Becky Lee lasted 39 days as a contestant on ‘Survivor: Cook Islands.’ She came in third place during the season when producers decided to divide up the participants by race and ethnicity.

Lee, a Korean American, is hosting a domestic violence workshop at 7:30 p.m. today in Maxwell Auditorium. The event is part of Asian Awareness Week and sponsored by Kappa Phi Lambda.

Lee has been an attorney and advocate for battered women’s rights for years. After returning from the 13th season of ‘Survivor’ in 2006, she founded a nonprofit called the Becky Lee Women’s Support Fund.

Rachel Truong, co-cultural chair of Kappa Phi Lambda, said she first heard Lee speak at a conference which the SU organization Asian Students in America attended.

Attendees of the conference discussed issues affecting the Asian American community, including domestic violence.

‘Even though everyone knows domestic violence exists, nothing’s really being done, because obviously it’s still very, very prevalent in this world,’ Troung said. ‘We feel like Becky Lee, because she’s coming and she’s an expert in this topic, can actually educate members of the community about the effects of domestic violence.’

The idea for Becky’s Fund began while Lee was working with other small nonprofits. When she saw a lack of funding and support for domestic violence organizations, she chose to start her own that would not only help battered women, but also other organizations that fight domestic violence, according to the organization’s mission.

Becky’s Fund also targets organizations that serve women in marginalized and immigrant communities.

As part of her national college tour, Lee will encourage students to go out in the local community and help in whatever way they can. From e-mails discussing the event, Troung said Lee will give global statistics about domestic violence, especially pertaining to Asian communities and other underrepresented groups.

‘Her race plays a really important factor because in the Asian culture, (domestic violence) is always thought about as part of the culture,’ Troung said. ‘We always sweep it under the rug, and no one shares about domestic violence. It’s actually very, very common. It’s just because of the cultural differences. And not just Asian women themselves, but anyone else. They don’t come out about it.’

The million-dollar winner of that ‘Survivor’ season, venture capitalist Yul Kwon, is a major donor and executive board member of Becky’s Fund, according to the organization’s Web site.

The event is free and will include a brief question and answer session.

Another person speaking as a part of Asian Awareness Week is comedian and actor Kal Penn. The event, sponsored by University Union, is 8 p.m. Saturday in Goldstein Auditorium. Tickets are available at the Schine Box Office and are $3 for students.

kmimamur@syr.edu

Published on November 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm