if it were possible to relive those happy days.

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Big Straw Big Straw

Big Straw does Inktober

This past October, Big Straw gathered some Inktober submissions from the CMU community and our members also attempted the challenge.

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Kevin Geng Kevin Geng

Little Fires Everywhere

Isn't it fair to say that if May Ling stays with you and Mr. McCullough, she will effectively be divorced from her birth culture?

This is the question that lawyer Ed Lim poses to Mrs. McCullough in Celeste Ng's 2017 novel, Little Fires Everywhere.

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Catherine Du Catherine Du

#MeToo and Asian Survivors

Two years ago, a wave of sexual harassment claims swept across Hollywood, transforming the industry and changing the way society treats survivors. But the #MeToo movement should not claim all survivors’ experiences as universal.

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Yiran Xuan Yiran Xuan

Four Symbols of Eastern Mythology

As a typical nerdy 2nd grader, I was drawn to flashy monster/robot-based franchises: Transformers, Pokemon, Zoids, Bionicle, etc. I even had brief obsession with Beyblades despite owning only a dark blue one, because it came with a buildable model of a mechanical dragon that was absolutely sick. I did as much research as a 7-year old’s attention span would allow and found that Beyblades even had its own anime. Which of course, was a completely accurate portrayal of real Beyblading.

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Sophie Zhang Sophie Zhang

Pokémon and Mythology

Over the past 23 years, creators at Nintendo have been making more than 800 unique Pokémon. In designing these creatures, creators turned to many sources for inspiration. Some Pokémon are based on real-life creatures such as animals and items, while others are actually based on ancient myths, legends, and folklore.

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David Kim David Kim

Hong Kong protests: A brief timeline

What was once a massive, peaceful demonstration has now erupted into bouts of riot shields and tear gas as Hong Kong protesters continue working against recent legislative introductions. 

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Anthony Su Anthony Su

A Family's Farewell

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell captures the plight of a Chinese American in the life of a modern Chinese household. With so many families now split across countries and continents, many Chinese households find their own parents and siblings identifying in different ways. While all can trace a cultural and ethnic heritage to China, their newfound identities often dictate the way they think and act in the situation regarding their grandmother’s sickness.

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Elizabeth Zu Elizabeth Zu

Webnovels: Found in Translation

The dominant perception of cultural exchange between the East and the West has long been a mostly one-sided export of western culture. But the tide is turning. In fact, thanks to the Internet, it has been gradually turning for years now.

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Amy Luo Amy Luo

Paper Menagerie

“The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu is a short story about a boy named Jack who struggles to reconcile his biracial identity, having a white father and a Chinese mother. Growing up, Jack played with a menagerie of colorful origami animals his mother would make for him. Magic unfolded before his eyes as lifeless paper transformed into lively, animated creatures.

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Anthony Su Anthony Su

Me and Ama: A Recap of ITASA National Conference 2019

Fourteen members from Carnegie Mellon University’s Taiwanese Students Association took the long drive to Philadelphia to attend the 2019 ITASA National Conference. The conference this year placed a deliberate emphasis on Taiwanese identity and tackled the difficult topics of social and political identity among those who identify as Taiwanese Americans.

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Big Straw Big Straw

Malaysian for Every Occasion

Selamat datang! Malaysia is a very diverse and colorful pan-Asian country that unites everyone around one thing: its famously delicious food.

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