Iowa State has a Black Cultural Center and a Centro Latino, a center which focuses on Latino culture. There are African-American student groups and Hispanic student groups. But what about Asian-American student groups?

“Asian students happen to be overlooked,” said Grif Kolberg, public relations director of the Asian Pacific American Awareness Coalition.

Prior to this fall when APAAC formed, there was no organization that brought all Asian-American students together as a collective, Kolberg said. Due to this, Iowa State students Theresa Thomas and Vang Lee organized and formed APAAC.

Asian-American students are the second largest minority group on campus, with 519 students, according to the Office of the Registrar.

“When you think of minorities on campus you think of blacks first and Latinos second, which seems odd because Asian Americans are the second largest minority group on campus,” Kolberg said. “And when you include international students Asians are the largest minority group on campus. Despite this, we’re second on the totem pole when it comes to recognition.”

Kolberg said he’s not asking the university to give Asian students special recognition, he said he’s simply looking for respect and equality.

APAAC has about 40 or 45 students currently involved, said Bao Thao, APAAC adviser. “APAAC is open to anyone interested in learning about Asian-American issues and history,” Thao said.

Some of the purposes of APAAC include bringing Asian Americans together and gaining a cultural awareness of the diversity of various Asian cultures, Kolberg said.

“I’m originally from South Korea, but I’m not even familiar with my own culture. I’m anxious to learn more about Asian cultures,” Kolberg said.

As public relations director, Kolberg serves as a contact with administrators and different organizations on campus. He also helps recruit minority students and serves as a contact for them.

“We are trying to get freshmen and sophomores — especially Asian students — more active in student activities. We want to get students who live in the residence halls to get involved and to interact with students who live off campus,” Kolberg said.

APAAC holds meetings where they plan activities on campus. They had a rave dance last semester. “We couldn’t believe the response; we had over 500 people show up,” Kolberg said.

Kolberg said he was “overwhelmed” to see the cultural diversity and all the racial groups getting along at the rave.

APAAC is planning for Asian Heritage Week on March 24-29, as well as Asian Pacific Heritage Month in May. The heritage week will include educational films, lectures, discussion groups, performances, educational seminars and a banquet, Thao said.

Ronald Takaki, a nationally known ethnic studies scholar at UCLA at Berkeley, will give a lecture during the heritage week. Takaki has written several books and has appeared on CNN.

APAAC will also have a fund-raising rave dance at Johnny Orr’s Sports Bar and Grill on March 1.

“This will help cover the costs of Asian week. We don’t receive much [Government of the Student Body] money so we need all the help we can get,” Lee said.

Thomas said APAAC has been getting more politically involved in recent weeks, lending some support to The September 29th Movement.

“We’re getting all minority groups to come together for solidarity as a group: the Black Student Alliance, United Native American Student Association, American Indian Rights Organization, Mexican American Young Achiever’s Society.”

Lee stresses that APAAC is open to everyone, not just Asians. “We have so much to learn from one another,” he said.