Asian groups elect new leadership

Another year, another board. College sophomore Olivia Chung will take the reins of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition. The group held its annual executive board elections last night at the ARCH building. The new board members were elected by votes from the presidents of each of the APSC's 16 constituent groups from across Penn's Asian community. Eight top positions were up for grabs during the elections, which lasted nearly three hours and drew a crowd of at least 50 students involved in the coalition. Chung, who ran uncontested, was elected to the position of APSC chair. In her speech prior to the vote, Chung referred to the possibility of the South Asian Regional Studies department being downgraded to a program, advocating that SARS remain in its current form. She noted that it is crucial that "we don't lose things that are beneficial to our entire community." Jenny Yan, a Wharton sophomore, was elected to the post of vice chair. Yan spoke about relations between Penn's Asian-American community and the University administration. "We have to defend [the Pan-Asian-American Community House] so it doesn't become an administrative tool used against students," Yan stated emphatically, later clarifying that she wanted PAACH to be student-controlled. College sophomore Christine Choi and Wharton sophomore Patrick Li were also elected to the positions of co-programming chairs. Choi expressed her belief in unity among the members of the APSC. "I really believe in coalition building," she said in her speech. Outgoing APSC chair Sammy Sugiura commented on the achievements of the coalition during his tenure over the past year. He highlighted the group's work on this year's census and voter registration. "We actually worked as a coalition together," the Wharton senior added. He also called the APSC an "environment where people are comfortable." The most contested position last night proved to be vice chair for political affairs -- and, in fact, that decision mirrored November's presidential election and was too close to call due to the absence of some voters. That position will be decided on Wednesday evening.

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