Yang says it is hard for AAA to focus too much attention on specific groups within Harvard's Asian community.

"AAA is a large organization, but still, we only have so much time, man-power, and resources, and therefore I am glad that there are groups such as HAPA...which can address the specific needs of different ethnic/cultural groups here on campus," Yang writes in an e-mail message.

Yang adds that AAA, as an umbrella organization, wants to make everyone feel welcome.

"I am very disturbed to hear that some members of the HAPA community do not feel comfortable being in AAA," she writes. "However, I am very glad that this has been brought to my attention and we will definitely look into ways of improving the organization, so that more HAPA students feel comfortable being in AAA."

Kim writes that having a separate group for half-Asian students can be "extremely valuable."

"At present, there is no way to provide a concrete definition for the Asian American identity and it's something that we (meaning Asian Americans) are constantly struggling with," he writes, adding that it is important to have separate groups if different people need to find a common ground.

HAPA members say their common experience began in childhood, when they often encountered difficulties because of their mutiracial heritage.

"Mixed people have a harder time adjusting to racial categories," says William Lung-Fu "Lonnie" Everson '02, HAPA's "Master of the Big Pants."