HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT 5: Student Response

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To Become a Student Activist
By Allan Lo

To become an activist is not an easy task; it requires an informal education within a formal organization. For students who want to be activists, Lu Xun and Professor Yuji Ichioka are excellent models. Although Lu Xun and Professor Ichioka were living in different times, both men accomplished the same goal — they established cultural movements. Their legacies have and continue to inspire students of today and for generation to come to follow their footsteps. Both Lu Xun and Professor Ichioka were scholars and activists, and they have contributed so much to academic movements in China and in the U.S., respectively. Their accomplishments have benefited millions of students. In fact, Professor Ichioka is called “ the Father of Asian America Studies.”

We are privileged as students at UCLA, one of the finest universities in the country, because we have our brains to absorb profound ideas, and theories; however, there is no course to teach us how to be humble. Thus, we can only learn from our experiences. As student activists, we should be flexible; we should be argumentative and aggressive in certain situations. When can we draw a line between conformity and obedience in our society? Under what circumstance can we embrace the behavior of anger and accusation, but at the same time, be humane enough to give to others.

As student activists, we can expand our knowledge by learning from Lu Xun and Professor Ichioka’s experiences. In 1912, the Nationalists declared their leaderships and China ended her five thousand years of imperialism. After finishing his medical studies in Japan, Lu Xun returned to China in 1909, where he taught science in Ching Wah University, Beijing. Lu Xun disliked the nationalists’ arrogance and lack of democracy, so he joined the “New Youth Magazine” later to write poems and short stories to express his radical notions to oppose the feudal and corrupted ruling class. His stories showed his anger at the bourgeoisie, and at the same time, he tried to educate the young readers, and offer them his ideological approach. He wrote several meaningful and argumentative short stories, such as, “Madman’s Diary” and “Spirit of Ah Q.” His writings not only were a slap in the face of the ruling class, but also allowed ordinary Chinese people to reassert their civil liberties and readjust their mentality to modern times. He was like Professor Ichioka, who organized the first pan-Asian political organization at UC Berkeley called Asian American Political Alliance in 1968 for anti-war and civil right movements. Lu Xun used his pen and his voices as weapons of dissent. The contents of his books influenced many writers and led to the “May Fourth” movement in 1919. The movement demanded political and academic changes in science and democracy. Professor Ichioka used his intelligence to mobilize peace and justice, with the result of expanding Asian American studies here at UCLA.

I believe that being a successful activist, to some extent, means that we have to use militant force against the oppressors. Professor Ichioka made an intelligent move by grabbing Charles Young’s microphone and called him a liar during his war on Cambodia speech at Pauley Pavilion in 1970. I think at that point, Professor Ichioka’s outspoken style built a momentum; yet nevertheless, he did not use force excessively. Instead, Professor Ichioka gave a Robin Hood impression to the audience. However, I also believe that if activists overreact it would intimidate the audience. Overreacting could cause delusion. An example of overreacting is when anti-abortion activists set fire and bomb abortion clinics, murder physicians and medical personnel. Instead of persuading people, they scared them away. Furthermore, by calling oppressors names will only create tension. President Bush repeatedly called the leaders of Iraq, Iran and North Korea an “axis of evil”; now we can see how Kim Jong-il reacted by holding up his nuclear weapons. Overall, President Bush’s name calling of these people only increases threats to Americans, and shows his ignorance.

To become an activist, we face many challenges from others and from ourselves. Sometimes, we need to know how to compromise with others in a bureaucratic system. Lu Xun served as a bureaucrat in the Chinese ministry of Education under Cai Yuan pei; before he became a writer. Professor Ichioka taught the first Asian American Studies class at UCLA, and his position in UCLA Asian American Studies Center would easily put him in a bureaucratic position. I think, to a certain extent, it is necessary to compromise with others, but if we want to obey, we have to compromise ourselves to beliefs.

Lu Xun’s poem has great impact to us as student activists. Even though we are well educated, we lack experiences. If we think we are better than other people, because of our educational background, we will probably go nowhere. I believe being an activist, I need to be humble and a good listener. Like Professor Ichioka, who began to master his Japanese language when he was close to forty years old, it must have been very hard for him to do so. Especially, he was UCLA professor with tremendous knowledge. As student activists, we bow to those who offer their insight, and we serve for those who need us to do so. We should challenge the oppressor the way Lu Xun did.

In conclusion, I believe that Lu Xun and professor Ichioka’s experiences have given us many encouraging examples as well as guidance. As far as our class project is concerned, we need to cooperate and compromise with other students. First, we must not be ideological; we must not insist that we are always right. Secondly, we should neither underestimate nor overestimate ourselves. Most importantly, we must be humble. We should not carry the burden of elite college students, but open our minds as well as our arms to others.