Yesterday many Wesleyans attended a vigil to stand against hate directed towards our Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander friends, colleagues and neighbors. The vigil called attention to the damage done by recent street attacks, like the heinous crime in mid-town Manhattan just a few days ago when an AAPI woman was brutally assaulted, while others looked on with seeming indifference. Later yesterday, one of our students reported being the object of drive-by racial slurs and spitting as he walked home. I am disgusted and dismayed by these efforts to intimidate and marginalize the AAPI community.
Let’s say it again: Hate and violence have no place here. We will stand against racist and xenophobic violence, and we will do our best to protect and support all members of the extended Wesleyan family. We embrace the AAPI community in solidarity against this latest wave of attacks.
Standing by our students and colleagues of Asian descent, with a broken heart and utter disbelief that hate hasn’t just crept back into our country, but has stormed it.