East Wind was the publication of the Asian Student Association (ASA). Like its sponsoring organization, East Wind abided by an inclusive definition of “Asian,” including students of Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, and Filipino ancestry. In its inaugural issue of December 1993, Editor-In-Chief Vicki Cheng described their purpose of “unit[ing] all the different Asian American groups in one publication that will teach everyone—no matter what color they are—about the richness and diversity of Asian American life.” (EW, December 1993, pg. 2)
East Wind focused each issue on a theme that resonated with Asian American students. This format allowed writers to explore different topics while maintaining thematic unity. Many of the issues concerned identity and race, wrestling with everything from interracial dating to stereotypes of Asians as the “Model Minority,” to the representation of Asian-American families in television and film. At its heart, however, East Wind was a forum for raising awareness of Asian culture and community. Alongside coverage of ASA recreational events like Journey Into Asia, a yearly extravaganza exploring the diversity of Asian culture through food and dance, were discussions of political issues like democracy in China and affirmative action policies in the U.S. In East Wind, Asian-American students at UNC found a place to share their experiences with each other and the UNC community as a whole.
Source
East Wind: The Asian American Student Voice. UNC Asian Students Association, 1993-2006. Available in Wilson Library: http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb4586789