Midwest Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Students Union

Our Purpose

The Midwest Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Students Union (MAASU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that began in response to a need for political unity among Asian Pacific Islander American students in the Midwest. By 1990, there were more than 20 universities in the Midwest that had formed Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) organizations. Some had been around for years, while others were still in their infancy.

Students felt a need for an organization that would support the growth of their groups and organize Midwestern Asian Pacific Islander American students for political activism. MAASU works to recognize the needs of the Asian Pacific Islander American community by assisting schools with the establishment of Asian Pacific Islander American student organizations, promoting leadership among students, addressing educational needs and rights of the Asian Pacific Islander American community, and developing a channel of communication among Asian Pacific Islander American student organizations across the Midwest.

The first MAASU meeting
The first MAASU meeting. Front row (from left to right): Tom Lo (Purdue), Charles Chang (Ohio State), Nancy Kim (Michigan State), name unknown (Miami University), Yeeleng Hang (Michigan State), Jessica Kimura (Michigan State). Second Row: name unknown (Miami Univ.), name unknown (Miami Univ.), John Kim (Miami Univ.), unknown, Wen Hsu (Michigan State), Emily (Oberlin College). Third Row: Allan Lo (Ohio State), Mary Kim (Ohio State), Nimesh M. Patel (Michigan State), Mr. Tong (Univ. of Michigan), Joanna Su (Univ of Michigan), Linus Huang (Oberlin College), name unknown (Univ. of Michigan). Photographer was Erika Seo (Ohio State).

Our Mission

MAASU strives to recognize the needs of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community by

  • Promoting leadership among APIDA students through programs including, but not limited to, the Leadership Retreat, Spring Conference, and other various programming
  • Assisting schools with the establishment of APIDA student organizations, an APIDA cultural center and an Asian Pacific Islander American Studies program
  • Supporting and encouraging all APIDA students to work toward social change by providing a forum for social consciousness
  • Developing and maintaining a channel of communication for APIDA student organizations in the Midwest through emails, newsletters and networking
  • Uniting and strengthening the APIDA community stance against all forms of oppression

Who We Serve

Our primary outreach is to undergraduate college students located in the Midwest region. We are broadening our scope to include high school students and graduate students.

On average, around 20 colleges and universities are engaged with MAASU annually spanning the following states: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Strategic Plan

MAASU strives to recognize the needs of its community by developing a strategic plan for the next few years. See our strategic plan for 2020-2024 here.

A preview of the strategic plan.