Asian American Students 4 Action
Asian American Students 4 Action (4A) was a student organization founded in 2014 and was active until 2022. According to the 4A's COSO constitution, the group was created in pursuit of Asian and Asian American political advocacy. 4A members committed to publish annual reports on the state of Asian and Asian American issues, hold discussions and events to reflect on Asian and Asian American identity, get involved in national conferences, and meet with Dartmouth faculty and administrators to ensure that the needs of Asian and Asian American students were recognized.
In many ways, 4A advanced the pursuit of an Asian American studies program at Dartmouth through advocacy, and in turn became a community and social scene for many Asian and Asian American students who wished to be involved in politics and activism. 4A alumni and documents note that the organization felt the need to differentiate itself from DAO, which was more social in nature, as administration and others struggled to see how separate the two groups' goals were.
As the more involved members of 4A began to graduate or drift away from the organization due to the disagreements and tensions that are inherent to activism, and as the pandemic stripped students of convenient ways to maintain social connection, 4A dissolved. Although the organization does not exist anymore, 4A's push for Asian American studies and imprint on student movements on campus lives on through new iterations of political movements like the Dartmouth Asian American Studies Coalition (DAASC).
Asian American Studies
One of 4A's primary goals as a group was to push for the establishment of Asian American studies at Dartmouth. In order to achieve these goals, the organization created an Asian American Studies Task Force which frequently met with faculty and administration to discuss new hires related to Asian American Studies in various departments, reached out to Asian and Asian American alumni for support, attended Asian American studies conferences outside of Dartmouth, and even created hiring and department proposals. The Asian American Studies Task Force dedicated itself to learning the ins and outs of Dartmouth’s bureaucracy to learn the technicalities of how an Asian American studies department might come to fruition.
Outside of that, 4A members also wanted to build the foundations for Asian American studies at Dartmouth through education of themselves and the student body. Some 4A members built their own course, entitled "Student Initiated Seminar on Asian American Studies," under the advisory of Alexander Chee. Students built the syllabus for the course, and led discussions each week, studying articles that covered all facets of Asian American experiences. 4A also hosted teach-ins and advertised courses already offered in other departments relating to Asian American Studies to the student body in an effort to get more people interested in the potential for institutionalized Asian American Studies.
#fight4facultyofcolor Protest at Dartmouth (2016)
Students gathered around Parkhurst Hall, protesting Dartmouth's treatment of faculty of color as part of the #fight4facultyofcolor movement
The Fight for Faculty of Color
Following the denial of Professor Aimee Bahng's tenure in 2016, 4A rallied behind the #fight4facultyofcolor movement. Professor Bahng was an Asian Americanist in Dartmouth's English department and was influential as she was a teacher, advisor, and friend to many Asian American students. The movement produced a petition to overturn the decision on Professor Bahng's tenure which garnered nearly 4,000 signatures. Students called for the tenure process system to be reviewed in light of biases against faculty of color. The movement at Dartmouth made headlines and contributed to a national movement to support faculty of color.
A key moment in the movement at Dartmouth was on May 27, 2016, when around 120 students protested outside of Parkhurst hall in response to the unfair treatment towards faculty of color, particularly those focused on ethnic studies. Students placed roses in a coffin, signifying "the death of the scholarship of faculty who have left." Students also wore numbers representing the 36 faculty of color who had left the college since 2002 up until that point. They read statements from former Dartmouth faculty members of color regarding their reasons for leaving and how they have fared outside the institution.
According to 4A alumni, the #fight4facultyofcolor movement reached across racial boundaries, serving as a beacon for racial solidarity.
Annual "Where are the Asians? Panel
Every year, 4A held a panel titled "Where are the Asians?" in which Asian and Asian American students graduating that year would discuss Asian American identity, their involvement in politics and activism, and their plans for the future. 4A members would nominate politicized Asian and Asian American seniors to speak on the panel about their experiences at Dartmouth to other students.
The panel's goal was to be an annual event that honored outgoing Asian and Asian American students at the college and to generate a sense of community, inspiration, and belonging for underclassmen.