Franklin Odo is back at Princeton currently teaching the only Asian American studies course currently offered on campus, reports The Daily Princetonian.
Not a lot of progress has been made since 1995 when seven of Odo’s students joined 10 others demanding an Asian American Studies program at the Ivy League school.
Earlier this year the Asian American Students Association and Asian American Studies Committee submitted a proposal for an Asian American studies certificate program to begin in 2015.
Odo who has been a visiting professor at a number of universities has been a strong advocated for Asian American studies.
Odo attended Princeton as an undergraduate and was one of the few minorities on campus at the time. Coming from Hawaii, he admits struggling to fit in and finding his identity.
He grew up during the anti-war movement and observed the struggles for ethnic studies early on.
“The resistance to Asian American Studies was … profound,” Odo said. ““Universities weren’t ready for it.”
But despite the long struggle for such a program at Princeton, he is optimistic it will someday happen.
You can read about Odo’s thoughts about the struggle for Asian American Studies nationwide in The Daily Princetonian.
