On the Invisible: a Conversation with Songhan Pang

interview by Mia Tan, art by Vivian Ho

I had the pleasure of sitting with second-year College student Songhan Pang to discuss her recent opinion piece “Celebrate the Asian American Student Center” in The Cavalier Daily. Songhan is a friend of mine, an old hallmate, and a writer whose words strike a chord in many students seeking change at U.Va.

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Mia Tan (she/her): Thank you so much for meeting with me. I reached out to you because I saw your article in The Cavalier Daily about the new Asian American Student Center. You wrote such an insightful piece, advocating for more spaces to support marginalized populations at U.Va. I wanted to ask, what were your experiences when writing this article? What prompted it, and how did your emotions and thoughts pan out as you uncovered the history of Asian Americans at U.Va.?

Songhan Pang (she/her): First of all, I didn't even know the Asian American Student Center was going to open until someone texted about it in one of the cultural organizations I’m in, Taiwanese Student Association, and once I did more research into it, I realized it [had taken] over a decades-long fight to even bring it into existence. I was shocked and wanted to look more into it, and what better way to do that than use a platform that I have through writing and just make my words heard?

When I did more research into it, I was just really, really amazed…I felt like I was experiencing the journeys that the students before me went through in order to ensure that the students now have a safe space at U.Va. To even learn about that journey, I think, was a step towards visibility for Asian Americans on Grounds.

I’d like to touch on what you just said about students who came before us. Many of us don’t realize the amount of fighting done by previous students, like the years-long push for the AASC, or all these times students tried to call attention to anti-Asian harassment on Grounds, which you cited in your article. From your own experiences in college, and now that you’ve researched more about [Asian Pacific Islander South Asian/American] history at U.Va., would you say Asian American students’ voices are met more often with responses or silence at U.Va.?

Pang: I think there are definitely spaces at U.Va. where Asian American voices are heard, accepted, and uplifted. Those are spaces where not only the Asian American community, but students of color at large can gather and appreciate each other's cultural experiences and talents in a way that you can't do anywhere else at U.Va. A lot of my friends performed at Culture Fest , and just seeing them do backflips in the air—you see them in a new light, and also in the light of history, and that's just something different. So I’d say, when celebrating heritage, these voices are heard.

When it comes to voices being heard for change, I think there's still much to be done in the way that the University responds to them, and I think it's an institutional thing. A lot of us come to college, maybe even thinking that college is going to be a space where we can explore [our] roots, but if that institution doesn’t provide us those opportunities, then what? The AASC is established now, but what about classes that actively teach the history of [APISAA] cultures? I think the University needs to be more proactive in providing these resources to students. The fact that it took so long for the AASC to even be created speaks to the need for universities to recognize the importance of these spaces and put them at the forefront of their agenda. Because that's what students are calling for.

Thank you for stressing the importance of that. I want to shift to this idea of using the written word as a vessel for [the] voice. I do more creative writing and I know you do more journalistic writing, but I’m curious how you feel about these thoughts: whenever I write about Asian identity, I kind of have this conflict inside me, because I feel like I don't have the credibility to speak for Asian people as this one group of people thinking [from] this one perspective. Do you experience similar thoughts when writing about, or for, the APISAA community? How does it feel?

Pang: I'm so glad you asked this question, because it's a question that I've asked myself many times as someone who does more journalistic writing. For the sake of length, [I] can't have an article go on too long, so I have to resort to these monolithic terms like “Asian American,” and I end up trying to encapsulate this wide breadth of people in so few words. It often seems reductive to me.

I think when I was writing this article [on the AASC], I was worried because, after all, I'm a second-year student who’s been at this university for two years. I wasn't actually there for any of the fights that these students did. So then I [was] asking myself, am I even justified to write this? Do I even have the ability to write about this, or is someone else better suited to do it? But, you know, I don't think anyone should feel that their voice doesn’t matter in this discourse. The fact that we are members of the Asian American community gives each of us a unique perspective that contributes to this conversation, and that shouldn't be discounted. Everyone should be entitled to have a voice in this.

Sometimes we may not believe it, but people read our writing. That's why it's important to keep putting ourselves out there, just like [past] students did to get the AASC established. They kept trying, and it happened. It's up to us to ensure that we don't give up on this fight and that we're carrying on the legacy of prior students, making sure that their stories are projected at this university. We write so that we can be heard. 

It sounds like a big ask, continuing that legacy, but there are many ways to instill change just by doing things you’re passionate about. I found [that ability] in writing, and I want to ask if you’ve found something similar. You've already mentioned this a bit, but why writing? There are so many ways to express yourself and define your edges, [such as] through visual art or dance. What draws you to writing and how do you use it to make yourself more visible?

Pang: That's a very good question. I think for me, writing is freeing. Even the act of writing itself is a sort of processing. Sometimes I write something and I'm like, wait, I think I'm connecting the dots. Then it helps me reflect in a way that I wouldn't be able to do if I just sat with all this stuff in my mind.

I think a lot of people might get lost and overwhelmed by the sheer emotional impact of some of the events that they're seeing in the world today. So, I also write for others, right? If putting these words down on paper is therapeutic for me and helps me sort out my opinions on what change I want to see at this university, then maybe it'll help someone else who's also lost in their thoughts. Maybe they read my writing and don't agree with it, but at least they realize that these ideas are out there. Or maybe they really resonate with it and they're on board with a vote of change that I want to spearhead. So I think writing is the clearest and most straightforward way to drive change and make sense of my thoughts.

Sometimes I look back on my articles and [think], “Yeah, that argument could have been better.” I wrote a piece once, and when it was posted on Twitter, some users were on board with it, but other people tore it apart. But it’s like, wow, people are actually reading this and they're talking about it and that's what makes these issues visible, right? Visibility isn't something that has to be physically seen. It can just be something that people are thinking about and something that starts a conversation.