USC administration should do more for the AAPI community

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USC’s response to the increased Asian American violent attacks has been nothing short of disappointing, with the bewilderingly mild response set out by the administration a sobering check of reality for Asian Trojans looking to find solace in their university.

Ever since the wake of the coronavirus pandemic back in March 2020, hate crime reports against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities have skyrocketed, with over 3,800 attacks in the past year. More recently, increasing amounts of disturbing incidents have been appearing throughout the United States, from the 65-year-old Asian American woman who was brutally attacked as she walked to church in New York City’s Times Square to the Pakistani driver who was killed when two teenagers carjacked his Uber and caused him to crash. It’s a dark time for Asian Americans, who have dealt with a year of increased social criticism underneath the oppressive reach of the coronavirus.

The administration’s response, however, has been nothing short of half-hearted. On March 19, President Carol Folt sent a schoolwide message to Trojans, expressing regret and sadness for the victims of the Atlanta shooting and noted that the attacks — “which appear to be rooted in a mix of racial, gender and sexual bias — come amid a disturbing rise of anti-Asian violence in our country.” In addition to this, Folt posted an Instagram graphic to her own instagram page, in which she noted that she was “deeply disturbed that the attack comes amid growing violence against Asian Americans.” It’s a nice sentiment but one that ultimately falls flat as an almost useless, if well-intentioned, response. 

When USC’s main Instagram page won’t even acknowledge the increasing racially based attacks on Asian American students, there is an inherent problem at hand. Certain schools have taken it upon themselves to go about further informational spreading. Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, for example, sent out a schoolwide email on March 25 addressing the anti-Asian violence, shouting out specific organizations such as the Annenberg Cross-Cultural Student Association and the USC chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association, along with advertising Asian-led events that would spread information about the issues at hand. 

The University’s main administrative response, however, is offensively light. This type of inaction isn’t necessarily something new to the anti-Asian attacks either; nine months ago, I wrote an article detailing how the administration wasn’t doing nearly enough for the Black Lives Matter movement that was sweeping the country on a national scale, and that members of the administration should be financially supporting the movement. It is a shame to see that in the eight to nine months since that article, the administration has not changed their tactics when approaching these sensitive cultural milestones. 

Let me be abundantly clear; it is not nearly enough to simply link mental health and Asian student services and to repeat empty platitudes that USC stands with Asian students. At the very least, an official, Universitywide email sent out by the president or some other authority figure on how the “model minority” myth has been an extenuating critical reason as to anti-Asian behavior in the country, or how violence against Asians have been contextualized into national matters for years would have sufficed. 

A more detailed response, one rife with links to student organizations that could provide a community in these trying times and educational pieces of reading for those unaware of the current plight Asian Americans face to catch up on, would have been extremely appreciated not just by the Asian American community at USC, but by those outside of it who wish to learn more. 

Instead, Asian Americans are greeted with meaningless assurances that the school stands with Asian students without any real, active measures taken to prove otherwise. There is no better time for Folt and the administration to prove that they have listened to students and their demands, and if it is not, then it stands as a failure by the administration.