Story by Meredith Melland
Recorded by Anna Retzlaff
Produced by Richie Requena
This final installment of The B-Side for the academic year features a look back at Northwestern University students’ protest to establish an Asian American studies program. In the award-winning piece, “Northwestern’s Asian American Studies Hunger Strike, 25 Years Later,” former Associate Editor and Web Developer Meredith Melland takes an extensive look back at the perspectives of former students who went on hunger strike to fight for the now-established Asian American studies program.
“Student support and student advocacy for the program, as well as student participation in the program, has meant that the Asian American studies program has been able to become an intellectual, academic, scholarly campus home for students and for faculty, where ideas thrive, people develop projects, and students grow and mature,” Ji-Yeon Yuh said. “I think that because of that, we will be able to thrive for a long time to come.”
The B-Side: Northwestern's Asian American Studies Hunger Strike, 25 Years Later