The Asian Studies program at Union College condemns in no uncertain terms the substantial increase in violence, harassment and discrimination against Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, in particular since the beginning of COVID-19 and most recently perpetrated in the heinous murder of eight people in Atlanta, six of whom were Asian women.  We mourn their deaths and the pain and suffering caused to their families, friends and communities.  We also condemn the 3,800 hate crimes reported over the past year by Stop AAPI Hate, as well as the innumerable other hate crimes that go unreported each and every year.   We realize the pain and fear that this has caused in the AAPI community here at Union and at large, and we stand in solidarity with them against this hatred. We urge you to contact your local and State governments to create more online guidelines and toolkits, like New York City’s Stop Asian Hate website.

Furthermore, as educators, we feel strongly that knowledge and understanding can go a long way toward dispelling prejudice.  We encourage students and the entire campus community to take advantage of campus programming and relevant courses, which will be forthcoming on our Asian Studies website and Instagram account.  In the meantime, we all need to be allies to Asian and Asian-American students, faculty, and staff, including our non-citizen population, who may be struggling.

If you are a victim of bias-related incidents or hate crimes or are suffering from these traumas in any way, please reach out to Union’s various resources, including the Eppler-Wolff Counseling Center, our Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Intercultural Affairs, Campus Safety or the Bias Awareness, Support and Education Team.  Union College members can also learn more about these issues, and report a hate crime online at Stop AAPI Hate (currently offline, see here), Anti-Asian Violence Resources, and Stand Against Hatred.

In Solidarity,

The Faculty of Union College’s Asian Studies Program