AASC Provides Support in Response to Racial Slurs

(photo credit: Trisha Arora)

Tonight, the Asian American Student Collective (AASC) is coming together to host a gathering at AAA House (107 High Street) from 6-8PM to respond to a despicable incident that happened yesterday in the wake of the election results. The following post contains a racial slur.

AASC was contacted by RAs in an underclassman dorm about an incident where an Asian student received a message with a racial slur placed in their backpack. The note, which read “your time is up ch*nk,” was found sometime last night. This morning, the RAs sent an email to the residents of the dorm in question. Some of the text of the email is below:

“This is NEVER okay. Repeat: this is NEVER okay. I’m disgusted while simultaneously trying to be strong. For those of you who still believe this is a game, a “I proved you wrong,” “I’m exercising my freedom of speech,” it is sad how much your mistaken. People are literally hurting, crying, and contemplating. Trump’s win has tremendous ramifications that are deadly. That note is a hate crime among many others that is not excusable.”

Tonight’s meeting is primarily for Asian and Asian American students in need of a safe(r) space to gather and respond. From 6-7, there will be a discussion and debrief, followed by an hour for people to be together.

AASC released the following post on FB:

The Asian American Student Collective (AASC) would like to assert more now than ever that we stand against hatred and discrimination in any form. Recently a Wesleyan student found a note in his bag saying, “your time is up chink.” This blatant derogatory threat is disgusting and unacceptable. We will do everything in our power to combat this kind of shameful hatred. We hope students will use us a resource for whatever they may need–love, community, action, support, etc.

The Asian American community has long stood as both oppressor and oppressed. To our Black, Latinx, Middle Eastern, Native American, Muslim, queer, trans, immigrant, female, and other affected peers:
We stand with you, we will fight with you and for you, we will work within our own community to become better allies.

Yours in loving solidarity, AASC

It need not be said that this is hateful and violent. At a time when much of our campus is reeling from the results of the election, mourning and beginning to organize, this serves as a sobering reminder that we need to pay attention. We need to protect each other against violence and vitriol that is becoming more and more widely and publicly accepted, even as we recognize the violent history of our country and our institution. This is not the first time our community has been hateful, nor will it be the last. (And much of the hate endured by people of color and others on this campus goes unrecognized by many.) As we grapple with our future, let’s do our best to support each other, and condemn this kind of behavior in our community.

This article was a collaboration between wilk and kitab.