Recording of Livestream Conversation on December 6

Artist’s Research and References

While developing The Crossing, Tam has been researching the history of Culturally Based Fraternal Organizations (CBFOs) and some of the practices that are associated with them, including probate ceremonies and hazing. Additionally, the artist has explored various aspects of Taoist funeral rites, such as the burning of paper reproductions of material goods. Included below is information on both subjects, along with links to and quoted selections from select texts and videos that Tam has referenced throughout his research process. These materials are organized into sections based on subject.

Culturally Based Fraternal Organizations (CBFOs)

Culturally based fraternal organizations (CBFOs) welcome members who share a specific ethnicity, broader racial category, religion, or other aspect of cultural heritage. These organizations formed in parallel to the evolution of identity formation and the history of civil rights in the United States. As non-white students first gained access to universities and colleges, many CBFOs were founded between the late 1800s and early 1900s as a response to these students’ lack of a community with shared backgrounds, scholarships, on-campus housing, professional opportunities, and access to existing fraternities due to race and/or religion. Today, contemporary CBFOs continue to provide access to these previously mentioned needs, while also generating camaraderie and creating space to explore contemporary identity politics.

One of the most direct public performances within CBFOs of sharing traditions and introducing new members is during probate ceremonies. Not every CBFO participates in these ceremonies, but for those that do, they symbolize the finale of a transformation and are a source of pride, as well as a public-facing recruitment tool. Depending on the shared identity and traditions of a chapter, probate ceremonies can include a combination of often visceral performances of stepping, strolling, speeches, and/or recitation of the organization’s history. Some components of probate ceremonies such as stepping can be attributed directly to the traditions and heritage of Black fraternities. Present day performances by non-Black CBFOs merge adaptations of Black Greek probate ceremonies with choreography and artistic elements originating from their respective culture. Cultural references also appear in a Greek organization’s coat of arms, which features unique art and symbolism for each fraternity. The ritualistic meaning behind the coat of arms is revealed to a member at the initiation, and whenever possible, present as a prop during probate ceremonies. These traditions reflected in the ceremony are learned and performed by all new members and are passed down from year to year.

Asian American Fraternity Association and Probates

National Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Panhellenic Association (association formed by fourteen of the largest and most established Asian Greek lettered organizations)

Black Fraternity Probates

Hazing Practices in Asian American Fraternities and the 2013 death of Michael Deng

The media attention and academic analysis of Asian American fraternities following the death of Baruch college student Michael Deng in 2013 has been a central reference for Tam during the development of The Crossing. This reporting unveiled how the violent hazing rites and fraternal complicity that lead to Deng’s death undermined these organizations’ stated missions of brotherhood. While physically abusive hazing occurs amongst CBFOs and white fraternities, the revelation of this abuse in Deng’s case additionally brought into view a more complex discussion of Asian American masculine identity and the role violence plays in countering model minority myths and solidifying male bonds.

Dan Haley, “The New Animal Houses” (The Daily Beast, updated July 14, 2017)

Minh Tran and Mitchell Chang, “Asian American Interest Fraternities: Fulfilling Unmet Needs of the Loneliest Americans,” New Directions for Student Services, volume 2019, issue 165, Special Issue: Critical Considerations of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in Fraternity & Sorority Life (Spring 2019). (Selections from this text are included below because a subscription is required to view the full article.)

In this text, Minh Tran and Mitchell Chang “[point] to how race and gender specific affinity groups serve as a vehicle for Asian male students to challenge mainstream stereotypes and redefine themselves in culturally relevant ways that subsequently empower them to embrace more fully their Asian male identities.”

The text discusses Mr. Tran’s research into Asian American fraternities and the hazing rituals that take place within them:

When Mr. Tran joined an Asian-American fraternity at the University of Michigan, in 1997, his brothers were struggling to fill a house. Back then, they were more likely to beg for a prospective pledge than to beat him… Over the past decade, Mr. Tran has been shocked by the violent acts of hazing—including one in his own fraternity—that often fly under the radar. […]

Why would well-educated, seemingly well-adjusted men willingly participate in violent forms of hazing?

Mr. Tran spoke to many of those men, and their answers went beyond the usual explanation that hazing was a tradition no one dared to question.

A lot of them said that, as Asian men, they felt that they were usually portrayed as nerds who played video games a lot and weren’t very social or physically strong,” Mr. Tran said. “It felt good to be part of a group that broke that stereotype.”

Rick Rojas and Benjamin Mueller, “Defiant Baruch Fraternity Pledge Fought Back in Fatal Hazing, Report Says” (The New York Times, September 15, 2015)

Jay Caspian Kang, “What a Fraternity Hazing Death Revealed About the Painful Search for an Asian-American Identity” (The New York Times Magazine, August 9, 2017)

Taoist Funeral Rites

The Crossing incorporates Taoism through utilizing specific visual lexicon and philosophy. The yin-yang symbol is found on the shield of Pi Delta Psi, Michael Deng’s fraternity, and is often used as a shorthand for Asian identity. The performance includes video projections of rituals such as burning “ghost money” to free the deceased spirit to the afterworld, and the performer’s movements are framed by a painted Bagua, a diagram representing the eight Taoist principles of reality that surrounds the yin-yang. The Bagua is a tool commonly associated with feng shui practices, often used to detect energy flow in one’s home and to determine ideal characteristics for gravesites. Within the performance, ritualistic aspects of probate ceremonies and the broader transformation of coming to terms with one’s Asian-American identity through a larger collective is re-interpreted through a Taoist lens.

Heidi Ng, “Hong Kong’s Taoist funerals: the superstition, symbolism and how to stop your soul being dragged into the coffin” (South China Morning Post, July 18, 2017)