A message from
the founding President of the
Pacific Rim Organization
I started the Pacific Rim Organization because I saw the need for
an organization which addressed issues in Asia and appreciated the traditions
and
cultures of Asia at Swarthmore. The world has changed, and race is no longer
the
sole vehicle for specific cultural awareness. Advances in media,
increased breadth of education,
and more oppotunities for people to travel to and live in
different countries have allowed more and more people to be interested in, and
aware of, cultures all over the world. In 1995, Swarthmore
was no exception to this trend, and the Pacific Rim Organization was
established by people with different backgrounds who shared a common interest
in Asia. The group's educational nature, community service nature,
high degree of cooporation with other groups, active communitcation with
Alumni, and
friendship among its members are the pride of the Pacific Rim Organization,
and I have strong hope that
they will continue in the future.
Finally, I would like to thank everybody who made the Pacific Rim
Organization successful, including the first vice-president, Colin
Schatz '97, other hard working exective members Adrian Tay '98, Paul Hsu '98,
Mark Tong '99, Sandra Schrauf '98, Jimmy Chan '98, and Yukio Saita (sp),
Sagar Thakali '99 and Min Lee '00), faculty and staff of the College
who supported us, and alumni in Asia who provided invaluable information in
our search for speakers and other contacts.
May 16, 1997
Tsuyoshi Mitarai '98