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vietnamese american student journal volume 1 number 3 � september 2004

b n báo đ nh k cho sinh viên h c sinh ph n 1 s 3 � tháng 9 n m 2004

Children’s
Moon Festival
 Letter from the Editor
ý th c
PRODUCTION & ADVERTISING
B O THIÊN NGÔ Ý Th c Coordinator
bao.t.ngo@norcaluvsa.org
PH NG T Publisher
phuong.tu@norcaluvsa.org

EDITORIAL
H NH LÊ Managing Editor
hanh.le@norcaluvsa.org
HUY TR N Designer
huy.tran@norcaluvsa.org

CONTRIBUTORS
Beef, Caroline Lê, Thi Nguy n, Thu Th Xuân Nguy n,
Katherine T. Ph m, Revantou, Soy

CONTACT Hello fellow students!

Ý Th c Journal
P.O. Box 612635
San José, California 95161
ythuc@norcaluvsa.org
http://www.norcaluvsa.org/ythuc/
ISSN 1551-4803
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Ý Th c and all its programs are sponsored by the United
Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California.
ABOUT Ý TH C
Ý Thúc, or “Consciousness” in Vietnamese, is the official,
non-profit journal of the United Vietnamese Student
Associations of Northern California. The purpose of this
journal is to document the events, struggles, dreams, and
opinions of the students of Northern California in helping
to define the Vietnamese-American culture. The name
comes from its meaning:
“Sense of one’s personal or collective identity, including
the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or consid-
ered characteristic of an individual or group.”
Summertime’s over and for many of us, it’s back to school. Why does fun have
to pass us by so quickly!? You may wonder why the layout looks so different
in this issue. Well, UVSA is organizing its second annual c V ng T ng
Lai entitled GREASE! The musical play is based on the 1978 film of the same
name, but modified a bit for some Vietnamese elements. Still, in keeping ties
with GREASE, I’ve decided this issue should reflect the 1950s retro theme.
We’re slowly building up Ý Th c with more featured content and a better
working process. Still, we need more students to join our staff and have this
publication expand to cover more student events and issues, and create a more
cutting-edge artist community with our Fridaý@5 program.
What is Fridaý@5 you ask? While I was down in UCLA, I came across a
beautiful mind by the name of Jackie Lâm who wanted to start up a club for
artists to collaborate on multi-disciplinary projects. Unique perspectives and
skills converge to create self and group identities through film, painting, poetry,
spoken word, video installation, computer programming, music, cooking, and
much, much more! But the important thing is that Ý Th c provides the means
to give the really talented artists the exposure to inspire others and to give
insights on what being Vietnamese-American means.
In any case, I hope you enjoy this issue and we look forward to hearing your
comments. Drop us a line at ythuc@norcaluvsa.org.

Sincerely,

B o Thiên Ngô

2
 Table of Contents
ARTICLES FRIDAÝ@5 C V NG T NG LAI II: GREASE

4 TIPS FOR APPLYING FOR COLLEGE

Get a headstart on your college application process with
advice from college students!
14 COMIC: SOYMINT PRODUCTIONS
by Soy B PROGRAM
Listing of scenes and performances

6 NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT

Students research into the impact behind this policy on
POEM: AN INVISIBLE MAN
by Revantou C SYNOPSIS
An overview on the play

students in the Vietnamese-American community. POEM: WHAT IS LEFT OF ME

by Revantou D CAST
A look at the students under the spotlight!

9 CHILDREN’S MOON FESTIVAL

UVSA hosts a multi-school competition at the Children’s
Moon Festival. 15 POEM: YOUR TEDDY BEAR
by Beef G CREDITS
Thanking our performers and sponsors

10 CHILDREN’S MOON FESTIVAL PROCLAMATION POEM: IMAGE OF YOU

The Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara now by Beef

16
recognizes one of the most important youth-oriented holidays of PHOTOGRAPHY: QU NH HÀ
the Vietnamese-American community. A look at a gallery by a student fine art photographer at

11 UVA SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS OUTSTANDING STUDENTS San Jose State University.

UVA gave out $1000 scholarships for multiple recipients in
demonstrating applied excellence in their community. DEPARTMENTS
SPECIAL INSERT 17 LILY’S LANE
Advice from Lily about friendships after graduation,

12 GREASE POSTER teachers, and relationships.

Designed by B o Thiên Ngô

Student Organization Directory

HIGH SCHOOL notre.dame.vsa@gmail.com
http://www.xanga.com/ND_VSA
HOÀNG-OANH NGUY N President
California State University-Hayward Vietnamese
LINDA HU NH External Chair
Stanford University Vietnamese Student
TIÊN KI U President Student Association Association (SVSA)
KIM NGUY N President lily333love@yahoo.com lhuynh@stanford.edu
Andrew Hill High School Vietnamese Student
Milpitas High School Vietnamese Student http://groups.yahoo.com/group/csuhvsa/ http://svsa.stanford.edu
Association
Association
ahvietclub2004@yahoo.com
mhs_vsacabinet@yahoo.com DUY TR N President TRI NGUY N President
JIMMY QUACH Vice President http://www.geocities.com/mhsvietclub De Anza College Vietnamese Student University of California-Berkeley Vietnamese
Bay Area Vietnamese Student Associations Association Student Association
M -LINH TR N President thaiduy85@yahoo.com t4e@berkeley.edu
RazorAznAngelBoi@hotmail.com
Piedmont Hills High School Vietnamese Student http://www.dacvsa.net http://vsa.berkeley.edu
CHRISTINE PH M President Body Association
Evergreen Valley High School Vietnamese my-linh.tran@norcaluvsa.org ANH NGUY N Publicity AN LÊ President
Student Union http://www.xanga.com/phhs_vsa Mission College Vietnamese Student University of California-Davis Vietnamese
vsu_evhs@yahoo.com Association Student Assocation
DAVID LÊ President anhnguyen@vsamissioncollege.com vsa@ucdavis.edu
BRIAN TR N President Wilcox High School Vietnamese Student http://www.vsamissioncollege.com http://asucd.ucdavis.edu/organizations/
Fremont High School Vietnamese Student Association cultural/vsa
Association xpl1c1tstylez@yahoo.com TRI LÊ President
vsaconnection@yahoo.com San José State University Vietnamese
http://www.vsafhs.org COLLEGE \ UNIVERSITY Engineering Student Association
trile2001@yahoo.com
THIÊN-LONG Đ NG President HAO NGUY N President http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/vesa
Independence High School Vietnamese Club California Polytechnic State University-San Luis
Obispo Vietnamese Student Association TINA TH Y HANG PH M President
NANCY LÝ & SUNNY NGUY N Co-Presidents hanguyen@calpoly.edu San José State University Vietnamese Student
Notre Dame High School Vietnamese Sisterhood http://www.calpoly.edu/~vsaclub Association
Association vsasjsu0405@yahoo.com

3
Tips for Applying to Colleges
WRITTEN BY
Thu Th Xuân Nguy n, Stanford University
1 It is important to get involved in
clubs and activities.
Schools not only look for students with good GPAs
and test scores, but students who develop a talent
and/or contribute to their communities. You do not
need to do a bunch of one-time events. Significant
and extensive involvement in a few programs or ac-
tivities demonstrating initiative, leadership ability,
and commitment is impressive. If you are working,
make sure to mention that in your application. Hav-
ing a job speaks of your ability to be responsible
and may explain why you could not be involved in
more clubs and activities.
2
Get organized! Make a 4-year
plan if you have not yet done so.
Write down what classes you want to take, when
you want to start studying for the SAT I or ACT and
SAT II. Write down when you want to start re-
searching schools, when you should begin to write
applications, and when you want to ask for recom-
mendation letters. Write down community service
events including what you did, when you did it and
for how long, so that when the time comes to write
the personal statement or state your activities, you
will make sure you don’t forget to tell the colleges
all the important things you have been doing
3
Start studying for SATs or ACT
as soon as possible.
The more time you give yourself to improve your
score the better. Sophomore year is a great time to
start getting ready for the SAT I or ACT. Take the
SAT I or ACT and SAT II junior year. California
State Universities (CSUs) require the SAT I or the
ACT for students with GPAs under 3.0 and recom-
mend the tests for students with GPAs over 3.0. The
University of California (UCs) schools require stu-
4
dents to take the SAT I or ACT and the SAT II. Find
out more about the SATs, including information
about the new SAT I, by visiting the College Board
website at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/
Best Colleges
testing/newsat/howtoprepare.html. To find out more National Universities
about the ACT, including information about prepar- 1. Harvard University (MA)
ing for the ACT and registration, visit the ACT, Inc. 1. Princeton University (NJ)
website at http://www.actstudent.org/index.html. 3. Yale University (CT)
4. University of Pennsyl-
4
vania
Start getting to know teachers, 5. Duke University (NC)
principals, counselor, community 5. Massachusetts Institute
Of Technology
service supervisors, etc. 5. Stanford University (CA)
When it is time to request recommendation letters
8. California Institute of
for college applications, you have people to ask.
Technology
5
9. Columbia University
When applying to colleges, apply (NY)
9. Dartmouth College (NH)
to a diverse number of schools,
including public, private, highly Ranking determined by evaluating graduation
retention rate, average freshman retention rate,
peer assessment, faculty resources, student
competitive, moderately competi- selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate
performance, and alumni giving.
tive, and non-competitive schools.
The point is to keep your options open. Applying Public Schools
only to your reach schools is risky because you 1. University of California-
might not get into them and be left with no choice Berkeley
but to wait until next year. Applying to only schools 2. University of Michigan-
that you know you will get into may cause regrets Ann Arbor
because you will never know if you could have got- 3. University of Virginia
ten into a more competitive school.
Ranking determined by evaluating graduation
retention rate, average freshman retention rate,
6
peer assessment, faculty resources, student
When applying to colleges, do selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate
performance, and alumni giving.
not worry about the cost of the
tuition and board.
Fill out the Free Application to Receive Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) and CSS Profile. For more
information and eligibility requirements please visit
the website, http://fafsa.ed.gov.
 In addition to the FAFSA, many students also fill
out the CSS Profile to receive nonfederal student
aid from private schools. Contact the private
schools you are interested in for their priority filling
Best Values date. For more information about the Profile, please
1. California Institute of visit the College Board website, http://profileonline.
Technology collegeboard.com/index.jsp. Students who have
2. Princeton University (NJ) been accepted to schools will usually receive a
3. Harvard University copy of their financial aid award from those schools
4. Yale University (CT) before they have to decide whether or not to attend.
5. Massachusetts Institute Although private schools are usually more expen-
of Technology sive than public schools, your financial aid package
6. Stanford University (CA) might be better at a private school that is heavily
7. Columbia University funded than at a public school.
(NY)
California State University1 and
UC Subject Requirements2
a. 2 years of History/Social Science
b. 4 years of college preparatory English
c. 3 years of Math, 4 years recommended (Algebra
1, Geometry, Algebra II, higher math)
d. 2 years of Laboratory Science3 (1 physical 1 bio-
logical for CSUs; in 2 of 3 disciplines: physics,
biology, chemistry for UCs)
e. 2 years of same language-other than English4
f. 1 year of Visual and Performing Arts
g. 1 year of College Preparatory Elective

8. Duke University (NC)
9. Dartmouth College (NH)
10. University of Pennsyl-
vania
Ranking determined by evaluating the school’s
academic ranking and the total cost of at-
tendance for students who receive the average
level of financial aid.
Source: U.S. News and World Report. 21 August
2004. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/home.
htm.
7
(Footnotes)
Put time and effort into writing 1
CSU Mentor. 14 July 2004. http://www.csumentor.
your personal statement. edu/planning/high_school/subjects.asp.
Competitive schools receive many applications. A
2
EAOP. 14 July 2004. http://www.eaop.ucr.edu/re-
well-written personal statement can set you apart quirements.html.
from others with similar GPA and test scores. After
3
UCs recommend 3 years.
writing your statement, let people read your essay
4
UCs recommend 3 years.
and provide comments. Write several drafts of
your personal statement. When I was working on [!]
my personal statement, a friend recommended 100
Successful College Application Essays by Harvard
Independent (compiler). It was a good book and
helped me get a sense of the variety of creative
ways to express my values, beliefs, and views in
my personal statement.

8 Get to know the colleges you are

applying to.
Visit the colleges, talk to the students, and read
the school’s newspapers. If the school has summer
programs or mentoring programs for high school
students, apply to them. Visiting the school and
meeting some of the students will help you find out
if the college is right for you.

5
No Child Left Behind Act
WRITTEN BY
Jessie Duong (jessie.h.duong@vapri.org), Sarah Fields (sarah.m.fields@vapri.org)
Saturday, 07 August 2004
Antendees of the Health and
Education forum listen to
Sarah and Jessie present
their research findings.
6
On October 10, 2004, Sarah Fields and Jes-
sie Duong presented their research findings on
the “No Child Left Behind Act” at a health and
education forum at Willow Glen Books, San Jose,
CA, hosted by Human Agenda. Jessie admitted to
the fact that this was her first time speaking to a
group of adults. Sarah shared her viewpoints on
the lack of affordable health care coverage from a
personal perspective. Sarah and Jessie also shared
their views on the current state of the education
system from their personal viewpoints, and how
the No Child Left Behind Act might affect it.
Their research paper is reproduced as follows.
Introduction
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) is
actually the reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) from 1964, and it
was last reauthorized in 1994. This reauthorization
has become a central point of the country’s educa-
tion policy, and tries to emphasize improving the
education of disadvantaged students. There are five
different elements to NCLB; annual testing, aca-
demic progress, report cards for states and schools,
teachers’ qualifications, and a reading first grant.
1. Annual Testing
The NCLBA says that states must start testing
grades 3 – 8 every year in math and reading by
the 2005-2006 school year, and by 2007-08 they
must also administer tests at least once in elemen-
tary, middle, and high school. In addition to the
state test a sample of 4th and 8th graders from
each state must partake in National Assessment of
Educational Progress testing in math and read-
ing every other year in order to provide a point of
comparison between the states. While these tests
provide a tremendous amount of information some
have argued that the importance placed on these
test forces teachers to teach to the test and focus
less on other parts of education, such as the arts
or other subjects not tested. Supporters of testing
state that there needs to be some way of being able
to hold schools accountable for giving children an
adequate education. And the only way to ensure
that accountability is to have periodic testing.
2. Academic Progress
States must bring all students up to a capable level
by the 2013-14 school year each school has to
meet state “adequate yearly progress” targets to
show that they are progressing toward this goal.
This progress is based on a formula described in
the Act (http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/
index.html). This is done not only for the popu-
lation of students as a whole; it is also done for
certain demographic subgroups. Should a school
that is receiving federal Title I (http://www.pwcs.
edu/curriculum/title1/webdoc9.htm) funding fail
to meet the target for two years in a row technical
assistance must be provided for it and student must
be offered a choice of public schools to attend.
Individual students who fail to make acceptable
progress for three years in a row must be offered
extra services, such as private tutoring. If a school
continues to fail, even with technical help, outside
corrective measures would be taken, including
the possibility of authoritative changes. Support-
ers argue that this provides options to parents of
children in schools not doing well or if they are not
performing at the expected level because children
from disadvantaged backgrounds will be eligible to
qualify for free supplemental services, i.e. tutor-
ing, remedial education, extra classes, summer
school, after school programs, etc, and parents will
have the option of removing their children from
poorly performing schools. The Act also requires
the states and school districts to provide parents
with a detailed and easy to read report telling which
schools are succeeding and why. These reports
show parents the qualifications of teachers, and
the ethnicities, gender, income, English language
proficiency, and migrant status of children in the
school their child is attending, allowing parents to
make informed decisions about schools and school
districts. In addition to information about schools,
parents also get to know their child’s strengths
and weaknesses, which will allow them to better
decide how to help their children develop where
they are weak and build on their strengths. How-
ever, some critics have pointed out that parents are
not shown how much their children learned during
the school year because the child’s knowledge is
not measured against their previous assessments,
but it is measured against the average knowledge
of children across the county, state, and nation.
3. Report Card
Since the 2002-03 school year states have
been required to supply annual report cards
showing student achievement data that is bro-
ken down by subgroup information in each
district. Additionally, each district must sup-
ply a similar report on each school.
4. Teachers’ Qualifications
By the end of 2005-06 every teacher in core content
areas working in public schools must be “highly
qualified.” This means that teachers must be certi-
fied and demonstrate proficiency in their subjects.
Since 2002 all new teachers that are hired with Title
I money must meet certain standards that desig-
nate them “highly qualified.” While insuring that
teachers know the subjects they teach it has been
argued that these requirements do not guarantee an
effective teacher. In other words some have said
that just because they know their subject doesn’t
mean they will be effective in teaching it to others.
5. Reading First
Lastly, NCLBA creates a new creative-grant pro-
gram called Reading First. It is being funded at 1.02
billion dollars for 2004. It is meant to help states
and school districts set up “scientific, research
based” programs to help kids in grades K – 3 learn
to read. The program gives priority to schools in ar-
eas with a high poverty rate. There is also a similar
program for poor communities that focuses on pre-
paring 3 -5 year olds to read. Critics of the current
incarnation of the Act say the main problem with
this and perhaps the entire bill is that it is not being
funded. Districts and states are not receiving the
funds they need to comply with the Act. However,
federal officials point to an increase in Title I spend-
ing and new money for testing to show evidence to
the contrary. They also claim that States have not
been taking full advantage of funding. In addition
to this others say that the accountability measures
themselves will ensure more effective use of funds.
7
 Also upsetting to critics in regards to fund-
ing and funding requirements is the fact that
secondary public schools are required to pro-
vide military recruiters access to the facili-
ties, and the contact information of every stu-
dent, or they face cutoff of all federal aid.
Effect on the Vietnamese
Community
Education is important to all races, as all parents
want their children to have the best possible chance
to succeed in life. The Asian American com-
munity is no different. As of 2002, Asian Pacific
Americans overall fair as well as non-Hispanic
whites in graduating high school (87% to 89%
respectively). However, APA men and women
fair better than their non-Hispanic white coun-
terparts in terms of attaining bachelor’s degrees
or higher (50.9% of APA men vs. 31.7% of
non-Hispanic white men; 43.8% of APA women
vs. 27.3% of non-Hispanic white women).
According to the 2000 census numbers, Viet-
namese Americans do not fair as well as the rest
of the APA community with 62% graduating high
school and 19.5% receiving a bachelor’s degree
or higher. More alarming is the rate of Vietnam-
ese Americans who go to high school but do
not finish (19.9%). Also, 18.2% of Vietnamese
Americans do not make it to the ninth grade.
The No Child Left Behind Act is designed to
help all people give their children access to qual-
ity education. If Vietnamese Americans learn of
the provisions in this Act that can improve their
schools and their child’s success rate, then they
can shrink the rate of children who do not finish
high school and raise the percentage of Vietnam-
ese children who receive bachelor’s degrees and
higher. To find out more about the NCLBA and
how it can help you improve your child’s educa-
tion we ask you to click on the following links.
For more information on a specific state please
go to: http://www.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/in-
dex.html or http://nclb2.ecs.org/Projects_Centers/
index.aspx?issueid=gen&IssueName=General
8
What You Can Do
Although the No Child Left Behind Act has been
signed into law already, Vietnamese Americans
can still play a role with this legislation. Every
year Congress must reauthorize the funding to
the NCLBA. If you wish to see that the provi-
sions of this Act receive more money, we en-
courage you to write or email your member of
Congress and your two U.S. Senators. Every
letter received by a Congressional office is esti-
mated to reflect the views of 10,000 people. You
can make a difference by raising your voice. [!]
Sources:
1. Rebora, Anthony. Education Week; No Child
Left Behind http://www.edweek.com/context/
topics/issuespage.cfm?id=59 (7/28/04)
2. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/
policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html
3. Mannherz, Joyce. What is Title I? http://www.pwcs.
edu/curriculum/title1/webdoc9.htm (5/12/1997)
4. Goodman, David. “No Child Unrecruited”.
http://www.motherjones.com/news/
outfront/2002/11/ma_153_01.html (7/5/04)
5. Heath, Suzanne. “Parent’s Guide to No Child
Left Behind”. http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/
nclb.parent.guide.heath.htm (6/14/04)
6. Yero, Judith L. “Presuppositions of No Child Left Behind”.
http://www.teachersmind.com/PresuppNCLB.htm (7/5/04)
7. U.S. Department of Education. “The Facts About...
Getting Students Help” http://www.ed.gov/print/
nclb/choice/help/gettingkids.html (6/14/04)
8. U.S. Department of Education. “Introduction:
No Child Left Behind” http://www.ed.gov/print/
nclb/overview/intro/index.html (6/14/04)
9. U.S. Census Bureau. The Asian and Pacific Islander
Population in the United States: March 2002 http://www.
census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-540.pdf (8/7/2004)
10. Vietnamese Studies Internet Resource Center.
Vietnamese Census Data- Socioeconomic
http://www.vstudies.org/ (8/7/2004)
Vietnamese-American Public Research Institute (VAPRI)
Vi n Nghiên C u C ng Ð ng Ngu i M g c Vi t
P.O. Box 720734
San Jose, CA 95172-0734
http://www.vapri.org
Children’s Moon Festival

SEPTEMBER 29, 2004. The Vietnamese-American

Above: Mt. Pleasant High
Cultural Foundation hosted its well-known 13th
School Chinese Vietnamese
Annual Children’s Moon Festival. Thousands of
Club performs a traditional
people arrived to César Chavez Park in downtown
dance. The Ý Th c crew also went around and inter-
San José, including students of various organiza-
viewed various people who attended the festi-
tions, martial arts and lion dance groups, sponsors,
Above Right: Milpitas High val. A recording the video can be found on the
and prominent community figures. But above all,
School VSA performs in the website at http://www.norcaluvsa.org/modules.
the whole festival was for the children. Following
dance competition. php?name=Downloads. [!]
children’s singing and essay contest, the United
Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern Cali-
Right: Singers Brian Tr n
fornia hosted its high school culture dance and sing-
and Thúy Nguy n.
ing competition. The main portion of the program
opened up to more performances. There was also a
Bottom Right: Thúy Nguy n
video showing clips of the Dateline NBC investiga-
and Katherine Ph m inter-
tion of children being trafficked into prostitution to
view children for Ý Th c’s
remember that children elsewhere do not have the
video.
luxury of celebrating a safe Moon Festival. Chil-
dren also marched around the park holding colorful
lit lanterns of various shapes.

9

Children’s Moon Festival Proclamation
WHEREAS, the Children’s Moon Festival is
a traditional holiday, formerly called the Mid-
Autumn Moon Festival, that is celebrated in a
variety of Asian countries including China, Korea,
Japan, and Vietnam; and
WHEREAS, the Children’s Moon Festival
has much in common with North American
“Thanksgiving” as it was initially a harvest festival
celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth
month of the lunar calendar, when the moon, that
represents fullness and prosperity of life, appears
larger than any other time of the year; and
WHEREAS, the Children’s Moon Festival will
celebrate family and children with all-day activities
such as flower and photography exhibitions,
drawing and coloring contests, talent and
multicultural shows, games, food booths, and the
traditional Lantern Parade; and
10
Left: Supervisor Pete
McHugh enjoys a moment
with a child.
Below: Festival Coordinator
Van Le with San José Coun-
cilmember Chuck Reed.
WHEREAS, the Children’s Moon Festival will
feature special treats such as moon cakes, that have
a bright yoke in the center to represent the moon,
and are filled with lotus seeds, grated orange peel,
and ground beans; and
WHEREAS, the Children’s Moon Festival is one
of the most popular Vietnamese Festivals, that
was first celebrated in San Jose in 1992, and this
year will be hosted by the Viet-American Cultural
Foundation at Caesar Chavez Park on September
25, 2004.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the
Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara
does hereby commend the
CHILDREN’S MOON FESTIVAL
PASSED AND ADOPTED, this Fourteenth Day of
September, Two Thousand and Four by unanimous vote.
[!]
UVA Scholarship Awards Outstanding Students
WRITTEN BY
H nh Lê, Independence High School

Saturday, August 28, 2004 — Clapping rang through- Grand prize: Stanford Tr n Recipients
out the room, bursting with excitement as parents, An incoming senior at Wilcox High School, Stan-
friends, and families proudly beaming towards the Laura Đoàn, Cassey H ,
ford has achieved an impressive number of honors
stage as though they had won a prestigious award. Anna Lê, An Thiên Lê, Yên
and awards, in addition to his 3.95 GPA and 1510
Indeed, they are here to celebrate and recognize the Hoàng Nguy n, Phi Nguy n,
SAT score. They include among other things, three
thirteen recipients of the UVA scholarship award Qu nh Anh Nguy n, B o
first places award in the Silicon Valley Science and
put on by a nonprofit organization call United Châu Tr n, Brian Tr n, Di m
Technology Championship, members of the Study
Vietnamese American to recognize the all around Tr n, Stanford Tr n, Danh
of Exceptional Talent, having scored over 700 on
excellence of the students; don’t you wonder how Trang, Ph ng T .
the SAT before age 13, and named Athlete of the
they manage to pull it off being a teenager? Spring Issue. He enjoys going to school to become
Despite the workload of a student life, these an educated person. In the afternoons, he is in the
amazing students have exceed beyond school to be pool year-round as a member of the swim team,
involve and take part in the community, dedicat- which has taught him to judge his accomplishments
ing their talent and time to help the people in the only against his previous achievements. Stanford
society. How is it possible you may ask and what enjoys most weekends volunteering at Ulistac Natu-
motivates them? Well as Brian Tr n, a senior at ral Area, where volunteers labor to restore the 40-
Fremont High, puts it, “Preserving Vietnamese acre site back to its pre-European state; or pursuing
culture and martial arts are my two independent his photography passion. [!]
passions in life…I always make time for these two
things because as they say, you always find time for
the things you love.” Perhaps this is the reason why
Laura oàn raises money for charity, and it’s prob-
ably the same reason why B o Châu Tr n volun-
teers her time or Stanford Tr n participating in the
science fair, and the list goes on with these marvel-
ous students involved in constructive activities that
benefits the community.
Students also engage in cultural activities to
learn about their parents, their culture. As Ph ng
T expressed, “I seek to learn about the Vietnamese
culture and traditions because even though I was
born in America, I am a Vietnamese American.”
These students have done it through the love of
the culture, the love of the community, the love of
the family, and the love of human kind. These are
just a few examples of students like you and me
who have done great things and made a difference
in the community.

President of UVA, Nhat Ngo, presents the 13 scholarship recipients each with a certifi-
cate and a $1000 check.

11
An adventure in
love, identity,
and rice rockets..
 c V ng T ng Lai II

c V ng T ng Lai II

presented by the
United Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California U
N
T
N
ED

T ng H i Sinh Viên H c Sinh Vi t Nam mi n B c California

IT G H

TNA
VIE I SINH

Saturday, November 6, 2004, 7:00PM Th 7, Ngày 6 Tháng 11 N m 2004, 7:00PM

VIÊN H C
MESE STUDENT

Fremont High School Auditorium For more information, contact Ph ng:

A
SIN SSOC

1279 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road phuong.tu@norcalUVSA.org

H IA

N
VI T
T I

O AM
N
Sunnyvale, California 94087 (408) 828-4206 • http://www.norcalUVSA.org S O MI
FN NB NIA
ORT C CALIFOR NIA
HERN CALIFOR
Friday @ Five
What Is Fridaý@5?
All week long there’s encroach-
ing deadlines, lengthy meetings,
Soymint Productions
long commute in traffic, half-assed
papers, painful quizzes, and boring Help! Doctor! Please come
Oh! I’ll be there in 10 to 20
quickly! My ten-year-old son
lectures. Then it hits: Friday. 5PM. has just swallowed a pen!
minutes!

The weekly grind is over and all

the crap you had to put up with
doesn’t matter anymore. It’s the Soymint Productions
weekend, and it’s time for to do by Soy
something you actually care about.
You can now delve into your cre-
ative work, share it to others, and
get some helpful feedback.
Inspired by Jackie Lâm, Fri-
daý@5 is Ý Thúc’s creative space
where artists of all kind come to- Good, but . . . what am
I supposed to do in the
gether to share ideas and works in mean time?
various media, which will eventu- Just use
ally be published in Ý Thúc. another pen!

If you would like to submit

your creative works for
publication with Y Thuc,
please e-mail to:
ythuc@norcaluvsa.org

An Invisible Man What Is Left of Me

A vision so true, words stand unuttered
Near perfection as seen blurred by tears
Invisible walls holds men in shutters
Now destiny arrives upon my fear
Victim of arrows now lost out at sea
Indecision of where true north now leads
Submerged in a web, begging to be free
Invasion of the heart, the beast now feeds
Beauty so bright, yet is blind to the truth
Lesson of pleasure engulfed in pure pain
Eternal torture for yearnings of youth
Majestically travel through all her rein
A single tear falls as she leaves my grace
Never again shall my heart be replaced
Weary roads I have traveled for so long
Here my path fails short of salvation
As the echos come from an empty song
That accompanied my quest’s duration
Inside the deepest regions of dispair
Scrapping away for the glimmering hope An Invisible Man &
Light piercing into the soul of my stare What Is Left of Me
Eyes blinded as the darkness within ungulfs Written by Revantou
Fatigued and aimless I continued on San José State University
To find all crossroads lead me astray
Once here I realized my heart was wrong
For those I held dear would not aid my way
Misplaced faith a lonely traveler gave
Entrusted in all and with none was saved

14
 Your Teddy Bear
I think that I would like to be
The teddy bear that you hold
I’d sit upon your bed at night
On the blankets that you fold
Your Teddy Bear & I know I’ll always be near you
Image of You And cuddle close in your hands
Written by Lazie Oh yes, I’d love to be so lucky
That indeed would be so grand
Image of You
Why might I ask you of this
Why be your precious teddy bear
‘Cause then I know where you are
And I would also be there
I’d get so many warm hugs
You’d hold on to me so tight
I’d lay beside you close by
Each and every single night
I’d be with you when you’re down
When you’re feeling sad and blue
Your arms would wrap around me
And I’d always be a part of you
Profile Pictures
by Beef I’d catch the teardrops as they fall
San José State University Rolling slowly down your lovely face
I’d be tucked close to your heart
In such a warm and loving place
I’d also share in your delights
And hear your sweetest laughter
I’d keep my place upon your bed
For now, and forever after
I know I’d always be your friend
And all your secrets I’ll hold
Cause I would be the only one
That you would have ever told
Yes, I’ll be your little teddy bear
When you’re little, til you’re grown
Then I know I’ll be ever close to you
‘Cause I’ll always have a home
I’ll paint my love in shades of blue
Paint my soul to be with you
I’ll sketch your lips in shaded tones
Draw your mouth to match my own
I’ll draw your arms around my waist
And then all doubt I shall erase
I’ll paint the rain that softly lands
On the crescents of your hands
I’ll trace a hand to wipe your tears
A calming look to quell your fears
A silhouette of dark and light
While we hold each other tight
I’ll paint a sun to warm your heart
Swearing that we’ll never part
I’ll paint the stars in the evening sky
Draw their light into your eyes
I’ll draw a striking touch of grace
That shows the gentleness of your face
I’ll trace your hands to hold in mine
A touching kiss to mark the time
I’ll draw the years all passing by
So much to learn, so much to try
I’ll paint the truth, show how I feel
Try to make you completely real
I’ll use a brush so light and fine
To draw you close and make you mine
And with this ring our lives will start
In swearing that we’ll never part
I offer love you cannot buy
Devoted love until we die
15
Art Building, Black Gallery. September 21, 2004. Photo by Caroline Lê.
Fine Art Photographer: Qu nh Hà
WRITTEN BY
Caroline Lê, San Jose Staté University
If you walk to the middle of the campus at San Jose
State, it seems there are not many activities going
on in the early evening, especially on a Tuesday
night. But right across from the Student Union is
the Art Building where San Jose State photography
major, Qu nh Hà is holding her first photography
exhibition reception. From September 20–24, 2004,
Qu nh’s photography work will be displayed on the
2nd floor of the Art Building in the Black Gallery.
The gallery consists of landscape photos, rang-
ing from up-close shots of buildings to an eye-lead-
ing photo of railroad tracks. The sequential photos
epitomize a connection with one another, signifying
a cycle of construction, restoration, and destruc-
tion. “Everything you see around you. Everything
16
is changing dramatically,” says Qu nh. Qu nh
expresses her idea that nothing remains in its per-
manent form and everything is constantly changing
in front of our eyes and overtime. All of the photos
at the exhibit were taken near and around San Jose
State and within the same time period.
Qu nh’s interest in photography began in high
school. From beginning photography class in high
school to photo courses at De Anza Community
College and San Jose State University, Qu nh has
dedicated herself to her passion for the past six
years. Her parents are very supportive and encour-
aging in her career, as long as she’s content.

WRITTEN BY
Thi Nguy n, San Jose Staté University
To send questions to Friends Forever
I’ve just started my first year in college and am
Lily’s Lane, e-mail
already missing my high school friends who went to
ythuc@norcaluvsa.org
different colleges. Though I’m making new friends
here, I was wondering what are good ways to keep
in close contact with your old high school friends?
Most high school friends end up going their sepa-
rate ways however if you really want to remain
friends with them, all you half to do is try. If all of
you make an attempt to stay friends, I’m sure it’s
a possibility. You can send emails to the group at
least once a week to keep everyone posted with
your life. Try and set up a dates to go spend a day
together. Perhaps it can be for one of your birthdays
or just something you guys used to do. Set a date
and stick to it. To share each other’s new lives, take
turns going to each other’s school, introduce them
to your college friends, and show them around cam-
pus. Make them a part of your new life and share
in theirs. This is the time to find out which ones are
friends for life and which ones are just high school
friends. For those that are just high school friends,
don’t forget the times you’ve shared and treasure
those memories. For those that are friends for life,
hold on to those because they are very rare. Don’t
forget to enjoy your experiences in college and the
chance to meet new people. Good luck.
Troublesome Teachers
I’m a junior in high school and have been having a
hard time with one of my teachers. He gives us a lot
of homework every night and it’s not a Honors or
AP class. I work hard in my Honors and AP classes,
is there anyone I can talk to about him?
First, talk to your parents. Do not start off with “he
gives us too much work” or “everyone else in the
class doesn’t like him either.” Your parents will just
think you’re lazy and trying to get out of that class.
Lily’s Lane
Explain to them that you and this particular teacher
do not click. Tell them you don’t mind working this
hard if you got credit for an Honors class. Briefly
talk to them about requesting to be moved to a dif-
ferent class. You may even want to set up a meet-
ing between you, your parents and your guidance
counselor. Encourage your classmates to do the
same. If the school is getting a lot of complaints in
regards to this one teacher and his class, they might
look into it. I advise you to do this ONLY if your
parents are willingly to stick up for you and not
back down. If they just give up easily, I suggest you
not do anything. Teachers can be mean and if they
knew you complained about them, they might take
it out on you. Think about this and discuss this with
your parents thoroughly before taking action.
To Be More Than Friends
I have a friend that I’ve hung out with for years
now and I’ve started to develope a crush on him.
He’s dating someone but lately they’ve been hav-
ing a lot of problems and he’s been asking for my
advice. I want to just tell him to leave her for me.
Is there any way to subtly do it?
Honestly, he was your friend first and that should
be your priority. Put aside your feelings and think
about his. You need to give him a chance to work
out his relationship before he can even think about
dating you. Think about it this way, would you want
someone else to do that to you? Yes, granted they
are having trouble but do you want to be the one
that breaks them up? You’ll never know if he left
her because he couldn’t work out his problems or if
he just took the easy way out and left her for you.
Do you want a boyfriend like that? At the first sign
of trouble he runs?
17
Credits
All in all, I’m just REALLY GLAD, I’ve
found such a HAPPY GREASE FAMILY
that can’t be more REAL and LIVELY. I
love you guys!!
David Nguyen, President of RedFire-
cracker Foundation, and his mom: Thanks
for letting the GREASE family borrow
such a nice and beautiful place to practice
our dances and scenes.
Ben Menor, Director of the Northside
Community Center: I would like to thank
Ben for helping us shape up our actors/
actresses for “GREASE” and thank you
for letting us borrow such a beautiful
place to practice GREASE on Sundays.
We would also like to thank you for
teaching us how to swing and dance. We
all had an awesome time with the seniors
and yourself. YMCA and let’s YMCA on.
Anh Binh of Digital Image N’ Print:
Thank you so much for printing the nice
posters and tickets for us. You generosity
has helped us out so much. I would like
to send my warmest appreciation towards
the good things you have done for us and
the children. The support you have given
us and the hands that you have lent means
so much. Thank you!
The Parents: I would like to give my
warmest appreciation to the parents and
family of the casts. I want to thank all of
you for taking the time out of your busy
schedule to take us to practice.
The Grease Family and the
Grease Casts Members
Thuy Mai, Thuy Nguyen, Brian Tran,
My-Linh Tran, Anthony, Katherine
Pham, James, Kieu Tu, Cindy Nguyen,
Ann Luong, Jessica, Mark, Alvin Limbo,
Andy Vo, and Huy Vu: I would like to
G
give a special thanks to my cast and
crew members. We have laughed, cried,
even had our strongest tensions against
one another, but never along the way
did we give up. As our problems arise,
we were able to resolve it because we
all had one common goal, and from that
common goal we’ve made ourselves into
a family, The Grease Family. From the
hope of knowing what we want to do for
our own kind, we’ve built the power to
surpass any obstacles that met us along
the way. There aren’t enough words that
can be said to show you my appreciation
because without you guys there would be
no production.
Mt. Eden High School’s Traditional
Dance
Quyen Ly, Oanh Hoang, Tien dang,
Rebecca Nguyen, Lily Nguyen, Tran
Nguyen, Thu Tran: Thanks for being
apart of our GREASE Family. Thank you
for driving all the way up to San Jose to
practice and driving so far to participate
in this production. Your dances are awe-
some and keep up the good work.
Milpitas High School’s Traditional
Dance
Ann Luong, Cindy Nguyen, Connie Tu,
Diana Nguyen, Jennie Nguyen, Hong
Dang, Uyen Le, and Thuy Nguyen:
Thanks for being apart of Grease. Thanks
for such an awesome and wonderful
dance. Thanks for practicing so hard
every week, giving up your Fridays to
practice for hours, and going so far so
perform.
Name: Bao Ngo, Publications Coordinator
School: Art Institute of California, San
Francisco
Year: College 2nd Year
Name: Hanh Le, Backstage Coordinator
School: Independence High School, San Jose
Year: 12th Grade
 Marty
Name: Katherine Pham
School: Oak Grove High School, San Jose
Frenchy
Year: 10th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: I like long walks on the
beack, hanging out with my friends, traveling,
meeting new people and doing community service.
Basically, anything that would bring a smile to those
who surround me because it makes me happy.

Name: Ann Luong

School: Milpitas High School, Milpitas
Year: 11th Grade

Jan
Name: Thuy Mai
School: Silver Creek High School, San Jose
Year: 11th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: dancing, playing the
piano

Rizzo
Name: Kieu Tu
School: Silver Creek High School, San Jose
Year: 10th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Loves to talk on the
phone, dance, go to movies, and just hanging
out with friends.
Cha-Cha

Name: My-Linh Tran

School: Piedmont Hills High School, San Jose
Year: 12th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Friends call her
“Paulina.” Tennis (varsity), president of PHHS
Vietnamese Student Body Association. Likes to
be positive, optimistic, though naïve at times.

F
 Leo
Name: Anthony Buttler
School: Independence High School, San
Jose
Year: 12th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Singing,
Dancing, Writing, reading, drama
Kenickie

Name: James
School: Fremont High School, Sunnyvale

Name: Andy Vo

Eugene
School: Oak Grove High School, San Jose
Year: 12th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Hanging out
with friends, computers, games, movies,
trying new things
Putsy

Name: Alvin Joseph Limbo

Sonny
School: Fremont High School, Sunnyvale
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Enjoys taking pictures
although doesn’t own a camera, playing sports
although not athletic, and singing. Loves to
dance and learn new things.

Name: Mark
School: Fremont High School, Sunnyvale

E
Danny Cast
Name: Brian Tran

Sandy
School: Fremont High School, Sunnyvale
Year: 11th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: VSA, UVSA, Martial Arts

Name: Thuy Nguyen

School: Silver Creek High School, San Jose
Year: 10th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Dancing, Soccer, Singing

Michelle
Cecilia

Doody

Name: Cindy Nguyen

School: Milpitas High School, Milpitas
Year: 11th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Dancing, Reading,
and just hanging out with friends

Name: Huy Vu
School: Independence High School, San Jose
Year: 12th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: computer games and acting

Name: Jessica
School: Silver Creek High School, San Jose
Year: 10th Grade
Hobbies/Miscellaneous: Dancing

D
Synopsis
Danny and Sandy spent an incredible summer to- At the slumber party, more sign of segregation
gether. However, they did not get to see each other was depicted when Rizzo started a campaign to
in his/her own environment. They depart on the last make fun of Sandy’s traditional and reserved way.
day of summer because Sandy has to go back to her Sandy found out and left the party into an empty
parents in Vietnam. They say their “tearful” good- street where her true character is revealed through
bye at a beach and believed that they will never see a song.
each other again. Danny apologized to Sandy and they made up.
First day of school, Danny’s true character—a Danny invites Sandy to a dance. They went and
second generation Vietnamese-American, macho, had a great time at the beginning. Then Danny was
“bad boy”, and Americanized—is finally revealed asked by Cha-Cha to dance with her. He agreed and
through his mannerism with his group of friends. once again disappointed and hurt Sandy.
Sandy returns to the picture as an innocent, re- Danny was volunteered to enter a race by his
served, new student at Little Saigon High (her group of friends. He won. The couple realized that
parents allowed her to visit America a little longer). they each have to compromise to each other. Danny
She doesn’t know what to do or where to go. They began to take cultural classes and dance classes.
each got into a group of friends and started to talk Sandy gets a make over. They meet each other at a
about their summer. Sandy talked about Danny and fair and realized their “hot burning love.”
vice versa. Rizzo—quasi-antagonist—was amongst
the group of girls; she realized that the person that
Sandy was talking about is Danny. To try to assimi-
late herself more to her surrounding, Sandy decided
to join the cheerleading team.
A few days later, Sandy went to a football pep
rally with the cheer leading team. She realized that
her dancing style—traditional—was not that of
the other cheerleaders. Rizzo introduced Sandy to
Danny. The couple was ecstatic once they saw each
other. However, Danny was is his group of Ameri-
canized friends; he started to act “cool and macho.”
Sandy was angry and hurt because Danny was not
the same person that she got to know during the
summer. Sandy was invited to a slumber party after
the pep rally.

C
 Introduction
Welcome to Program
GREASE! National Anthem
Vietnamese Anthem
Introduction to c V ng T ng Lai II: GREASE
Welcome to the by Ph ng T , President of UVSA Northern California
acting, dancing, and Slideshow on Children’s Sex Trafficking
singing world of Speech
“GREASE.” Unlike by David Nguy n, President of RedFirecracker Foundation
many cultural shows
that we had in the ACT I
past, “GREASE” is
not just a nostalgic Scene 1
look at a simpler Scene 2 Beach of Broken Hearts
decade, but is an Scene 3
energetic and excit- Scene 4 A Day At Little Saigon High
ing musical play. Scene 5
A musical play that Scene 6
will include sing- Summer Nights, performed by cast
ing, dancing, and acting performed by talented high Scene 7
school students from across the Bay Area. From
one generation to the next, we tend to struggle with ACT II
different cultural identities. “GREASE” is a musical
play that will touch light upon the cultural identi- Scene 8 Pep Rally
ties, music, language, friends, love and so much Traditional Hat Dance, performed by Milpitas H.S. Dancers
more. Danny’s true character is a second generation Scene 9
Vietnamese-American, macho, “bad boy.” Danny Scene 10 Kenickie’s Garage
assimilated in the American culture while Sandy is GREASE Lightning, performed by cast
an innocent, traditional and reserved new student at Scene 11
Little Saigon High. Danny finally revealed himself Scene 12 Slumber Party
through his mannerism with his group of friends Ch ng Xa, performed by Thu Tr n and Mt. Eden H.S. Hat
while Sandy was sincere with her feelings. Danny Dancers
and Sandy have two different cultural identities and Hopelessly Devoted to You, performed by Thúy Nguy n
their own differences. The adventure of identity, Scene 13
love, and rice rockets… WELCOMES YOU ALL!!! Scene 14 Au UVSA Café
Scene 15 Cha-Cha Steals the Spotlight
Ph ng T Sock Hop Dance, performed by cast
President of UVSA Northern California Scene 16
Scene 17 Doody’s Dilemma
Scene 18 The Cultural Switch-A-Roo
You’re the One That I Want, performed by cast
Scene 19 Finale
We Go Together, performed by cast

FINAL CURTAIN CALL

B
 c v ng t ng lai:

saturday, november 6, 2004

th 7, ngày 6 tháng 11 n m 2004
fremont high school auditorium
sunnyvale, ca