Tag Archives: systemic racism

Anti-Asian Hate and Atlanta Mass Murders

Dear campus community,

Late Tuesday night, the nation has learned about the horrific details of the killings in Atlanta of eight individuals, six of whom are Asian American women at the hands of a young white male gunman. These victims were targeted at three Asian owned small businesses. We are writing to condemn these murderous acts and to stand in solidarity with the victim’s families, their friends, and our greater APIDA community who feel the frightening and chilling impact of these brutal killings. 

Regardless of the ongoing investigation, we are writing because of the impact these murders are having on Asian Pacific Islander Desi American communities across the country including those who are part of our Spartan community. 

These killings come on the heels of years of rising hate motivated attacks against APIDA individuals throughout the U.S. and especially here in the Bay Area. These attacks have escalated exponentially in the last six months with many of the comments insinuating that people of Asian descent are to be blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The most important thing to understand is that hate incidents and racist incidents have wide reaching impacts no matter how geographically near or far in location. They have the potential to negatively and seriously impact individuals and communities in their homes, workplaces, and  everyday lives out in the world. 

As an educational institution we want to frame these incidents in a context to understand their impact, particularly at a time when our campus is actively working to address systemic racism and particularly anti-Black racism. Here is an introduction to the historical perspectives and context to understand the current anti-APIDA hate attacks:

  • They are a part of a long history of systemic anti-Asian hate in the U.S., particularly in California and the U.S. West since the arrival of APIDA communities in the 1800s.
  • Our relations and conflict with Asian countries has been repeatedly weaponized to perpetuate anti-APIDA hate.
  • APIDA communities are viewed  as “forever foreign in the United States, rather than contributing members of our society; regardless of citizenship or immigration status.” 
  • APIDA women have been targeted over twice the rate of others in racist attacks often hyper-sexualized by stereotypes.
  • Anti-APIDA hate must be understood within the larger context and dynamics of historical White Supremacy. 
  • Words matter, language matters, climate matters.

Unfortunately, as we have seen over the years, these hate motivated attacks are increasing toward many communities. As a community we must be vigilant and continue to come together; not just as these incidents are happening to each community, but to reach out to each other in our everyday work, education, and lives. We need to further our worldviews and understand how we can be active allies to each other so we can support our diverse and intersectional community. 

For more information on anti-APIDA hate incidents go to Stop AAPI Hate

Processing Space-Monday March 22nd

In order to support our APIDA campus community, we invite members of our APIDA community of staff, faculty, and students to a processing space scheduled on Monday, March 22 at 7:00 to 8:30 pm. This space is being collaboratively supported by our Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Counseling and Psychological Services; Mosaic Cross Cultural Center; Asian Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association; and the APID/A Task Force. We welcome our community members to join in this group space to share their thoughts, express their feelings, and come together in community. Please register for this space by clicking the button below.

Please note that this processing place is not designed to address those who may be having an urgent mental health crisis.

For Students:

If you have an emergency and need immediate assistance during our hours of operation, there is always a staff member available to assist you either on the phone or in person. Please call 408-924-5910 or visit us in the Student Wellness Center, Room 300B.

For after-hours emergencies, please call 911. If you live on campus, please call campus police at 408-924-2222. You may also call our main number 408-924-5910 after hours and press 4 to connect with the after-hours crisis service.

The County Suicide & Crisis Line is also available at 855-278-4204 (Toll-free) (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This service is also available 24/7.

In addition, you may send a text for help: Text ANSWER to 839863. The Crisis Call Center will respond 24/7/365. They will help get you through it. 

For Employees:

Counseling for Faculty and Staff

Visit LifeMatters® online for more information. Password: SPARTANS

To speak to someone from LifeMatters® confidentially, call 800-367-7474.

The County Suicide & Crisis Line is also available at 855-278-4204 (Toll-free) (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This service is also available 24/7.

In addition, you may send a text for help: Text ANSWER to 839863. The Crisis Call Center will respond 24/7/365. They will help get you through it.

Stop AAPI Hate

Dear campus community,

Late Tuesday night, the nation has learned about the horrific details of the killings in Atlanta of eight individuals, six of whom are Asian American women at the hands of a young white male gunman. These victims were targeted at three Asian owned small businesses. We are writing to condemn these murderous acts and to stand in solidarity with the victim’s families, their friends, and our greater APIDA community who feel the frightening and chilling impact of these brutal killings. 

Regardless of the ongoing investigation, we are writing because of the impact these murders are having on Asian Pacific Islander Desi American communities across the country including those who are part of our Spartan community. 

These killings come on the heels of years of rising hate motivated attacks against APIDA individuals throughout the U.S. and especially here in the Bay Area. These attacks have escalated exponentially in the last six months with many of the comments insinuating that people of Asian descent are to be blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The most important thing to understand is that hate incidents and racist incidents have wide reaching impacts no matter how geographically near or far in location. They have the potential to negatively and seriously impact individuals and communities in their homes, workplaces, and  everyday lives out in the world. 

As an educational institution we want to frame these incidents in a context to understand their impact, particularly at a time when our campus is actively working to address systemic racism and particularly anti-Black racism. Here is an introduction to the historical perspectives and context to understand the current anti-APIDA hate attacks:

  • They are a part of a long history of systemic anti-Asian hate in the U.S., particularly in California and the U.S. West since the arrival of APIDA communities in the 1800s.
  • Our relations and conflict with Asian countries has been repeatedly weaponized to perpetuate anti-APIDA hate.
  • APIDA communities are viewed  as “forever foreign in the United States, rather than contributing members of our society; regardless of citizenship or immigration status.” 
  • APIDA women have been targeted over twice the rate of others in racist attacks often hyper-sexualized by stereotypes.
  • Anti-APIDA hate must be understood within the larger context and dynamics of historical White Supremacy. 
  • Words matter, language matters, climate matters.

Unfortunately, as we have seen over the years, these hate motivated attacks are increasing toward many communities. As a community we must be vigilant and continue to come together; not just as these incidents are happening to each community, but to reach out to each other in our everyday work, education, and lives. We need to further our worldviews and understand how we can be active allies to each other so we can support our diverse and intersectional community. 

For more information on anti-APIDA hate incidents go to Stop AAPI Hate

Processing Space-Monday March 22nd

In order to support our APIDA campus community, we invite members of our APIDA community of staff, faculty, and students to a processing space scheduled on Monday, March 22 at 7:00 to 8:30 pm. This space is being collaboratively supported by our Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Counseling and Psychological Services; Mosaic Cross Cultural Center; Asian Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association; and the APID/A Task Force. We welcome our community members to join in this group space to share their thoughts, express their feelings, and come together in community. Please register for this space by clicking the button below.

Please note that this processing place is not designed to address those who may be having an urgent mental health crisis.

For Students:

If you have an emergency and need immediate assistance during our hours of operation, there is always a staff member available to assist you either on the phone or in person. Please call 408-924-5910 or visit us in the Student Wellness Center, Room 300B.

For after-hours emergencies, please call 911. If you live on campus, please call campus police at 408-924-2222. You may also call our main number 408-924-5910 after hours and press 4 to connect with the after-hours crisis service.

The County Suicide & Crisis Line is also available at 855-278-4204 (Toll-free) (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This service is also available 24/7.

In addition, you may send a text for help: Text ANSWER to 839863. The Crisis Call Center will respond 24/7/365. They will help get you through it. 

For Employees:

Counseling for Faculty and Staff

Visit LifeMatters® online for more information. Password: SPARTANS

To speak to someone from LifeMatters® confidentially, call 800-367-7474.

The County Suicide & Crisis Line is also available at 855-278-4204 (Toll-free) (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This service is also available 24/7.

In addition, you may send a text for help: Text ANSWER to 839863. The Crisis Call Center will respond 24/7/365. They will help get you through it.

Racist Zoom Bombing

SJSU campus community,

On Friday, February 26, a SJSU Black Male Collective event was attacked by a racist Zoom bombing. San José State University condemns this vile act that has recently occurred in Zoom meetings across the country as part of a national campaign of toxic anti-Black racist hate. 

Members of SJSU’s administration and staff have reached out to students and other campus community members who attended the event to offer counseling and other resources. SJSU Information Technology (IT) is currently investigating the matter. With many events and meetings still being held virtually during the pandemic, we encourage the campus to review their tips and FAQs on how to secure Zoom meetings. We will continue to work with the leadership of Black Male Collective and other members of our community to provide support.

These racist acts are an attack on the Black campus community and the values we hold dear. No one should be subjected to this type of heinous activity. To be clear, we condemn the particularly toxic hate of white supremacy. We stand in solidarity with the students of the SJSU Black Male Collective and the Black Spartan community whom this act was meant to threaten and terrorize. We must come together as a campus community to address anti-Black and systemic racism. 

Sincerely,

Kathleen Wong(Lau)

Chief Diversity Officer

 

Asian Lunar New Year

Dear campus community,

As many of our Spartan community celebrate the Asian Lunar New Year and the Year of the Ox, I am writing to express my wishes that you and your family have time to safely gather, connect, and reflect. The days-long celebration of the Asian Lunar New Year is a time of renewal and connection with family and friends that many look forward to all year. It is a time when great hope is expressed for the new year even as we reflect on the challenges we have had with loss and our lives disrupted by the pandemic in so many different ways. 

In the midst of this time of rituals of renewal and looking forward, I want to express my and our campus leadership’s support for solidarity with our diverse Asian Pacific American and Desi American (APIDA) communities. At the same time, I must express my concern and alarm at the recent sharp rise in incidents of violence, hate, and targeting of Asian Americans in this country. In the Bay Area, in particular, where many of our campus community and their families live and visit, we have witnessed  a deadly attack in San Francisco of an elderly Thai American man and another attack of an elderly Asian American woman who was robbed and assaulted in San José. There have been still more violent attacks in Oakland’s Chinatown in recent weeks. 

These attacks come on the heels of a year where there has been a sharp steep resurgence in anti-Asian hate incidents reported in the United States, attacks attributed to the rise in xenophobia and racist blame for the pandemic against those of Asian descent fueled by public racist rhetoric. It is reassuring to know that the Biden Administration signed an Executive Order on January 26, 2021 decrying and addressing systemic change on xenophobia, hate incidents and racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. But, this work must continue on both a local and national level.

At San José State University, we also decry systemic xenophobia and racism against our APIDA communities. We know that these incidents affect our campus climate and sense of belonging. Creating an environment that celebrates the richness of our racially and ethnically diverse community is one of our most important priorities. Our overall work on systemic racism reflects our core values of equity and inclusion and the mission of our university to support our students, staff, and faculty so that everyone can thrive and grow. And, although this work is made harder by our need to work and learn remotely, it is work that we will continue to do. 

Please join me in taking a moment to reflect on the Asian Lunar New Year as a time of renewal in family and community. May all of our Spartan friends and families connect and hold each other in community at San Jose State University.  

Sincerely,

Kathy Wong(Lau)

Chief Diversity Officer

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If you are a student and would like to connect with the APIDA Task Force on campus please email MOSAIC@sjsu.edu. For information on future APIDA events follow them on Instagram @sjsuapida.

If you would like to connect to the Asian Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association or APIFSA please email them at sjsuapifsa@gmail.com.

If you are the target or witness xenophobic or racist exclusion on campus, in the classroom or with university related activities, there are resources on our campus to report these incidents. If you experience or witness an immediate physical threat or danger, you should contact our University Police immediately by phoning (408) 924-2222, or dialing 911.

Please know that the following psychological and mental health support is available during business hours and 24/7: 

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) for students

  • We have extended hours from Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am – 5:30 pm. You can call them at 408-924-5910.
  • If you need assistance after office hours, please call:
    • Call 408-924-5910 and press 4 to reach the after-hours crisis services 
    • Call the Santa Clara County Suicide and Crisis Service at 855-278-4204
    • Text “Hello” to 741741 to be connect to the National Text Crisis Service

Empathia Counseling through campus or Life Matters Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for employees

  • Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10am – 12pm. And on Thursday from 11am – 1pm. To schedule an appointment, please call or text Rebecca directly at 408-784-4287. You may also email Rebecca at rebeccatochoalmft@gmail.com.
  • You can access LifeMatters services by calling 1-800-367-7474. An experienced, licensed professional will personally answer your calls 24/7. The LifeMatters website offers educational information, self-serve options, and interactive tools. Visit mylifematters.com