The highest-ranking Asian-American in the Clinton administration spoke Tuesday night to a crowd of about 30 people in Griffith Film Theater.
In a speech sponsored by the Asian Students Association, Dennis Hayashi, director of the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, discussed affirmative action and illegal immigration, particularly how they relate to the Asian-American community.
With 10 regional offices, Hayashi's department is responsible for preventing discrimination in federally funded institutions such as hospitals, schools and social-service offices. "Most people don't realize that racial discrimination occurs in industries like health care," Hayashi said, citing a recent incident where patients were placed on different floors in a Manhattan hospital according to their race.
"One of the major benefits of my job is that I am able to be a participant in developing policy for the administration," Hayashi said. While last year's top issues were health care and welfare, he said the hottest two policy issues right now are immigration and affirmative action.
For Hayashi, Asian-American participation in policy development is important. "I'm really appalled at the lack of involvement of Asian Americans in these policy discussions," he said. "The actual decisions are made by people who are not that diverse. Unless you are in there defining yourself, you are letting people define you."
Citing the controversy surrounding California's Proposition 187, Hayashi said that presently much of the discussion on immigration is focused on illegal immigrants. He indicated, however, that legal immigration is also under scrutiny in Washington. "There's going to be major movement on Capitol Hill about stopping legal immigration, at least for a time, and I am concerned about it," he said.
Hayashi said he has heard disturbing talk that immigrants do not deserve to benefit from affirmative action because they have not suffered the historical discrimination that other minorities have. "That's an issue people think hard about," Hayashi said. "But I do not support it."
Affirmative action, in general, is also being hotly debated, particularly in the areas of college admissions and minority scholarships, Hayashi pointed out. He said that this area of political discussion is crucial to the Asian-American community because there is a feeling that Asian Americans do not face discrimination in academic institutions. Hayashi said that a numerically strong Asian-American presence in higher education disguises the fact that Southeast Asians are not well-represented. "Where are the Cambodians and the Vietnamese?" he asked.
Because these issues are important to students currently enrolled in academic institutions, Hayashi encouraged dialogue between student groups and the federal government. He said that this interaction would strengthen his own arguments on policy issues within the administration.
"I'm able to get my point across because of my knowledge about the people these decisions affect," Hayashi said. "When it comes down to it, if you can put a human face on a story... you win more points."
Hayashi said he also wants to help students lobby the Clinton administration about issues important to them. "Sometimes if you let people in the federal government know about a problem without being heavy-handed about it, sometimes we can help," he said in response to complaints from audience members that student lobbying efforts are often co-opted by the government. "I give you an open invitation to call my office."
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