1990s to 2000s
The many moments of student activism during the 1990s and 2000s help push for spaces for Asian-American students and other students of color.
April 7, 1990: Tom Tieu
A UCSB Math teaching assistant Jacob Neal Sarvela physically assaulted Tom Tieu after a disagreement in San Rafael Hall lounge about access to the lounge television. Tieu suffered multiple contusions to the face, one requiring stitches and a broken nose. UCSB's Asian Student Coalition urged Tom Tieu to go public with his assault and felt that the incident was racially motivated.
​
On June 1, 1990, students and faculty were targeted with hate mail. The poster said several statements such as "We have forced Chinks out of UCSB", "You are not wanted here", and "Better watch your actions or else face our tribulations".
​
The Asian-American Studies faculty issued several statements to the students and staff on campus, calling for action and statements from the administration. A few days later, the administration acknowledged the situation and published a statement.
April 30, 1992: Rodney King Riots
On April 29, 1992, the Rodney King riots started in Los Angeles. Pressure and emotions escalated in the UCSB community and resulted in protests.
​
The march began in Storke Plaza and students walked through Isla Vista, chanting, "The people united will never be divided" and stopped at the Foot Patrol office on Pardall Road. The protests were peaceful and the Multicultural Center for students to discuss the issues and tensions behind the Rodney King trials.
​
Michelle Banks and Suran Thrift were students who worked at the Multicultural Center and worked to facilitate discussion.
1998: Dog Eating Protests, Affirmative Action, and the SRB
On March 4, 1998, the Daily Nexus published an article, associating missing dogs in IV to the Vietnamese and Hmong communities in Isla Vista. In the article, an Isla Vista foot patrol officer, Diane Halliburton, made a comment about the Vietnamese and Hmong population in Isla Vista being the reason for missing dogs, stating that “The problem disappeared after the Vietnam War when the state subsidized housing for Vietnamese and the Mongs in IV… You never wanted to look in a dumpster ‘cause you would commonly find heads and other discarded portions [of animals].” Asian-American students and other students of color, some shocked and others infuriated, came together to protest outside of Davidson Library. The protests serve as a pivotal point that allows for students to call for more cultural and safe spaces for students of color and have their voices heard by the administration.
​
Perhaps a more pivotal point that followed after the 1988 protests were the October 1998 protests against Proposition 209 and UC resolution SP-1. The passing of the measures banned the use of affirmative action by the University of California as well as a call for the end of minority programs and ethnic studies from the UC Regents sparked an uproar within the university.. On October 22, 1998, Chancellor Yang and Yonie Harris, acknowledging the tense atmosphere and the frustrations of the students, sat down with a panel of minority students to hear their concerns. Students from multiple cultural organizations, such as Asian Student Union, Black Student Union, and Queer Student Union, sat down with Chancellor Yang and listed the nine demands they had to address the needs to the diverse population at the university. One of the demands proposed was “on-campus resource center and student space for historically underrepresented students at UCSB… the resource centers must have a full-time director and funding to hire student staff”. The demands served as an official way for students to be able to get the resources and cultural spaces they have been fighting for.
2009: Pike Place Fraternity
“Based on e-mails and reports being distributed throughout the community, IVFP would like to clear up some of the information being disseminated,” Olmstead said in an interview yesterday. “At this point in the investigation, we believe only one suspect was involved in the battery of the victims as well as responsible for the racial slurs.”
​
According to the IVFP police report, five to six men were hanging out in front of PIKE when one of the subjects began hollering at Hong and Elekes, who were passing by the fraternity.
​
“The subject appeared ‘drunk and belligerent,'” reads the report. “Hong and Elekes ignored him and continued walking. The subject then hollered at them and came up from behind and pushed them both in the back. The subject said [omitted] [omitted] [omitted] – this was possibly in reference to Hong’s Asian ethnicity. The subject then lunged at Elekes and began punching him on the left side of the face. Hong tried to help Elekes and the subject punched Hong once in the mouth, lacerating Hong’s upper lip.”
​
Hong and Elekes described their assailant as a thin and muscular white adult male, between the height of 6’2″ and 6’4″ with black spiky hair. He was reportedly dressed in a dark blazer with a white shirt underneath and dark dress pants during the attack.”
To read the article about PIKE Place Fraternity and the assault of Thanh Hong, click here.
​