Asian American Studies 197B
Spring Quarter 2002

Reflection Journal 1
Ken Ichiroku, "Overcoming a UCLA-centric Attitude"

It can be said that a person is simply a product of their environment. The UCLA-centric attitude that views internship as meeting student needs for career development is everywhere. UCLA boasts itself as an "elite" institution, accepting only the "best" students, training them to be "future leaders." This type of thinking begins at the level of University Officials and permeates everything that it comes into contact with, including the thinking of the students who have gone through the process of applying to UCLA. Entering students (myself included) are quite often "consumers" looking for the best quality education around. The advertising produced by the university is a powerful factor in shaping the self-image of the students at UCLA. That is, students become aware of the difficulty of entering UCLA. Upon entering a sense of elitism among the students is already present, as they are among the "best" in the country. As more and more students enter the university, the cache of simply being a graduate of UCLA is less powerful. Internships are often seen as a tool for making each UCLA student more distinctive than the rest of the pack. It is hoped that these internships and the increased distinctiveness will make the students more attractive candidates for professional or post-graduate endeavors. As a student who is on the verge of completing this cycle, I see that I have prescribed to the above thought process in preparation for entering the job market.

I think that it will be relatively easy to shift from a UCLA centric attitude toward a more community-based orientation. Actually, I think I have already begun that process.

To break out of the UCLA centric thinking, I believe that students must realize that they are members of a community. This community exists somewhere. Whether it is the greater community of the city where they live, or a specific ethnic community, everyone is part of a community. It is these communities that often greatly influence the trajectory of our lives, that is, the course that our lives will take. This is not to say that the community bands together to make collective decisions or that someone is cognizant of the community influence in their lives. It is the collective experiences of the community that influence the individual’s experience and the individual’s experience in turn influences the environment in which another individual interacts. As influential as these communities are, community members often fall prey to the attribution error in which they attribute success to themselves (the person) and failures to the environment (not the person). The error lies in the fact that the community is always an influence, in times of success and in times of failure. In addition, students (community members) must realize that communities as a concept, cannot support itself without support from members within the community. Once students realize they are part of a cycle of achievement, that the community cannot function without THEIR input, they will be able to take a more active part in their respective communities. Specifically, getting involved with organizations on campus is an excellent way to become aware of issues in many different communities. Once aware of the issues, taking ethnic studies or sociology classes can provide a background of information. This information is necessary to form a framework to operate.

The existing beliefs about their own academic achievement are not necessarily a problem of "big heads." It is more of a problem of egocentrism. That is for many students, they believe that their reality of privilege and academic achievement is the reality for everyone. They agree that not everyone gets into UCLA, but everyone goes to college, somewhere, or at least they should. For many students, this belief is understandable. They are not the first or the second generation to go to college. Many of their contemporaries also are in this category. Their friends, and family have all achieved, or attempted to achieve success in academia. To these people, this is the only reality that they have known. This is a problem that can be easily repaired. If community partners and UCLA students come to the realization that their reality is not greater, better or more representative of "life" than the other, they will be able to approach each other with equal footing. They must realize that life exists outside of their fishbowl, and that it may not be the same as what they experience in their day to day routine. As equal partners they will be able to learn from each other, not in a student/teacher relationship dynamic, but as equals learning from their experiences. Once both the students and the community partners come to this understanding, simply participating in the activities of the respective internship should be sufficient to broaden the world view of many of the students.

I believe that my background in psychology (developmental and social) and Asian American studies will provide a framework of understanding to work with the community. My educational background has hopefully provided the foundation to build equal, reciprocating relations with the community partners. My service with the Nikkei Student Union at UCLA has provided me with contacts within the Asian American community and a voice to reach out to the campus community as a whole, and make them aware of issues within the Asian American community. My appreciation for the arts will hopefully provide a forum for members of the community to document their struggle and express creatively, their inner thoughts.