What does it mean to be "American?" Is it to enjoy apple pie, baseball, and a confusing system of measurement? To place trust in democracy? To adhere to the values of freedom and justice? Whether you call it "soda" or "pop" (or "Coke" if you're one of those SEC types), the definitions of "American" are many and varied. After all, with such a large land mass and so many regional cultures, it's difficult - perhaps even impossible - to decide on a standard that everyone accepts.

Yet if you think "American" is tough to define, try "Asian." It's like an identity crisis with an identity crisis.

Not only is Asia the largest continent, it also is home to the world's largest country in area, the world's most populous nation, and the world's most diverse assortment of people, who are spread out between the Mediterranean and the Pacific and who speak everything from Afghan to Vietnamese. Within Asia is the cradle of civilization, the longest uninterrupted civilization, and civilizations that time forgot.

Too much to handle? Not so for the attendees of BASIC, the Boston Asian Students Intercollegiate Conference, who attempted to find meaning in "Asian-American" last Saturday. This year's all-day event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology drew crowds of over 500 from colleges and universities across New England and the East Coast. The conference theme, "Diverse and United," reflected Asian-American students' need to find unity and still maintain the regional, nationalistic, or religious independence that has characterized Asia as a global center for ethnic and cultural diversity.

"Recognizing the multi-faceted backgrounds of our cultures and building upon these differences to educate ourselves and others is the central goal of BASIC," reads conference literature.

This multi-faceted approach was evident in the extensive program of events and activities. Over 65 speakers and presenters led 28 workshops and 8 panels, the subjects of which were as diverse as the participants. Issues of identity were the focus in "Am I 'Asian-American' (and do I want to be)?" and "Back to the Home Country: Transnationalism and Ethnic Ties," whereas the program took on a more hometown flavor in "Exploring Boston: The Local Asian -American Communities."

Workshops also challenged attendees' views on other relevant issues, including domestic violence and immigration policy. Several workshops like "Quiet or Riot" encouraged students to explore political activism and involvement.

"BASIC strives for political awareness," said conference co-founder Benjamin Cheng '05. "Too often, the Asian vote is ignored by politicians because of the stereotypical belief that 'politics is useless.'"

He added that the conference does not have a defined political agenda, but it does challenge participants to take action.

One of those participants was Tom Cai of the United States Military Academy, who attended BASIC for "an opportunity for me to learn culture. It [BASIC] brings Asians together on a completely new level. It is educational, and I think it's important that we have more forums like this."

BASIC's mission is precisely to create such a forum that can "act as the prism which identifies the rainbow of cultures and issues composing the pan-ethnic spectrum of Asian-America." With a 32-member planning board composed entirely of students from 12 universities, that prism allows various student groups with an interest in Asian-Americans on campuses across the Northeast to come together, share experiences, and learn from each other.

"Boston has a big Asian population, and I started asking myself, why aren't different groups communicating?" said Cheng of his motivation to create the conference. "BASIC solves that problem by bringing together Asians for a forum of discussion, to network with one another."

Thus, the fact that the term "Asian-American" covers such a huge territory is in fact a strength of the conference.

"With so many different colleges that are relatively isolated from one another, BASIC brings everyone together," he said.

And that "everyone" is beginning to include a substantial South Asian population, as well as non-Asians who are simply interested in Asian-Americans and the issues relevant to the population. One of the two keynote speakers at this year's conference, for example, was human rights activist Krishanti Dharmaraj, a South Asian. Dharmaraj's extensive work with Amnesty International USA and Women, Law and Development International made her an ideal person to discuss the importance of leadership skills in initiating change.

Teaching leadership to attendees is just one of the many goals of conference, which according to Cheng has itself reached new heights in the past year.

"We've succeeded in drawing a large crowd from the Boston area. We've also brought in great speakers and people to lead our workshops," he said. "There haven't been any goals that we haven't been able to achieve."

Still, identity remains a central issue for attendees. A West Point cadet, Cai compared the unity of the United States Army to the coming together of Asian-Americans.

"The army is more diverse than one might imagine. There is great diversity, and there are many Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese in the army," he said.

Yet Cai also explained that the necessity of teamwork makes the military environment somewhat different than what Asian-Americans face in society today.

"There is no discrimination [in the army] because it absolutely can't happen," he said. "We have to work together, much like the Asian-American community."

A large portion of the Harvard delegation to BASIC consisted of members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association (AAA), a student organization that focuses on many of the same issues but on a campus-wide scale.

AAA Co-President Michael Chang '05 explained the importance of this conference in the general mission of the organization.

"BASIC exposes the Harvard community to many issues faced by Asian-Americans today," he said. "It provides an excellent forum for discussion and for people to get to know others in the community who care about the same issues."

There is also a sense of community that develops from meeting students from schools in the vicinity and talking about concerns that the community faces.

"BASIC focuses on Boston issues, so it's nice for you to get to know the community that you're working with," he added.

Community is truly the theme of the conference, which hopes to extend the borders of that community to non-Asians, as well. By BASIC's philosophy, the more people are informed of and involved in the issues of Asian-Americans, the stronger the community will become and the greater its societal impact.

"We want people to be more aware of Asian-American issues, and to show the many political [and] social possibilities that Asians have today," said Cheng.

And what of the identity crisis? Perhaps no definition is adequate, but events like BASIC are helping the community inch closer to one.

"[BASIC] makes Asian-Americans more aware of who they are," Cai said.