ACC director appointed to Bloomington Human Rights Commission

Melanie Castillo-Cullather, director of IU's Asian Culture Center and a recent appointment to the Bloomington Human Rights Commission, could teach the thousands of anxious Hoosier newcomers a thing or two about adapting to change.\nThe tireless dedication Castillo-Cullather has shown in her work at the ACC stood out when it came time in July for Mayor John Fernandez to appoint someone to the seven-person Bloomington Human Rights Commission. Castillo-Cullather said she was honored to hear of her appointment, as it will give her new ways to be of service to the community. Castillo-Cullather has spent much of her energy for many years working for the community.\nIn 1993, the Philippines-born-and-raised Castillo-Cullather found herself faced with a relocation far from all the familiarities of home to Bloomington. It was a move she had never planned to make.\n"I was in shock," Castillo-Cullather said, laughing.\nCastillo-Cullather was working as cultural affairs director for the United States Information Service when her husband, Nick Cullather, received word that he had been accepted for a teaching position as a diplomatic historian at IU. Soon after, Castillo-Cullather left the beloved Philippine mountainsides she took pride in climbing.\nDescribing herself as one who always likes to keep busy, Castillo-Cullather was determined to continue her tradition of active community involvement in her new home. Having graduated with a degree in communication arts from the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University in 1983, Castillo-Cullather expanded her leadership experience as an emcee for Davao's first locally produced television show. She then went on to work in the public relations office of a large Philippine department store before taking a job with the USIS.\nBut all her previous involvement did not completely prepare her for Bloomington. Castillo-Cullather tells of calling her mother back in the Philippines shortly after arriving at IU. \n"I said to her, 'Mom, there's nothing here for me,'" Castillo-Cullather explained. "And she told me, 'My daughter, you create your own opportunities.'"\nCastillo-Cullather acted on her mother's words. She signed up for volunteer work at the Leo R. Dowling International Center, 111 S. Jordan Ave., and the Bloomington Volunteer Network. She also served on the support staff at WTIU public television and worked at the African-American Cultural Center. \nIn 1995, Castillo-Cullather took on yet another role, as a mother, when she gave birth to daughter Isabel. Castillo-Cullather and her husband now have two children, with the addition of Joey to the family a year later. Her children, she said, have given her even more passion and inspiration in her work. \nCastillo-Cullather said her new community, for the most part, welcomed her. \n"I believe there is a majority of people (in Bloomington) concerned with the well-being of everyone," she said. \nBut Castillo-Cullather also encountered racism and discrimination. She hesitated to speak of these experiences because the memories are still painful and because she does not want to speak bitterly.\nYet her own painful awareness of racism propelled her to take an even greater role in fighting it. \nCastillo-Cullather became director of the ACC when it was formed in 1998. She set three clear goals for herself and for the ACC in general: service to students by making the ACC a welcoming home; outreach to the student body by creating programs that bring awareness to the Asian and Asian-American populations; and outreach to potential students and alumni.\nCastillo-Cullather said discrimination is a sad fact of life at IU and in Bloomington, but through cultural education and addressing stereotypes, students and citizens can help rid the community of racism.\n"The Jesuit priests in college taught us to speak up when we see an injustice around us," she said. "They knew that the choices you make lead you to where you are and who you will be."\nWhen asked how successful she feels the ACC and she have been in achieving the goals she set, Castillo-Cullather paused for a moment and answered "about halfway." \nThe ACC, she said, has certainly become a place where Asian and Asian-American students feel comfortable talking, studying and just "hanging out." \nAt nearly the same moment, a student called to her from the kitchen: "Melanie, come have lunch with us!" \n"In a minute!" Castillo-Cullather replied, smiling.\nJunior Jaime Loke, a member of the Asian American Association, said she often takes advantage of the relaxed environment of the ACC to do homework. \n"People are very friendly over there," she said.\nBut as satisfied as Castillo-Cullather is in the development of the ACC, she still has a major concern about the Asian and Asian-American populations at IU: their size. Castillo-Cullather said that during this school year, 850 Asian or Asian-American undergraduates will attend IU. While this is a 14 percent increase over the 1999-2000 school year, it is not high enough to qualify as having truly achieved diversity, she said.\nPart of the problem, Castillo-Cullather said, is that IU has not in the past considered Asian-Americans an underrepresented group. \n "It's a matter of including us in their recruitment efforts," she said. \n Castillo-Cullather said she appreciated the decision IU admissions officials made last year to allow representatives of the ACC to attend minority recruitment events.\nAnother important step, Castillo-Cullather noted, would be the addition of an Asian-American studies program. She said such a program would benefit all students, rather than only Asian-American students, and for that reason she hopes to see initial talks on the addition of this program begin soon. \nAsian Culture Center receptionist Mi-Young Kim said of Castillo-Cullather, "I'm just totally amazed by her energy and enthusiasm." Kim said Castillo-Cullather accomplishes whatever she wants to accomplish, because she negotiates in a diplomatic rather than aggressive way.\nAs a human rights commissioner, Castillo-Cullather holds essentially the same educational tasks as she does as director of the ACC. Additionally, she and her fellow commissioners will investigate and hear discrimination complaints. Commissioners are charged with ensuring that citizens have equal opportunities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. \nCastillo-Cullather is now busy promoting and organizing an Asian-American Symposium Oct. 3 in the Indiana Memorial Union. The Symposium will feature three sessions under the theme, "The Many Faces of Asian Pacific Americans: Evolution of an Identity."\nCastillo-Cullather said she is also inspired by the students to whom she devotes more than 40 hours per week.\n"I'm really touched by students interested in making connections with other students," Castillo-Cullather said. \nFreshmen, newcomers and all students might take a note on making changes from this mountain-climbing, community-serving mom. Castillo-Cullather is not content to follow a path in the same manner as others have; she means to improve the path as she goes.\nIn her simple, confident way, she summed up her personal motto: "If I can do something to better that path, I'll do it"