Category Archives: Inclusion

Inclusion & Advocacy by Luis Aquino-Cristobal

Luis Aquino-Cristobal is the A.S. Director of Intercultural Affairs. In this Spartan Voice by A.S. Blog, Luis shares his story on Inclusion and Advocacy, two of eight Core Values in the Associated Students Strategic Plan. Read more about our organization’s values in the A.S. Strategic Plan here.

Inclusion and Advocacy
Silicon Valley is a supposed hub of liberalism. Many would argue that our area and state set the bar for democratic and liberal ideals because of its diverse population and culturally rich region. However, this is not true, especially as we witness our marginalized communities facing ostracism as “perpetual others.” 

Inclusion is an increasingly important value, it reminds us of the responsibilities we bear to ourselves and others, something increasingly lost in hyper-individualism and institutions like ours. 

As an Indigenous person (Ben’ Zaa/Zapotec, Indigenous to the Valles Centrales region of Oaxaca), this treatment is not a foreign experience or a distant memory but is a part of our past and present. 

Where We Are Situated
We live and learn on the stolen and unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone, the original stewards of this land, predating Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization. Our institution acknowledges this to an extent. 

Land Acknowledgments were used by many Native communities before being adopted by Non-Native institutions to honor and recognize the land that settlers stand on. Although important, many non-native institutions usually stop at this step, believing that it is enough to acknowledge without taking action, listening to, and engaging with Native communities. Perhaps some believe that this is the only help they can give to Native communities, but this would be wrong. There is also growing frustration in many Native communities with the appropriation of the Land Acknowledgement by settler communities as there are no actual institutional changes in the ways they interact with Native communities on campus and around them. 

I am grateful to have an amazing group of people who are dedicated to ensuring that Native/Indigenous students have a place on campus. Staff, faculty, and countless students have been advocating for a space where we can create community, find resources, and be supported throughout our academic journeys at SJSU. 

This is not a radical ask, in fact, we are very fortunate to have different centers in our campus dedicated to aiding marginalized students. It has been through groups like the Native American Student Organization (NASO) and the Gathering of Academic Indigenous and Native Americans (GAIN) and their collaborations with other multicultural centers across campus and the Solidarity Network that we have been able to host community events and foster a sense of community in an institution that ignores us. 

It has been my personal experience that there is little to no support from others outside of our collaborators. SJSU has fostered hostile environments for many students in our community. Anti-indigenous sentiment runs rampant across many disciplines, the treatment of our cultures as a thing of the past, and the depreciation of our cultural knowledge, paired with micro-aggressions and harassment, from other staff, faculty, and students. 

A prominent example of this occurring on our campus took place in the Anthropology department, where a professor desecrated native remains. There was a lot of backlash. This example has highlighted various issues, namely the overt display of Anti-NAGPRA sentiment from various staff and faculty across campus. 

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) enforces the repatriation of Native remains and artifacts to their respective nations. Many professors stood in opposition to the decision to bar a professor from SJSU’s collection of Native remains. The fact that this happened on an “Inclusive” campus is astonishing. However, it is not surprising that this happened because our voices are not being heard across campus and are often overlooked. Moreover, it enables discriminatory behavior to continue in this field and perpetuates hostility towards Native/Indigenous students on campus. Although the department acted swiftly, it should have never happened in the first place. This points to a severe disconnect between our academic departments, ethics, and consideration for Native communities. In this case, it is crucial that Native communities have a say in how the remains of their ancestors’ are looked after as they await repatriation. These protocols are important because it recognizes the autonomy of these nations and individuals, and also serve as a reminder of the wrongs Institutions have incited onto these communities by possessing the remains.

This brings me to my final point: the institution’s entitlement to knowledge. We as an institution are not entitled to the remains and cultural artifacts of Native communities. More often, Native communities are treated as a commodity to “American” history and discovery, we are seen as by-products or as contributions to the discoveries of white folks. This sentiment is evident on our campus and discourages potential Native students from attending our institution, and discourages many Native students attending our university to report incidents of discrimination because of this sense of entitlement.

Why does it matter?
SJSU is proud of its Minority Serving Institution status, as it should be. This title means that our student body brings a variety of different epistemological perspectives in a way that is not commonly seen on other campuses across the nation. It means we have the possibility of establishing cross-cultural collaboration in a way that a few are lucky to do. However, oftentimes, the flouting of this title supersedes the action that needs to be taken to support our minority communities on campus. 

In 2021, SJSU President Papazian announced the establishment of a Native American Indigenous Student Success Center (NAISSC) on campus. Since the time of this announcement, a physical space has not been identified on our campus. While the university gears for major changes (Transformation 2030), no mention is made of a permanent space for our multicultural center on campus. Moreover, no mention is made about how and to what extent the Muwekma Ohlone is a part of this conversation. Again, I reiterate, we are living and studying on unceded and stolen land, it is vital to ensure that the Muwekma Ohlone are our key partners since there is no plan on behalf of the institution to grant this land back or, in the very least, open the resources readily to members of the community. This could look like waived tuition for Native Students in the CSU, specifically those on whose ethnohistoric lands our institutions stand on. I echo a previous statement, this is not a radical ask! Effective Fall 2022, the UC system has implemented waived tuition fees for Native students.

Final Thoughts
Recent strides for the inclusion of Native/Indigenous peoples present in our community have only been recently made on our Institution’s side. These small steps should not dissuade any other motions of support. I call on the university to take action in supporting Native students on campus by:

  • Listening to the voices of our Native/Indigenous students; 
  • Engaging actively with the Muwekma Ohlone and other key community partners like the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara (IHC); and,
  • Opening a physical NAISSC space.

To accurately comprehend the experiences of our students, I encourage you to actively engage with the Muwkema Ohlone, our campus community (NASO and GAIN), and other key community partners like the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara. In doing so, I ask that you listen attentively and intentionally to our needs and not dictate them to or for us. With this insight in hand, it is important to engage our communities in the execution of these actions to ensure that it is the vision we seek to establish. Moreover, I call on you to take immediate action in supporting Native and Indigenous students on our campus by advocating for and establishing a physical space, approved by NASO and GAIN. It is only through engaging with our community that anyone will be able to understand the advocacy that countless before us have made. 

This is not my will but has been a call resounding on our campus for years. Our institute has failed in providing proper care to our Native/Indigenous students. It can begin to mend our fractured relationship by giving us a space to gather and create community. Community and a sense of belonging are vital to the retention of our students. We can only do so much without institutional support. 

These are just a few recommendations and do not encompass many others identified in a focus group study led by GAIN members on the necessities identified by Native and Indigenous Students on campus. I encourage you to reach out and inquire further about their findings. 

Acknowledgments
I would like to end this blog by thanking the staff and faculty in GAIN, who have advocated tirelessly for a space and representation for Native/Indigenous students across the field, specifically Director Aquino and Dr. de Bourbon who have worked and provided support for Native/Indigenous students and have been creating a community for us. Thank you for your advocacy and your unwavering support for our community. I admire both of these amazing individuals very much. I would like to thank NASO for their support, for creating community, and for helping us find a sense of belonging on campus. I would also like to thank our collaborators who have given us their spaces and have aided us in putting programming together. I would also like to thank the Solidarity Network for their support and the advocacy they engage in on behalf of the students they represent and the campus community.

Inclusion and Openness by Nina Chuang

Embracing My Inner Tigress Through Associated Students
by Nina Chuang, A.S. Vice President

One of my favorite activities is getting hot pot. It’s the best way, in my opinion, to gather our community — friends and/or family — to share a meal, spend time together and enjoy each other’s company. Being a huge lover of food, it was a no-brainer that I chose, in my first year, to go into Nutrition and Food Science. I loved attending classes to learn about the biology and chemical makeup of the food we eat. 

However, there was a missing piece in my college experience: There wasn’t what felt like a home for me on campus! As a commuter student, I would wake up at 5am to take the 181 VTA bus from Fremont to San Jose. From the moment I step foot off the bus, I walk to the MLK, Jr. library. I would study for a while, attend class, and go back to my usual spot on the 4th floor of the library. By the time the evening hit, I would attend Spartan Wushu club training to reignite my passion for Chinese martial arts. 

And it remained the same routine: library, class, library, class, library, Wushu. Then it was time to leave campus to take the last bus back to Fremont, hoping for a smooth ride without any complications. 

My Stripes and Identity
My parents immigrated to the United States to pursue higher education. I am Taiwanese and Malaysian American. Being from a mixed East and Southeast Asian background, I grew up going to Chinese school on Saturdays, and large family gatherings on Sundays. I had the privilege of being raised in an area filled with diverse backgrounds and in a community that prioritized exposure and knowledge about one’s culture. 

In this Chinese New Year of the Tiger, I can’t help but think of my tiger stripes. My stripes are steaming bowls of curry and Laksa on my Malaysian side, and delicious oyster noodles and braised beef on my Taiwanese side. The patterns of these stripes include making paper lanterns and eating Mooncake during the mid-Autumn festival, to wearing Qipao and Nyonya dresses during Chinese New Year and multicultural festivals in school and other places.

My tiger stripes include struggling to speak another language to family across the globe, in my broken ABC (American Born Chinese) Mandarin. My tiger stripes are my Taiwanese grandparents who grew up in the midst of a war and struggled through their education. My tiger stripes are my grandmother, who advocated for the right to education for Chinese Malaysian children. 

My tiger stripes taught me the importance of knowing my heritage and representation. They make up my striped coat of experiences, memories, nuances, and stories.

Inclusion & Openness
Joining Associated Students, SJSU, has helped shape me to use my stripes to advocate for inclusion and openness. 

I joined the A.S. Academic Affairs committee my sophomore year as the College Representative for the College of Health and Human Sciences. Through this committee, I learned the importance of having a seat at the table. I brought my perspective as a CHHS student in the discussions about advising, programs, and student success. 

This committee role motivated me to run on the A.S. Board of Directors and subsequently serve as the Director of Student Resource Affairs in 2020-2021. I then had the privilege of speaking with a variety of liaisons and campus partners about student resources and academic success. In addition, I served on the Academic Senate that same year, working with faculty, staff, and administration to represent the student voice in shared governance. 

Currently, as A.S. Vice President, I continue to serve on the Academic Senate, chair the biweekly A.S. Board of Director meetings, and help the Board work together at in-service events and training. 

Breaking the Silence
Through these experiences, I grew empowered to speak up about global and local issues in the community. In the past two years, the violence against Asian communities has risen to shocking and heart-breaking levels. 

From March 2020 to February 2021, there have been 3,795 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents. But this is not the beginning of the history of anti-Asian hate in America. It started from the Chinese Massacre of 1871, Chinese Exclusion Act, the Watsonville Riots of 1930, Executive Order 9066, to the violence and hate against South Asian Communities after 9/11. Our SJSU history was involved in Executive Order 9066, where the Uchida Hall Boys Gym in the early 1940s served as a processing center for Japanese Americans before they were forced into internment camps.

In 2021, after continually hearing devastating news about the violence against members of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi/American (APID/A) community, I had the privilege to use my platform in A.S. to elevate the efforts surrounding APID/A Spartans. 

With event planning, professional and leadership skills put to work, I have collaborated with various groups on campus to host events that represent and advocate for Asian communities in these dark times.

I helped organizations plan Meet & Greet events, rally on campus, write letters of support addressing healthcare disparities, and meet with folks across campus to discuss APID/A Student Success. 

Together, with your support, after more than 20 years of advocacy from the SJSU community, we were finally able to foster an additional Student Success Center for the Asian Pacific Islander Desi/ American community.

Thanks to your support, we were able to stage the APID/A community Lunar Year Welcome with Lion Dancing on 7th Street and pass a Letter of Support for the Lunar New Year Day Act, which would federally establish Lunar New Year as a Federal holiday. I also had the amazing privilege to introduce Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu and Assembly member Evan Low in our Fall 2021 Spartan Speaker Series. I also have the extreme honor of being your 2021 Homecoming Royalty and Queen (you know I had the rep the Qipao).

Home at Associated Students, SJSU
Associated Students is a place where all backgrounds and cultures are welcome. We empower one another to advocate for our communities, for accessibility, and for ourselves. These experiences taught me the power in inclusivity and having an open mind. Openness leads to connecting with people with different experiences and new ideas. Without openness, it can be difficult to see where inclusivity is needed.  Everyone must be given a seat at the table to carry out the Associated Students’ Mission: to support and represent the students of San José State University by continuing the organization’s legacy of student advocacy and leadership; to enhance SJSU students’ education through high quality programs and services; and to prepare students as they move towards a thoughtful and purposeful life after graduation.

I was empowered through the skills I gained through A.S. and the leaders around me to give myself a seat at the table. As the first African-American Congresswoman Shirley Chrisholm said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair”. 

I encourage you as we grow as leaders in our communities, to have the openness to include and bring that folding chair to the table, excuse yourself or share your seat to uplift others’ voices or bring your own when you see a missing seat at the table. 

My favorite seat is the Asian folding stool though. Which seat is yours?

P.S.: I wanted to give a shout out to the amazing ladies I have the privilege of working alongside in the A.S. Executive Team! Anoop Kaur, A.S. President and Maritza Molina, A.S. Controller: You inspire me everyday to keep learning and growing. <3