A.J. Soriano, president of the United Asian American Council, opened Asian-American Heritage Month at the Student Center with comments about Asian-American identity in the United States. Soriano said the monthlong program is a way to challenge the status quo in regards to how Asian-Americans are perceived. He paid homage to all the Asian-Americans who worked hard to give their children better lives and assimilate into the American culture. “My mother may have an accent,” Soriano said. “She doesn’t think with one.”