The following statement was released on Thursday, March 19, 2021:
We, the faculty of Worcester State University, stand in solidarity with Asian and Asian American communities and individuals against anti-Asian racism, particularly the recent spate of anti-Asian hate crimes in cities across the country. On top of COVID-related anxieties, Asians and Asian Americans are now living in a heightened state of alertness and fear about experiencing racist encounters.
We condemn anti-Asian racism in all its forms, and we recognize the painful impact it is having on our Asian and Asian American students and colleagues, and the harm that this does to the Worcester State University community as a whole.
“Across the country, there were more than 2,500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents related to COVID-19 between March and September 2020,” a recent study shows.[1] According to the Pew Research Center, “58% of Asian Americans report experiencing racism more commonly now than before the pandemic, and more than 30% have reported experiencing slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity.”[2] Political speeches referring to the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” and “Kung flu” have likely stoked anti-Asian racism.
Anti-Asian racism has deep historical roots in this country, including, but not limited to, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, a series of immigration laws that effectively excluded all Asian immigration until the mid-1960s, and Japanese internment. In the midst of social and economic anxieties, white communities scapegoated Asian immigrants and Asian Americans. Anti-Asian violence, not to mention racial slurs, was commonplace. The present situation is, sadly, a continuation of historical injustices.
We also recognize and support the long trend of community activism rooted in Asian American communities fighting for civil rights, belonging, and representation; the courageous work of Asian American organizations like Stop AAPI Hate; and Asian American involvement in the development of critical frameworks to analyze race and racism. The work of civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama, historian and ethnographer Ron Takaki, and law professor Mari Matsuda are just a few examples of Asian American contributions in these areas.
Asians and Asian Americans are a vibrant part of our university community, and we stand in alliance with them, and with all Asians and Asian Americans, against tribalistic hatred and racial injustice. We encourage students to report any hateful comments or other verbal or physical threats or harassment to the campus climate committee and the campus police.
In firm solidarity,
Martin Fromm, Catriona Standfield, Josna Rege, Adam Saltsman, Champika Soysa, Johnathan Flowers, and Henry Theriault, on behalf of Asian Studies
UPDATED on Tuesday, March 23: Martin Fromm, Catriona Standfield, Josna Rege, Adam Saltsman, Champika Soysa, Johnathan Flowers, Henry Theriault, Alison Okuda, Russ Pottle, Charlotte Haller, Elizabeth Bidinger, Riley McGuire, Mary Clay, Maria Fung, Michael Winders, Steve Morreale, Bradley Harris, Cara Berg Powers, Tim Antonelli, Kristina Curro, Debra Vescera, Seth Surgan, Benjamin Jee, Anne Falk, Chris Fobare, James Silver, Anthony Dell’Aera, Tanya Mears, Alexander Tarr, Edward Moynihan, Lori Dawson, Abir Bukhatwa, Meghna Dilip, Jeanne Thibeault, Antonio Guijarro-Donadiós, Maura Pavao, Kelly Downs, Siri Colom, Shu Qian, Margarita Perez, Amanda Taylor, Sue Foo, Margaret Kerr, Emanuel Nneji, Daniel Hunt, Ana Pérez-Manrique, Mary Clay, Aparna Mahadev, Matthew Ortoleva, Lawrence Roberge, Bo Fan, Susanna Meyer, Joanne Jaber Gauvin, Adam Zahler, Diana Sharpe, Nathan Angelo, Ross Griffiths, Timothy Murphy, Cleve Wiese, Colleen Sullivan, Douglas Kowalewski, Catherine Wilcox-Titus, Erika Briesacher, Germinal Isern, Shiko Gathuo, Karen Woods Weierman, Laxmi Bissoondial, Marcela Uribe-Jennings, Jason Anderson, Clay Starlin, Erin Redihan, Dana Rognlie, Joseph Wilson, Suzanne Gainer, Dennis Quinn, Elinor Fondell, Hardeep Sidhu (on behalf of Ethnic Studies), Mark Johnson, Maureen Kilcoyne, Kathleen Lauzé, Vicki Gruzynski (on behalf of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies), Hyesun Kim, Barry Maloney, Hy Ginsberg, Catherine Goodwin, Lihua Wang, Michael Hachey, Elizabeth Osborne, Carl Herrin, Jessica O’Connor, Joan E. Butterworth, Tona Hangen, Denise R Foley, Don Bullens, Jennifer Hood-DeGrenier, MaryLynn Saul, David W, Wong, Carrie Johnson, Lois Wims, Maryellen Brunelle, Mohamed Brahimi, Christina Kaniu, Laura Kane, Stephanie Chalupka, Marilyn Cleary, Donald Vescio, Clarissa Carvalho, Bryant Sculos, Elissa Berry, Ann Veneziano-Korzec, Katie Frazier, Thomas E. Conroy, Zachary Trudell, Sue Mitroka Batsford, Ann G. Parsley, Judy Jeon-Chapman, Robyn Leo, Sam O’Connell, Kendra Rose, Bobbi Kyle, Weichu Xu, Randy Tracy, Edgar Moros, Carol Donnelly and Jim Donnelly, Yan Hu, Lingling Wang, Stacey Luster, Carol Lambert, Michael Shamgochian, Tony Adade, Katie McNamara, Dan Shartin, Lisa Leach, Mariana Calle, Laura Melnick, Julian Berrian, Kathy Healey, Tiana D. Carrasquillo, Laurel Feinberg, Eileen O’Brien, Kenneth S. Melnick, Victoria B. Porteiro-Cejas, Linda Larrivee, Michael Baker, Judy Sarkis, Rachel Wiese, Michelle Chunis, Jeremiah P. Riordon, Charlie Fox, Ryan Forsythe, Ari Giasson, Alison Milgate, Quynh Doan, Daron Barnard, Alessandra Bazo Vienrich, William Chadbourne, Maria Isabel Gariepy, Mark LaCroix, Deanna Hajos, Elijah Wheeler, Steven Marshall, Dante DiMassa, Vincent Pellegrino, Elizabeth Siler, Nathan K Lee, Leah Robillard, Maria Bocka, Frank Lamelas, Lorraine Jewell, Lagnajita Chatterjee, Catherine Larson, Andrew Piazza, Kyle Allaire, Jamie Remillard, Julie Frechette, Lisa Wark, Dean Bowen, Emma Rainville, Mary Fowler, Mary Flibbert, Stephanie Giguere, Judith C. Crown, Stacey Parker, Heather Treseler, Patrick McManus, Kathleen A. Rogan, Laura Caswell, Elaine Vescio, Joseph J. DiCarlo III, Sarah Valois, Mark Wagner, Christine Ohristo, Allison L. Dunn, Joan Safford, Sara L. Young, Susan Monaghan, Caitlin Krul, Kelly Laviolette, Steven Bandarra, Eric Hall, Andrew Gravina, Samantha Sousa, Caroline Stratton, Rose Reith, Dylan D. Murray, Mustapha Dukuly, Sandra Medina-Vázquez, Cheyanne Shepard, William Lundmark, Susan Vigeant, Thomas Kelley, Kevin Cox, Latifeh Amini-Kormi, Sophia Sekyere, Joshua Judge, Yanelfi Urena, Michael Whitman, Mindy Marchand
[1] Asian American Bar Association of New York and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. “A Rising Tide of Hate and Violence against Asian Americans in New York During COVID-19: Impact, Causes, Solutions.” 2021. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.aabany.org/resource/resmgr/press_releases/2021/A_Rising_Tide_of_Hate_and_Vi.pdf
[2a] Pew Research Center. “Many Black and Asian Americans Say They Have Experienced Discrimination Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak.” July 1, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/07/01/many-black-and-asian-americans-say-they-have-experienced-discrimination-amid-the-covid-19-outbreak/
[2b] Compass Family Services. “Statement of Solidarity with Asian American Communities.” Feb 24, 2021. https://www.compass-sf.org/blog/2021/2/24/statement-of-solidarity-with-asian-american-communities
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Count me in! This ignorance & divisiveness is long, long overdue to be adequately addressed. We are ALL immigrants! I feel so fortunate that by my being an “Army brat” that I was exposed to many cultures from an early age which inspired me as an adult to visit all but 2 of the continents, making me so appreciative of multi-culturalism. May peace be possible! Different species of animals do a far better job at getting along with those around them than we supposed “superior beings”!