The Asian American Students' Association (AASA) serves the Asian American community at Stanford through education, organization, service, and action. Formed over 50 years ago, AASA continues to actively promote conciousness of API cultures, identities, and issues.
In addition to being an independent organization, AASA is also the coordinating umbrella organization for over 30 other officially or unofficially affiliated Asian Pacific American groups on campus and is dedicated to fostering open communication and cooperation among these different groups.
Furthermore AASA supports the ongoing Asian American struggle for justice and equality, affirming the importance of interethnic/interracial diversity while standing in solidarity with all communities of color and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer movement.
AASA sponsors several major events each year, including an Asian American issues conference, "Listen to the Silence," and API heritage events during the month of May, and other events throughout the year.
AASA also belongs to the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC), which is composed of the leadership of five umbrella organizations on campus representing students of color: the Asian American Students' Association (AASA), Black Student Union (BSU), Movimento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) de Stanford, and the Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO). Over the years, the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC) has been able to successfully advocate on behalf of individual candidates running for campus leadership positions and campus advocacy issues important to Stanford's communities of color. These issues, unlike vague promises of campus betterment, are based on the principles at the heart of the SOCC doctrine: social justice, equal opportunity, and tolerance.