Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Hey Hyphenites! As a Hyphen intern, I get assigned a lot of different things, from bios and profiles to crossposts. I guess you could say that I'm getting my feet wet. This week, they've asked me to round up some stories of interest for our readers.

Now, I have three reasons why this link round-up is going to be subpar.

1. I've spent the last month living in my school's library, reading about international politics and memorizing French grammar.
2. Now that I'm on break, all I've been doing is vegetating.
3. I'm new at this, a total amateur.

But snaps for me, because I'm giving this a try. And what better way for me to kick this off than with a collection of noob-related links? Bear with me, please.

• This is an adorable Tae Kwon Do version of noob-ness.

• I don't know how to feel about this new admissions trend. On one hand, Asian Americans students are keeping their race under wraps, but on the other hand, they’re using their clever Asian brains to find a way to beat the system that may discriminate against them.
  
  
• President Obama appoints Preeta D. Bansal, an Indian American, to an important post in the Advisory Council of the Administrative Conference of the US. Bansal joins over two dozen Indian Americans serving in the Obama administration. 
  
  
• A Thai American living in Thailand is sentenced to two and a half years of jail for translating and uploading the book The King Never Smiles online, which was banned in Thailand. Instead of fighting for his right to free speech, he is going to ask for royal pardon and endure his punishment. In pleading not guilty, his punishment could have been much severe. It’s a choice between the rule of law and freedom. Fahrenheit-451, much?
  
  
• Uh-oh. Diabetes is on the rise among Asian Americans, but the physical traits of Asian diabetics are not the same as white diabetics, making diagnosis harder. Most Asian diabetics are slim but have hidden fat tucked away in their midsection, meaning that they are not fit. So instead of weight loss, doctors are recommending regular exercise.

• Fairfax County, Virginia had their first Asian American Appreciation Day which was hosted by the Voice of Vietnamese Americans.
  
  
• Perhaps the next Alexandra Wallace? Two people from the University of California, Irvine order food at their local Chick-Fil-A to find that the cashier named them “Ching” and “Chong" on their receipts. One of the customers talked to the manager, and the cashier was immediately fired. What refreshing justice.
  
  
• Honestly, this last one is kind of silly. MetLife uses stats to show how the American Dream has shifted for South Asian Americans. Personally, I think the concept of American Dream is getting kind of outdated, but I guess it’s worth doing countless polls on the matter. Apparently, South Asian Americans (presented as one general mass demographic) are becoming more flexible with their idea of “happiness” and are more confident in achieving it. It also says they are savers (read: hoarders), materialistic, and dang good at getting to The Dream, whatever that means. I hope they at least polled a wide spectrum of South Asian ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Let's hope...