Language Revitalization Night

(Message from UC Berkeley Asian American Association)

I am the chair of the Issues Committee in the Asian American Association,
one of the student organizations on the UC Berkeley campus dedicated to
uniting the Asian American community at Berkeley.

This semester, the Issues Committee is planning a Language Revitalization
Program to aid students, whose heritage language is an East Asian
language, gain better fluency in the language they speak at home. We are
trying to increase their comfort and fluency in their native languages
through conversation groups to create an encouraging atmosphere conducive
to attaining these goals. These conversation groups will have bimonthly
meetings where students can practice speaking their language with other
students. We are also inviting more fluent speakers and international
students to assist those who are less fluent in the languages.

I wish to invite the students in the Y and X series to come to our
Language Revitalization Info Night to give a brief talk about heritage
language loss in second or later generation Asian Americans and how it is
important to maintain a grasp in one's heritage language rather than
losing it to a more "popular" language spoken in school or work. During
the Info Night, we will be giving an overview of how the program is
structured and how everyone can participate in the program. We'd really
appreciate it if you could tell your students about this new program.

The Language Revitalization Info Night will be on Friday, October 16th at
7pm in 219 Dwinelle Hall.

Thank you for your time in helping us spread word about language loss in
Asian American students at UC Berkeley.



Jessica Chin (Chen Pei Yi)
Issues Committee Chair, Asian American Association
Art History & Asian American Studies
University of California, Berkeley

In Memory of Gina Hotta

Gina Hotta, the producer of APEX EXPRESS passed away on September 28, 2009 due to a heart attack. Gina was a tremendous supporter of APIEL NOW! and numerous other Asian-American and progressive causes. We will miss her dearly.

Information on Gina Hotta's public memorial service:

APEX Express

by Renee

A public celebration of the life of Gina Hotta will be held on October 25 from 5-7pm, with a reception following.

We will gather at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th street 2nd floor, in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza.

If you are interested in sharing your memories or music, please contact us by Friday, October 16.

You can contribute photos or other small items to the Community Altar, or bring an appetizer for the reception.

Please bring cranes to add to our 1,000 cranes installation in honor of Gina's legacy.

Contact: Apex@kpfa.org
www.apexexpress.org
510-848-6767 x 464

An article in Hyphen Magazine on Gina Hotta:

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2009/09/rip-gina-hotta.html