It's been 20 years in the making.

What started out as a graduate student's vision and less than 10 members has blossomed into one of the largest groups on campus.

The Asian Pacific American Student Organization celebrated its 20th anniversary Friday and Saturday with a walking tour of campus, a dinner at Kellogg Center and other activities.

Things have changed a lot in two decades.

"Back then we didn't have such a large group," Plymouth resident and 1986 MSU graduate Craig Wong said. "There was no representation in an organized manner back then."

During his years at MSU, Wong was an active participant in Group. At one point, he served as vice president.

"It's great to see the growth they've had over the years," he said.

Wong and others recall the days when Asian-American students fought to have Asian-American racial ethnic student aides.

When Group was first established, each racial ethnicity had at least one aide, except Asian Americans. Now, there are 15.

"Diversity is really important on this campus," said physiology junior Ichiro Ikuta, a racial ethnic student aide in Phillips Hall. "Anything we can do to help students on this campus is a great thing."

Higher, adult and lifelong education doctoral student Connie Rose Tingson remembered arriving on campus in the late 1980s from a predominately white suburb.

She said around that time, many Asian-American students were seen as the "model minority." They were expected to excel at math and science and to be in competition with other minorities, she said.

"I felt a need to explore my Asian-American identity," she said. "Coming to MSU gave me the opportunity to do that."

Sandy Tsuneyoshi is considered to be the "founding mother" of Group.

She arrived in East Lansing in 1979 as a doctoral student. After conversing with a professor who said he was glad the United States bombed Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II, she immediately saw a need for better Asian-American representation on campus.

"I knew something was not right on campus," she said.

Working with AmeriCorps in the 1960s, Tsuneyoshi saw racism firsthand while volunteering in Louisiana.

"I was there when the 'colored only' signs were up. I was there when the 'whites only' signs were up," she said.

Tsuneyoshi said experiences like these helped her realize students of color, especially Asian Americans, need a stable support system.

"You feel accepted by looking around, and there's people there that look like you."