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The history herein, although mostly without reference, is the observations and readings done by Bảo Thiên Ngô. The file attachment shows the organizations in a timeline format as to when they existed, often in parallel to one another. First GenerationThe State of California has records of an existence of an incorporated Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California (UVSA) which formed around 1985 (although officially incorporated in 1991) and lasted until 1995. The primary activities of this generation included the production of cabarets as well as participating in political events in order to censure the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) who took control of the whole of Vietnam after the end of the war. These student activists believed that this arrangement was temporary and that they would one day be able to return to Vietnam without fear of being persecuted by the CPV. Over time, however, these political activities waned.1.5 GenerationFollowing the first International Vietnamese Youth Conference in 1999, Northern California saw the creation of Light Up Our Faith Vietnamese Youth Network of Northern California (MLNT). Although there is no evidence to suggest that MLNT formed as a result of the international conference, another factor that prompted its creation was the Hi-Tek Video Incident, where in February 1999, a Vietnamese American named Truong Van Tran hung a photograph of Ho Chi Minh and a communist Vietnamese flag in his Hi-Tek Video store in the middle of Little Saigon in Orange County, California. Mr. Tran's actions provoked dramatic and unprecedented demonstrations among Vietnamese Americans of all generations that reverberated in Orange County and throughout the other Vietnamese American communities across the North American continent. The demonstration in San Jose, California was organized by MLNT in April 1999.Out of that demonstration, an independent civic organization also formed, known as the Vietnamese American Youth for the Future (VAYF), lasting from 1999 to 2001. Composed mainly of high school students, VAYF members sought to empower their young leaders in getting involved in the community. While there is insufficient documentation regarding the activities of the VSAs around this time, the Piedmont Hills High School Vietnamese Student Body Association (VSBA) perhaps exemplified what many VSAs did: a focus on producing cabarets and the fundraising activities surrounding it. Perhaps the politically-charged activities of the first generation overlooked the socialization process of the next generation; the second generation were seeking ways to preserve their Vietnamese identity, and so their primary activities would be the production of these cabarets. This paradigm shift, however, alienated students who did not have an interest solely in singing and dancing. Eventually MLNT collapsed within a few months of its founding. In fall of 1999, two VSA coalitions formed: Bay Area Vietnamese Student Association (BAVSA) and Vietnamese Student Associations Link (VSAL). BAVSA was founded by Tien Vo from Fremont High School in Oakland, California, and the coalition consists of high school VSAs from the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area). VSAL was a coalition of collegiate VSAs throughout Northern California, and saw many productive years with collaborative activities with its member schools. An unprecedented statewide collegiate VSA leadership camp was held jointly between VSAL and UVSA Southern California in August 2002. But while BAVSA continues to exist, VSAL had its last event in late 2003, and no new officers were elected for 2004, bringing an end to the coalition after five years. Second GenerationIn fall of 2002, community activists (most of which were delegates of the first International Vietnamese Youth Conference) brought together 25 high school VSAs (essentially including BAVSA) around the San Francisco Bay Area, and helped form the United Vietnamese Student Organization (UVSO). One of the activists, Le Xuan Cao, actually helped organize the Vietnamese American High School Alliance (VAHSA) in Orange County, California a year earlier. Michelle Phuong Tu became its first interim president. Tu led a delegation to the third International Vietnamese Youth Conference in San Diego. In January 2004, the executive board restructured UVSO and ratified a new constitution, changing their name to United Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California (UVSA), not to be confused with the 1980s organization with the same acronym and geographic focus, at least from a legal standpoint. The mission of UVSA was "Committed to cultural awareness, educating youths, and community service." Additionally, the new UVSA allowed for membership with both high school and collegiate VSAs after they learned of the demise of VSAL. Although its scope is all of Northern California, for the first few years, most of the members were high school VSAs within Santa Clara Valley. Serious efforts to work with collegiate VSAs started to occur towards the end of Tu's term, and going into the term of the second interim president, Huy Ngoc Tran (2006), who was once a member of VSAL. In Tran's administration, staff members felt mixing high school and college VSAs was ineffective, and so UVSA members pushed for a separate high school network in which UVSA would play an advisory role. Thus UVSA was to become, like its Southern California counterpart, a collegiate coalition.In fall 2003, members of the California State University, Sacramento VSA brought together VSAs within their area and formed the Vietnamese Student Association Union of Sacramento (VSAU) with Hai Nguyen as its first elected president. In fall of 2005, Be Nguyen of San Joaquin Delta College VSA initiated a proposed Vietnamese Student Association United of Stockon (VSAU), although the organization does not yet have a charter. In February 2006, An Le of San Jose City College VSA initiated an alliance of 5 community college VSAs in Santa Clara Valley called the Vietnamese Student Union, although the alliance also does not yet have a charter. Only VSAU has managed to hold interschool activities, including hosting a student-run Tết Festival for the Sacramento community in February 2005. Both the VSAU Stockton and VSU never formally organized. In November 2003 at the Asian American Pacific Islanders Issues Conference, youths formed the Vietnamese American Caucus to build Vietnamese representation within Asian Pacific American coalitions. In November 2004, under the direction of Duy Bao Vo, students formed the Vietnamese-American Policy Research Institute (VAPRI). VAPRI focused on activities such as policy research and community service activities. That was the appeal for students who wanted to do other things besides cabarets in their VSAs. The majority of the members were never involved in the VSAs at their schools. The organization went inactive in April 2006 (by then named Vietnamese American Public Resources Institute) lacking leaders to carry on the mission after Vo stepped down from the Executive Director position. The remaining few members were absorbed into UVSA. For the same reason, in fall 2004, the Piedmont Hills High School Vietnamese American Club For Improving Communities (VACFIC) formed out of a need to do community service which the VSA at that school lacked. VACFIC lasted until the end of the school year. In July 2005, at the joint VIA-1 / NAVSA Conference, a Northern California delegation consisting of members of UVSA Northern California and San Jose State University VSA made a bid to have the next conference in Northern California. The third uNAVSA Conference, as it later became named, occurred in July 2006 at San Jose State University, and is the first Vietnamese-American student conference in Northern California. During the conference, a regional caucus of students from Northern California discussed what they wanted to see youths do for Northern California, though the discussion did not produce any action items. |
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About UVSA >
History of Vietnamese Youth Organizations in Northern California |