After finding out about NLE Choppa’s withdrawal, almost two weeks before the event, the Spring Fling committee scrambled to find a replacement act. Despite this last-minute line-up change, the committee is still confident that Ken Carson is the “right choice for the student body,” said Morris Raskin ’26.  

“Carson’s music is stylistically very different from NLE. It’s so energetic,” said Raskin, talent chair of the Spring Fling committee. “They’re both rappers, but on two very opposite sides of the rapper continuum.”

Even before his arrival to Yale, Ken Carson had already associated himself with the school through the eponymous single, “Yale.” This made Carson an “exciting and immediate choice,” Raskin said.  

Carson, whose real name is Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr., is an Atlanta rapper and producer known for his high-intensity music, electrifying performance style and unique blend of musical styles. 

He rose to fame in 2015 after signing to 808 Mafia, and later solidified his fame after signing with Opium — a label owned by Playboi Carti, who performed at Yale’s Spring Fling in 2019. 

“It was very surprising and disappointing because we were very excited to have NLE come, but now that we have a new option, we are excited,” Raskin said. 

Finding and securing an artist usually takes months of work, but committee members expedited this process to select Ken Carson in a matter of days. 

The process of recruiting Ken Carson was an “uphill battle,” according to Raskin, especially as late April marks a busy time for college music festivals. 

“We’ve already had a lot of reps and experience of trying to figure out who to book, so it was just about getting right back into the flow of thinking about who our school would want to see and who would please the most people,” Raskin said. “I’m very proud that we were able to pull this off.” 

With the new lineup locked in and the event fast approaching, the committee looks forward to seeing the campus’s reaction. The concert has been a “long time coming,” said Raskin. 

Yale’s Spring Fling will take place on April 26 on Old Campus. 

The post Ken Carson to replace NLE Choppa as Spring Fling 2025 headliner appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The Yale Daily News is excited to present a collection of stories and artwork that showcases the diverse experiences of Yale’s Asian American community. Some of our stories capture programming and festivities at the Asian American Cultural Center, which celebrated Pan-Asian American Heritage Month throughout March and early April. Other stories encapsulate how community members — from faculty to New Haven residents to students — envision radically optimistic futures for Asian America through tradition and advocacy.

In this special issue, Tina Li profiles local organizers in New Haven, whose Asian American heritage informs their advocacy. Kamini Purushothaman covers Yalies who celebrate their heritage and culture through vibrant performing arts. Madison Butchko reflects on her experience growing up as an adopted Chinese American. Zeyna Malik captures the stories of six visual artists at Yale, who capture beauty and community through brush and lens.

We would like to thank all of the talented writers and artists who contributed to this special issue. For our readers both within and beyond the Asian American community, we hope this issue can be one of joy and reflection.

With love,

Ellie Park, Jane Park and Yolanda Wang are the lead special issue editors for the News’ Asian American Special Issue. Ellie is the Multimedia Managing Editor, Jane is the Arts Editor and Yolanda is a staff reporter for the University Desk.

The post Introduction: Asian American Special Issue appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Lover, do you remember our wavering goodbyes in the corridor? 

그날의 끄덕임을 난 잊을 수 없다오

Lover, I cannot dare forget the slight nods exchanged that day. 

길가에 내린 새벽 그 고요를 기억하오

Lover, do you remember the twilight-laden street, its quiet? 

그날의 다섯시를 난 잊을 수 없다오

Lover, I cannot dare forget that day’s five o’clock

반듯하게 내린 기다란 속눈썹 아래

Beneath those delicately-shaped, long eyelashes of yours 

몹시도 사랑히 적어둔 글씨들에

The letters, scribbled with far too much love 

이따금 불러주던 형편없는 휘파람에

The ever-so-often, clumsy whistling 

그 모든 나의 자리에 나 머물러 있다오

Lover, in all of my dwellings, I still linger

아끼던 연필로 그어놓은 밑줄 아래

Beneath the line drawn by my so-cherished pen 

우리 둘 나란히 적어둔 이름들에

Our two names, scribbled side-by-side 

무심한 걱정으로 묶어주던 신발끈에

The shoelaces that you so casually tied 

그 모든 나의 자리에 나 머물러 있다오

Lover, in all of my dwellings, I still linger

좋아하던 봄 노래와 내리는 눈송이에도

Even in your beloved spring tunes and the fluttering snow-petals 

어디보다 그대 안에 나 머물러 있다오

Lover, more than anywhere, I dwell within you 

나 머물러 있다오 그대 울지 마시오

Lover, I still linger. Lover, please do not cry. 

It is the age of romance. Fingertips brush against each other. Skin touches skin delicately, fleetingly. In the blink of an eye, the two lovers are on opposite ends of the busy town square, both with a love confession in hand.  Secret smiles paint their lips, as their fingers loosely and gingerly encase the slips of paper, so as not to crush it. With each stride, the 쪽지 (slip) flutters inside their loose hands. 

When I watch the black and white, romance flicks from 1940s Hollywood, I wonder if this is the memory of love that my white American friends have inherited throughout time. Perhaps, they locate the love stories of their grandparents or great-grandparents on the screen. For me, it’s not as simple. I can’t find the faces of my grandparents in that of Humphrey Bogart’s “Rick Blaine” or Audrey Hepburn’s “Princess Ann”  — very few people can see their faces in Hepburn’s doe-eyes or prominently-curved nose, but you get my point.

My grandparents never told me about their cinematic love — probably, because the gloomy aftermaths of the Korean War, during which they grew up,  afforded them little romance. I weave together the bits and pieces of my ancestors’ stories in my imagination.

For Indonesian artist Niki, she pursued a similar endeavor when writing her hit-song, “Every Summertime” — one song from the Asian diaspora-spanning soundtrack of “Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” In the song, two lovers stroll down the boulevards and dance under the streetlights of San Francisco. From the Genius page: “Modeled after Shang-Chi’s parents in the film as well as some of Niki’s own experiences, the song tells the story of two Asian teens falling in love in the 80s.”

This essay, and the beginning, italicized excerpt, is my answer to the question: how would my teenaged-grandparents have fallen in love in 1950s Korea? 

This story takes place in the musical landscape of 사랑 편지, or “Love Letter” — a song written and sung by South Korea’s darling singer IU. Accompanying the song is my own Korean-to-English translation of the song. 

I encourage Korean-readers to take note of the sentences that end with “오,” pronounced as “–oh.” From my research — consulting my mother and scenes from sageuks, or Korean period dramas — I gathered that the “오” ending is an in-between form of casual address (반말) and formal speech (존댓말) that was used in older times. 

According to my mother, the participle was usually used by noblemen (양반). Strangely, all of the instances of “-오” I could recall were used between lovers or close friends. Additionally, the “-오”  betrays a sense of mercy begging for mercy. 

As IU sings to an unknown lover, through this antiquated, strangely-nostalgic language, she pleads with her lover to remember her. For all of the sentences with -오, I attached the word, “Lover” — perhaps the “noun” that properly conveys/translates the identity of “bearer of mercy.” After all, aren’t we all in mercy when we love?  

In his scholarly article, “The World in a Love Letter,” Boduerae Kwon outlines the history of “yonae,” the Korean word for romance, and how this modern concept of romantic love was a colonial import. In fact, this “yonae” is at the heart of modern Korean literature’s origin. As modern literature appealed to readers with its sense of intimate and immediate communication, the concept of love letters was born (Kwon 21). In fact, the medium of the love letter soon became synonymous with the quiet, yet fatal intensity of the lovers’ correspondence.                                                                                                                                                                              

“Lovers would sometimes ride the same bus and get off through different doors, as though strangers, and exchange a few words while walking together… The more timid and awkward one’s actual contact with the object of desire, the more fervent became the confession of one’s inner self in letters (Kwon, 29).” 

To my ears, IU’s “Love Letter,” released in 2021, sounds like a letter that has time-travelled from the 1940s. Despite the vanilla actions described in the lyrics — the nonchalantly-tied shoe-laces, slight nods, wavering exchanges — she makes a burning confession: “I dwell within you.” Despite the presumed physical distance between the singer and her lover, the song’s lines destroy any sense of separation: “I still linger” in all of our shared exchanges, moments and places. 

In the warmth of her room, the woman grabs her so-cherished pen and hovers over the paper. Reaching for the diamond-shaped bottle of perfume, she presses lightly and sprays a mist of sweetness over the envelope. Heart stirring, she begins to write: ‘Lover, do you remember….’ 

The post A love letter from the past appeared first on Yale Daily News.

To open the concert, Japanese filmmaker and musical artist Mei Ehara — who previously featured on Webster’s 2021 album on the song “I Know I’m Funny Haha” — gave a serene rendition of selected songs, including her popular albums Ampersands and Sway. Ehara has accompanied Webster on other tour stops.

Shining under the lights of an intimate stage setting, Ehara’s performance was somewhat monotonous, yet therapeutic. She stood solo on the stage, strumming her guitar and singing entirely in Japanese.

After Ehara’s opening, the stage crew meticulously constructed the stage for the main performance. Behind the band hung a fantastically huge T-shirt cutout and racks of plainly-colored shirts, which staff hung one by one.

An expert instrumentalist, Webster and her team showed their prowess over features like stage design and lighting. In songs like “Right Side of My Neck” and “Kingston,” bubbles soared throughout the venue and glimmered in the rainbow strobe lights. 

Slower, more angst-filled songs like “Johnny” and “In A Good Way” were lit in a seductive red. 

Webster wasn’t afraid to experiment with the spatiality of her music, embedding the intimacy of her bedroom-pop acoustics or the familiarity of a retro laundromat into the stage. 

The stage captured just that, with futuristic laundry machines providing additional neon lighting, glowing past the blue clothes hanging just behind — a reference to the 2024 album cover of “Undressed at the Symphony.”

The most notable stage element, which stirred conversation even before the show began, was the comically large white t-shirt hanging on the back wall. Later on in the show, the drape-like surface was used as a projector, casting everything from minions to a Nintendo-style karaoke selection of Webster’s songs. 

Even without this set, Webster’s performance was enough to fill the venue, which seats approximately 2,000 people. Most seats were packed.

Webster’s repertoire exists within the dreamy genre of bedroom-pop. Yet, her setlist was anything but static. From her more-upbeat song “Lego Ring” to the delectably slow “In a Good Way,” Webster showed that softness can take dynamic, different forms. 

To non-fans, Webster’s twangy guitar and easy-going drums seem to blend into one another. But within these musical consistencies and motifs, Webster adds in accents here and there: tambourines, violins and trumpets. 

Throughout the setlist, Webster invited other players onto the stage. Solos from other band members were interspersed throughout the performance. Close to the end of the performance, drummer Charles LaMont delivered an expertly paced and invigoratingly climactic drum solo. 

In her second to last song, “Feeling Good Today,” she brought on her “best friend, Lulu.” 

The all-too-familiar and jazzy bedroom-pop canvas features splashes of Webster’s distinct, artistic color. 

The setlist integrated songs from her most recent album, “Underdressed at the Symphony,” which was released last year. From it, she selected “Thinking About You,” “But Not Kiss” and “Tttttime.” 

Don’t be tricked by Webster’s soft and ambient music; Webster showed that the small could be just as impactful and tantalizing as the big. 

Webster’s slightest movements were enough to captivate audiences. With her back entirely facing listeners, Webster dipped and swayed to the rhythm. Despite the smallness of these actions, the crowd fawned over her. 

Like the inimitable feeling of a “first kiss,” Webster carefully chose when to interact with the audience — and when to draw back. Only once during the concert did she point the mic away from the stage, in which the entire auditorium ruptured into a chorus singing “Lego Ring.” 

Not everyone in attendance was a devoted listener, but for a few verses, it seemed as if the lyrics were sung unanimously. While the melody might have been lost amongst the few diehard supporters who passionately sang amidst pitchless screams, this moment captured the raw emotion and vulnerability of Webster’s music. 

Perhaps the most captivating and dramatic scene in Webster’s performance was the song “Jonny” and its reprise. Webster, who is both the composer and writer for the piece, displays her lyrical command: “Johnny, did you ever love me? Jonny, help me figure it out. Not that I’ve paid attention, but you haven’t said it out loud.”

When the crowd chanted for an encore, Webster did not disappoint. 

Curiously, Webster’s biggest hit, “Kingston,” made its appearance as the final song. But this itself seemed like an intentional choice. 

Beloved by both hardcore fans and casual listeners alike, Webster saved the best for last. At this concert, the climax appeared at the finale, titillating and jolting audiences alive before the final bow. 

Next, Faye Webster is set to perform on Feb. 28 in Portland, Oregon. 

The post REVIEW: Faye Webster’s groovy, bedroom-pop captivates College Street Music Hall appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Welcome to the Yale Daily News’ special issue celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! This issue finds us all after the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year — its delivery a bit more delayed than previous AAPI spissues. Yet, as our contributors and members of the new managing board have worked from various parts of the world and timezones to jointly create the “AAPI – Coming of Age” spissue, I am both extremely proud and excited to present these thoughtful and courageous pieces. 

Like many of you, my coming of age occurred during the pandemic. My generation of peers and I learned to grow up while simultaneously confronting the surge of brutality and violence against people of color, the uncertainty of ever-changing health and social regulations, and the loneliness and chaos of digital interactions. Our adolescence is tinged by the hues of COVID-19. 

Especially with the spike of anti-Asian hate during COVID-19, my coming of age as an Asian-American woman happened side by side with pandemic mourning and the questions of healing that followed. This year, as I reflect about my Asian-American identity in 2024, I am taken aback by just how much COVID-19 has influenced my understanding of being Asian. 

So where does that leave us? What does it mean to be Asian American in 2024? 

The content offered in the special issue suggests that Asian America is still growing up, developing and branching off into different lives. The title “Coming of Age” can refer to the transition from childhood to adolescence, but it can largely mean growth. 

As Emily Khym ’27 reports on KASAMA, Yale’s Filipinx club, and their advancements in implementing Tagalog as a credit-bearing class and Andre Fa’aoso ’27 writes about Yale’s first Pasifika Fest, their coverage speaks to the ways AAPI communities at Yale are continually blooming and fostering new and important developments.

Madison Butchko ’25 and I dive into the Asian women who we’ve looked up to since our adolescence: for Butchko, Cristina Yang from “Grey’s Anatomy” and for me, Juhyun Kim — or my mother. In her analysis of Yang, Butchko explores what authenticity looks like in Asian American representation, and how Yang built “a foundation for more authenticity and offered a glimpse of how to start diverging away from stereotypes that once confined Asian Americans for so long.” In my piece, “An ode to my mother,” I pen a letter to my Korean mother and attempt to describe the beautiful complexities that exist in a daughter-mother relationship: “To the end of my life, you are the one song I will never stop singing.” 

Our spissue concludes with a collection of photos that showcase the numerous moments of Asian artistry and talent throughout the year — from dynamic performance shots from Roshni, Yale’s South Asian Society’s largest cultural show held annually, to snapshots of the Maui wildfire relief benefit concert, to photos of speaker-events such as Celine Song’s NAAHP keynote address.  

AAPI communities and students at Yale are defining their own coming of age with brilliance and excitement. 

This issue is not a perfect nor total representation of AAPI at Yale nor the News’ commitment to accurately representing AAPI voices. The paper’s history of harmful and negligent coverage of communities of color is a question that I, as an Asian American woman, and other colleagues of color, grapple with quite frequently. Yet, I believe in the paper’s capacity to grow and believe that the Yale Daily News can and should be a platform leveraged by and for all voices. 

As stated before, I am immensely excited and proud to be a contributor to this spissue and the paper’s continued efforts to amplify our voices. 

To all the hands that have created this issue, I hope you all are too. 

Lastly, thank you to our readers for picking up this spissue and believing in the importance of reading and seeing AAPI voices.

With love,

Jane Park ’26, Arts Editor

The post Welcome to the News’ special issue commemorating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!! appeared first on Yale Daily News.

AAPI Heritage Month falls on the glorious month of May. But this month of festivities is always eclipsed by a more seriously celebrated holiday, at least in my household: my mom’s birthday.

May 8 marks Juhyun Kim’s 30th birthday. And it’ll always be her 30th birthday. Of course, like the rest of us, she ages with every passing year. But still, she insists she’s thirty. “Never let them know your real age,” she tells me with a wink. 

Though more than a week has passed since her birthday, I have yet to write her a birthday card. To her persistent questioning, I have responded rather evasively. “I didn’t have any time.” “I’m waiting for Eugene (my twin brother) to write his half of the letter.” “I couldn’t find a card.” 

Well Mom, to my defense, some of these elusive answers are true. But the most honest answer is that I just haven’t found the words to say to you. With my fingers, sometimes flying, but mostly hesitating, as they hover over the laptop keyboard, maybe I’ll figure out some of my words right now. 

THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE: 

May 12, four days after my mother’s birthday, is Mother’s Day. Jokingly, the rest of our family tells her that our “Happy Birthday” present doubles as our “Happy Mother’s Day” gift. But over the years, a fear has crept up on me. I wonder now if that joke has become a reality. Is our celebration of her birth merely a celebration of her motherhood? 

If a glimpse into someone’s life should be compared to looking into a kaleidoscope — that is, if the many lives they lived represented thousands of colorful reflecting surfaces — then I have observed my mom through a magnifying glass: a perspective zoomed in to her role as my mother. 

I do not know her years prior to 2004. The many places and people she left behind in Korea are relics of the past that are inaccessible to me. I’ve always thought that to know someone is to love someone. Have I not been loving — knowing — my mother like she’s loved me? While my mom has smoothened the crease between my eyebrows and held me through sleepless nights, I remain in the dark about her own eyebrow creases and sleepless nights. 

Mom, what do you dream about? What keeps you up at night? 

In the movie “Past Lives,” Arthur confesses his insecurity of being a white husband to Nora, a Korean woman: “You dream in a language I can’t understand. It’s like there’s this whole place inside you I can’t go.” 

When I first heard that line, I couldn’t help but think of the distance between you and me, Mom. How it might span the Pacific waters and decades of time. Yet, during Celine Song’s visit to Yale, I found comfort in her interpretation that Arthur’s words of insecurity are an expression of love.

“It is actually in the way that it’s almost in the longing that exists in the difference between these two people,” said Song. “The truth is, I find this to be true in any intimacy… And so, what an amazing thing to know that your wife will always be a mystery to you.” 

Mom, I vow to pursue the mystery that you are. 

APPLE OF MY EYE 

When I was young, I wanted nothing more than to look like my mom. 

I would sneak into my mother’s closet and pick out my newest accessory among her trove of heels, scarves and handbags. Then, I would awkwardly yet triumphantly parade down the hallway, in her finest silks and shoes that were much too big for me. As I opened the door to her bedroom, I remembered popping a hip to the side and striking my best pose. I would ask her: 

“Mom, do I look like you?” 

She would laugh and take me into her arms. “Of course, you do, my pretty daughter.” 

This was not entirely true. Puberty, which did not hold the parental obligation to tell me sweet lies, made it brutally clear in my early high school years. I did not have my mom’s wide, almond eyes, nor her long, slender legs. My mom’s pronounced, sharp features pierced through every photo, even the poorly taken ones. My rounder, hazier characteristics seemed blurry and unremarkable in comparison. 

For my entire childhood, I wanted nothing more than to resemble the way she looks in a Polaroid photo where my mother is holding me and my brother — a photo I keep in my wallet to this day. I would ask family members and friends if they could see the resemblance between us and pretend not to be hurt when they said I looked more like my dad instead. Sorry Dad. 

Many years down the line, I have reconciled with the fact that I do not have my mother’s long eyes nor her high nose. I’ve realized that her beauty has never been contained to the aesthetic. 

Mom, you may consider your dazzling handbags and plethora of skincare products your arsenal of youth and beauty. But, to me, you are the most beautiful person because you are the person who evokes the most in me. 

My days of playing dress-up and being called cute by virtue of age are far behind me. In two weeks’ time, I will be a twenty-year old, junior in college — extremely far from the excessively positive and jubilant youth I once was. But even at this age, you never fail to pinch my cheeks and tell me lovingly that I am still your adorable daughter. 

Whether my features resemble yours or your heels and scarves fit me, none of it matters. As long as you tell me that I am a sight you adore, I feel like the most beautiful person in the world. 

Beauty is in the beholder of the eye, and you fill my eyes with so much love, Mom.

______________________________________________________________

SONGS ABOUT JUHYUN:  

We sing eternally about our Asian mothers. Even when it seems as if all the songs have been sung and all the stories have been written, there are always more words, more music, more art that can be created to honor and decode the word “mother.” They are the monsters of our story, as Ocean Vuong writes in “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.” They are the first and second words we utter, says Michelle Zauner in “Crying in H Mart.” 

To me, my mother is the most familiar space. When I embrace my mother, my arms know where to wrap, my chin knows where to bury. Yet, when I observe her rare tears or catch bits of hushed conversations about her childhood, I know that my mother is my biggest mystery.  

But one thing is for sure. Mom, you are the keeper of my heart. You are the keeper of my laughter, my tears, my fondest memories and fears. 

To the end of my life, you are one song I will never stop singing. 

Love, love, love,

Jane 

The post An ode to my mother appeared first on Yale Daily News.

“The Far Country,” the Yale Rep’s concluding play of its 2023-24 season, follows the journey of an unlikely family, from China’s Guangdong Province to Angel Island Detention Center, as they confront the price of immigration. 

Written by Lloyd Suh and directed by Ralph B. Peña, the play begins in 1909, two decades after the U.S. enforced the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. With the destruction of documentation and the creation of “paper families” from feigned and stolen identities, “The Far Country” explores how Chinese immigrants found ways around their legalized exclusion — a plight that isn’t unfamiliar to immigrants of today, according to Peña. 

“The United States has always had a very thorny relationship with immigrants,” said Peña. “They’ve enacted laws to keep us out, to keep many immigrants out. Without necessarily making direct parallels, I think audiences today will see how this hasn’t changed much… It’s still happening.”

While there are degrees of universality to the play, the experience of Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s is “unique” given the distinctly anti-Chinese sentiment of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Peña said. The exclusion act was the first piece of major legislation to explicitly restrict and suspend immigration for a specific nationality. 

This extraordinary history of Chinese immigration, however, is rarely taught in classrooms, said Peña and David Shih, who plays the role of Gee. The history of the Chinese Exclusion Act is “not included” in most U.S. social studies and history curriculum, according to Judy Yu, an assistant professor at Queens College and educational activist. 

As a part of the Yale Rep’s “WILL POWER!” program, an annual educational initiative, the theater will offer programming centered around “The Far Country” to New Haven Public School students and educators. Along with past seasons of the program, high school students will be able to view the show for free, said Peña.

Shih said that historical stories such as “The Far Country” and attempts to bring awareness to “uncomfortable” parts of U.S. history are especially important given the country’s various attempts to restrict classroom conversations about race. 

“I think there are a lot of things about American history that should be taught that aren’t,” said Shih. “In a time, especially where in certain parts of the country, there are laws that are being enacted to prevent schools from teaching certain histories, I think that it’s important that we know our history … and hopefully, don’t repeat it, because in some ways, I feel like we are repeating it.” 

In addition to the unique nature behind the exclusion of Chinese immigrants, “The Far Country” is different from other tales of immigration, as it focuses on a family “created out of almost a business transaction,” rather than blood-related relatives, Shih said. Through the process of immigration, these strangers ultimately form a “chosen family” of sorts, according to Joyce Meimei Zheng, who plays the character of Yuen.

Unlike their characters, the actors and the production crew were hardly strangers to one another, as some of them had worked with each other on different projects. For Shih, he had previously worked with Đavid Lee Huỳnh, who plays Two in the play, and Peña on Daniel K. Isaac’s “Once Upon a (Korean) Time.” Shik spoke to the closeness of the cast, who frequently hung out around the “famous snack table” in the rehearsal room and enjoyed group karaoke nights on Saturdays. 

The majority of the cast are Asian American actors, some of whom have said that the stakes were much higher given the historical and cultural significance of the story. In particular, Zheng spoke about the pressures she confronted given the somewhat sparse representation of Asian American experiences on the stage: “this is not a story that we get to hear often,” she said. 

Zheng also described this experience as a reckoning with her place and power on the stage as an Asian woman in theater. 

“The challenge that I’ve been facing in my process as an actor is definitely learning, like what works for me… How do I not be self conscious? How do I be brave and take up space?” said Zheng. “Especially as a young, small Asian woman, how do I claim my power and take up space on a stage, in a room, amongst people that I’ve never talked to that I’ve never met before.”

While “The Far Country” is a weighty story that speaks of the sacrifices and things left behind in the passage to America, which are prominent themes in immigration stories, the play aims to deliver a tale of both grieving and celebration, said Zheng. 

Designed by Kim Zhou, the set design displays this message of resilience amidst suffering, quite literally. The set carries the inscriptions that Chinese immigrants carved on the walls of Angel Island in real life. According to Peña, this design element is crucial to not only the telling of the story but in evoking the idea of Angel Island as “both a detention center and a palace for art and poetry.” 

Peña continued and said that the crew of “The Far Country” was “conscious about being authentic to the story,” which is seen in production elements, such as costume design and the use of photographs from the period, and dramaturgy. 

“It’s very easy to self-ghettoize this story, even Asians can can do it,” said Peña. “When we look at photographs from the period, for example, or even stories, the write-ups during this period, those were all written from the white point of view, including the photographs. Who is taking the photograph, and why? Or who’s writing the stories and why? The stories are always written by the victors, right, so we’re rarely given the opportunity to contextualize our own stories.” 

“The Far Country” ran from April 26 to May 18, 2024. 

The post A chosen family emerges from paper and destruction in the Yale Rep’s “The Far Country” appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Yale Police Department officers arrested the student inside William L. Harkness Hall after obtaining an arrest warrant charging the student with criminal mischief in the first degree — a Class D felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison. The arrest warrant obtained by the News alleges that the arrested student disconnected a rope on the flagpole and “purposely forced the American flag to fall to, and remain on the ground, sustaining multiple footprints and damage.”

On Friday, April 19, nine days before the arrest, a student protester removed the American flag from the flagpole on Beinecke Plaza while organizers set up the first pro-divestment encampment. That night, an organizer told the News that the action to take down the flag was not sanctioned by the student coalition that organized the bulk of Friday’s demonstrations. 

The arrested student was held in police custody overnight on Monday at the New Haven Police Department’s detention facility at 1 Union Ave. after the judge who signed the warrant determined that the $10,000 bail could be posted only at court. At the arraignment, which occurred around 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, a different judge dropped the bail under the condition that the individual would show up to their court date on May 9. The News could not reach the arrested student for comment.

Yale estimates costly damages

Yale Police Officer Erik St. Germain, who applied for the arrest warrant, contacted John-Paulo Fernandes, the University’s director of campus stewardship, on Thursday, April 25, to request a work-order estimate for the cost of repairing the damage done to the flagpole, according to the warrant. Fernandes was the point of contact for the team that restored the American flag to the flagpole on Thursday. 

The warrant outlines Fernandes’ estimates of the cost of restoration, which include $270.30 for a new flag, $500 for operations labor, $300 for “rope with material,” $1,200 for “rope with steel wire” and its installation and $6,916.68 for renting and operating the lift used to put the flag back up.

The warrant clarifies that the $300 ropes are temporary substitutes for the $1,200 ropes, which would be backordered for around six weeks as of April 29 when the warrant request was filed.

The University spokesperson declined to clarify what company was contracted to rent a lift or provide the receipt for the service.

A charge of criminal mischief in the first degree requires probable cause of the property damages exceeding a cost of $1,500, according to Connecticut legislation.

At the arraignment, the prosecutor David Strollo expressed willingness to pursue the accelerated rehabilitation program for the defendant, which gives first-time offenders an opportunity to have their criminal charges dismissed after they complete educational and treatment programs. 

Under the accelerated rehabilitation program, individuals are subject to a set of conditions by which they must abide, which typically include not being arrested again and not committing a second legal offense. At the arraignment, Strollo alluded to a condition of restitution, under which the student would have to pay back the cost of the damages to the University — over $9,000 in total.

“For $9,000, Yale could probably put a flag in space,” said Alex Taubes LAW ’15, a private civil rights attorney who represented the student at the arraignment.

The News could not reach Strollo for comment.

 Warrant explains the identification process

According to the warrant, a still photograph of the student, captured on closed-circuit television footage, was provided to all sworn Yale law enforcement personnel.

Officer Yasmin Ramadan identified the student from her “previous employment at Beinecke Library,” where she had multiple interactions with the arrested student, according to the warrant. Officer Joseph Funaro also shared a brief conversation with the student earlier this month and was able to identify them through a scarf that they had worn during both the previous interaction and the April 19 incident. 

According to the warrant, the video footage captures an individual that Yale Police identified as the arrested student entering Beinecke Plaza and walking directly to the flagpole, where they then spent 23 minutes attempting to release the rope. 

Yale Police also identified the arrested student in footage of them returning to the flagpole to retrieve their scarf after the incident and, later that day, crossing York Street.

YPD officers conducted a side-by-side comparison of the still images from the CCTV footage and still photographs of the arrested student in the Yale online database to make a “positive identification,” according to the warrant.

The warrant also mentions that Officer Danny Sentementes recorded “further vandalism and destruction by this group of protestors” from the same event. The University spokesperson declined to comment on whether this means that there might be more arrest warrants out for students involved in pro-Palestine protests. 

Overnight detention turns heads

The arrested student was initially arrested by YPD officers on Monday afternoon and was held overnight in an NHPD facility until the next day at 2:30 p.m. Police Chief Karl Jacobson told the News that the student was held in the NHPD facility because YPD does not have its own detention holding facility. 

Jacobson explained that individuals arrested in the afternoon usually do not have arraignments until the following day because the New Haven Superior Court conducts them in the late morning. Individuals arrested after arraignments end for the day are thus taken to the NHPD detention facility. 

In many cases, Jacobson said, an arrested individual can pay their set bail bond from the detention facility with the help of bail bonds Lynchburg agents. However, the judge who signed the arrest warrant for the Yale student specified that the student could only be “bonded out” in court.

The student was, therefore, required to spend Monday night at the detention facility until they could attend their arraignment on Tuesday, Jacobson said. According to Jacobson, such a decision by a judge does happen, but not very often.

“I think that they did it that way because they didn’t want them to just come back and go protest again, or something to that effect,” Jacobson speculated.

According to Taubes, the arrested student’s attorney, the decision to hold the student overnight in jail on a $10,000 bond was “unprecedented” and “certainly unconstitutional,” if the student was not determined to be a flight risk or a threat. 

According to Duncan Hosie LAW ’21, appellate lawyer and former fellow at the ACLU, while overnight detainment isn’t “unheard” of, the “best practice” would be to release an arrested person after a few hours in police custody.

Hosie also said that vandalism of private property at universities is inconsistently punished and occurs when university administrators don’t like or align with the content of protesters’ actions. 

“There’s a precedent of universities enforcing rules against vandalizing private property inconsistently as a means to punish particular speech or speakers,” Hosie said. “Yale has an obligation to show its actions here reflect standard operating procedure that it applies across the board to conduct with expressive and non-expressive aspects.”

The arraignment was held in the New Haven Superior Court, which is located at 121 Elm St.

The post Warrant for arrested graduate student claims high damage cost, causes overnight detention appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Police officers told the group that they were dispatched because they received a call about a protest in the building and asked the students to leave, according to three students in the choir who were present at the rehearsal. Upon learning that the group was a student choir conducting a rehearsal, police officers left the building, according to the students. The group moved to an auditorium, where they continued the rehearsal, and shortly after performed in front of the protest outside.

“I feel like it was very irresponsible,” said Zada Brown ’24, the vice president of Yale Gospel Choir. “It just says a lot about Yale, the way that they were just willing to automatically criminalize students and call the cops on us.”

The singing group was practicing two songs, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “This Little Light of Mine,” when police officers entered the building. 

Brown said that upon entering the building, YPD officers immediately approached the group and told them to leave the space without asking whether the group was a Yale-affiliated organization. According to Brown, police officers told students, “You can’t be doing this here. You have to do this with everyone else.” 

Two more Yale Gospel Choir members, who requested anonymity for safety concerns, corroborated Brown’s account.

It was not until one Yale Gospel Choir member clarified that the group was composed of Yale students that YPD officers began to ask questions, Brown said. She said that the police officers immediately eased up and told the group that “someone told [them] there was a protest here.” 

According to three members of the Yale Gospel Choir, only a few students passed by during the rehearsal, and no one else was present in the lobby. 

When the News initially reached out to a University spokesperson, she said that Yale Police officers were patrolling the building due to the protest occurring at the intersection. 

“Yale Police officers checked the building to confirm that unauthorized individuals were inside,” the University spokesperson said. “They then cleared anyone from the building who was not there for work or academic reasons.” 

Police officers left the building immediately upon confirming that the group members were Yale students, according to Brown.

When the News followed up with the University spokesperson on whether Yale administrators called the Yale Police to the building, as one student who was present at the scene suggested, she wrote that the University “has nothing further to add” to the previous response. 

All of the members in rehearsal were students of color, which shaped how they experienced this encounter with the police, they said. 

“At that point, all the people who were there were Black or BIPOC, and so it was pretty scary just because they immediately walked in and were just, like, ‘You have to leave,’ watching us,” said one Yale Gospel Choir member. “The fact that there was no attempt to ask us what we’re doing or even like, try to like, de-escalate the situation, initially, was pretty scary.” 

Brown said that gospel music has been used in civil rights protests throughout history, and Yale Gospel Choir wanted to stand in solidarity with “all the students that are being really brave,” protesting in support of Palestine. 

“As a Christian organization, we stand for love, we don’t stand for hate,” Brown said. “I think what we’ve seen happening in Palestine is 100 percent what we’re against.”

Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall is located at 1 Prospect St.

The post Yale Police disrupt Yale Gospel Choir rehearsal appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Before and after Salovey’s email, Yale Police Chief Anthony Campbell ’95 DIV ’09, along with encampment organizers, told the News on Monday that either 47 or 48 people were arrested. On Tuesday, New Haven Police Department Public Information Officer Christian Bruckhart and a University spokesperson confirmed to the News that 48 people had been arrested.

Minali Aggarwal, a third-year graduate student and member of the jail support team for the encampment organizers, also told the News on Tuesday that 48 protesters had been arrested.

Various reporting outlets used Salovey’s inaccurate count in their initial reporting, including the New York Times, New Haven Register and Fox News. As of 3 a.m. on April 24, there is at least one New York Times article, “Universities Struggle as Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations Grow,” that contains the incorrect count, though the Times has corrected another story on the arrests. 

The online text of Salovey’s Monday email posted on the Office of the President page of the Yale website still says that “Yale Police arrested sixty people” as of 3 a.m. on Wednesday.

A University spokesperson told the News on Tuesday that Salovey’s Monday count of 60 arrested people came from the YPD. 

“Information available at the time of the Monday afternoon message differed from the figures shared by Yale Police Department late Monday night after final processing and after the message had gone out,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to the News, relaying this information on behalf of the University and Salovey.

However, YPD Chief Campbell told the News at 8:18 a.m. on Monday that somewhere between 40 and 45  protestors had been arrested, a figure much closer to the final number than what Salovey wrote in his email. Later that day, at 9:40 a.m., a University spokesperson told the News on behalf of Campbell that YPD had arrested 47 students, and did not mention any other arrests. At 8:16 a.m. on Monday, a protest organizer announced to the crowd at the intersection of College and Grove Streets that 48 people had been arrested.

It is unclear why the YPD would have allegedly told Salovey a higher number of arrests around midday Monday than what Campbell told the News twice in the morning and what YPD told the University on Monday night.

There are also discrepancies between the counts the University and organizers provided on the breakdown in Yale affiliation of the people arrested. 

On Tuesday morning, the News asked a University spokesperson to provide the number of arrestees who are current Yale students, Yale-affiliated individuals or non-Yale affiliated individuals. The University spokesperson wrote that 44 were Yale students and four were “non-students.” 

While the total number of arrests was corroborated by Aggarwal, she told the News that only three of the 48 people arrested were not Yale students. Aggarwal told the News she confirmed this number by communicating with other jail support team members and protesters and by searching on Google and the campus directory.

The reason for the different counts of Yale students arrested remains unclear.

“President Salovey’s public fabrication of 10 non-Yale affiliated arrests demonstrates gross incompetence at best, and bad-faith scare tactics at worst,” Sadie Lee ’26 wrote on behalf of organizers. “Yale arrested 48 people, 45 of whom were Yale affiliates, and it hasn’t even bothered to get the numbers right in the days since.”

Campbell did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Tuesday.

The Yale Police Department is located at 101 Ashmun St.

The post Salovey email overcounts protester arrests appeared first on Yale Daily News.