By Lauren Rusch & Jesse Dougherty

News Reporters

Almost everybody has answered the question “What race are you?” before, maybe for a job interview or even when logging into the N.E.S.T. For most people, it’s an easy question to answer, but for some it’s a little more difficult.

Kip Fulbeck, author of “Part Asian, 100% Hapa,” was at Creighton on Tuesday night to help answer the question “What are you?” with his presentation, “The Hapa Project.”

Fulbeck is an art professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara as well as a writer, photographer, filmmaker and spoken-word artist. Fulbeck started the “Hapa Project” in 2001 as an attempt to get people around America to think differently about how we identify people. His presentation includes original aspects including videos, slideshows and poetry.

“Hapa” was once a derogatory term derived from the Hawaiian word for “half.” Now, the term is embraced as a term of pride by those whose mixed racial heritage includes Asian or Pacific Island. “When we look at who a person is, it is so much more than race,” said Fulbeck.

The event was hosted by the CSU Program Board. The members saw Fulbeck perform at a national convention two years ago and have been trying to get him to come to Creighton ever since. They brought Fulbeck in to address not only the needs of the multicultural population at Creighton, but to also bring attention to the whole student body on how we identify different groups of people, said program board member Joanna Olson.

After the presentation, Fulbeck was available to sign copies of his book which is a collection of photographs of people who might consider themselves “Hapa.” Fulbeck also asked the participants to put what they considered their ethnicity to be, with most responding with more than one identity. Along with their photograph, each person had to write a personal statement on who they think they are in their own handwriting. The responses varied with such great originality that Fulbeck was able to have the project on display at the Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles.

“It’s not about race, but about identity,” said Fulbeck about his book. He also said his ultimate goal is to “get them to think more differently and question everything around them.”

Donna Seaman of the American Library Association describes his book as “a photo album of the 21st century global village.”

“Fulbeck’s simply composed portraits are profoundly evocative. Each person’s ethnic background reads like a poem hinting at dramatic journeys and improbable love: Japanese, French, Chinese, Irish, Swedish, Sioux, Thai, Mexican and Native American (Yaqui). And their pithy handwritten personal statements are wry and wicked, sweet and tangy,” she writes.

“Part Asian, 100% Hapa” is available on Amazon.com. It is rated four-and-a-half out of five stars by 39 customer reviews.