Volume aaa, Number 7 November 1, 2002 f

Woo waxes on politics
HANNAH DEAN
STAFF WRITER

Professor Woo lectures about political equality for Asian-Americans. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient)

Political clout. Political voice. Equal opportunity. What do these terms mean in terms of minority communities and, more specifically, in terms of the Asian American population?

Dr. S.B. Woo, a physics professor at the University of Delaware and the former Lt. Governor of Delaware, defined these terms and shared some of his more general observations about politics in America during his Wednesday night lecture entitled The Importance of Political Power in Achieving Equality.

Quickly summarizing the history of minorities in a nation that defines itself as a veritable mixing pot of ethnicity, Woo revealed the fact that every minority has remained a target for discrimination up until the moment at which that group gained political power. "In order to win equality" said Woo, all minority groups "must rely on political clout."

By the term political clout, Woo explained that he meant "the ability to reward or punish any politician." The founding fathers, such as Hamilton and Madison, had this very ability in mind when they designed the American system of political representation. In fact, the ability to reward or punish a politician-that is, the ability to re-elect or vote out of office a representative-was one of the means highlighted in the Federalist Papers as a key method of making sure that representatives and politicians kept one ear always bent towards the voice of the people. "Politicians," said Woo, "have no friends, no foes; only groups who can get them elected."

However, Woo pointed out that if groups of people, such as African Americans or Asian Americans, do not have the ability to punish or reward politicians, such groups will have little political power to speak of. Simply stated, politicians do what they have to do to get re-elected. If the votes of a certain ethnic group do not have the solidarity to affect a politician significantly, that politician has no reason to listen to the particular group. Consequently, that ethnic group will remain unheard, disrespected, and, ultimately, unequal to other groups who are better represented in government.

After talking about this aspect of American politics, Woo added that "politicians aren't bad people--I myself was a politician once."

Having come to understand the nature of politics, Woo also explained how he understands what Asian Americans must do in order to attain political voice and ultimately true equality in America. Woo serves as president of The 80-20 Initiative that works on organizing Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) into a swing bloc-vote in presidential elections. The creation of an APA voting block, said Woo, will induce both major political parties to take interest in the APA community.

"The first option all politicians look to is the tactic of divide and conquer," said Woo, and he explained that this is exactly what politicians have been practicing on the Asian American community. However, by creating a bloc-vote, Woo hopes to "turn the tables and divide and conquer the political parties." His attempts to create a coherent political community of Asian Americans have entailed several methods, including e-mails and, in general, constant communication.

However, Woo added that "once we [Asian Americans] have achieved equal opportunity, the bloc-vote can be disbanded." The ultimate goal is not to lock the Asian American community into voting in a bloc. Rather, the goal is to gain equal political power. With this equality in governmental representation, Woo explained that this will facilitate the disappearance of the glass ceiling that exists for Asian Americans in the academic, as well as business world. In the long run, Woo said that he wants not only Asian Americans to have equal opportunity, but "for every man, woman, and child to get as far and rise as high as their ambition takes them."

Woo's lecture was sponsored by the Asian Students Association and Korean American Association. The lecture was co-sonsored by Asian Studies and the Department of Government and Legal Studies.