March 18, 2021: Condemnation of Violence Against Asian Americans

Dear Bucknellians,

Before coming to Bucknell I was fortunate to spend 35 years of my life at another great institution of higher learning, but I've had to grapple with a dark truth behind the fortune that created it. Leland Stanford was one of the "Big Four" who built the western reaches of the transcontinental railroad. This notable accomplishment, so crucial to the western growth of this country, depended on Chinese migrants who were paid less than their white counterparts, suffered great discrimination throughout society, and whose presence was so opposed that it led to federal laws banning further emigration from China to the United States.

Decades later, California was also home to the internment camps that President Roosevelt had created after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Of the 120,000 people relocated and imprisoned in those camps, almost all of Japanese ancestry, a majority were second- and third-generation American citizens.

I know today that some may fall into the trap of seeing these and other such events as part only of a distant past, and are too quick to point to the supposedly comfortable integration of those of Asian descent into American society. But as a Bucknell student painfully explained to me, some of her early classwork here revealed that these assertions just highlight the fact that Asians have often been used as pawns while being held up as "the model minority" in order to shame other groups.

And today, of course, we have seen COVID being labeled as a "Chinese virus" — so much so that there has been a marked increase in violence against those thought to be Asian or Asian-American. Tragically, it also brings us to the recent murders in Atlanta. Eight people, six of whom were Asian, and all but one of whom was a woman, shot dead.

I know that these heinous crimes are only beginning to be investigated. But I also know that the fear and the pain for some in our community, right now, is very real; that it spotlights the lived experience of many here, on this campus and in our surrounds; and that in particular it highlights a violence and hate born of a combination of racism and misogyny that has been seen all too many times throughout history.

We must name these acts for what they are. We must live up to the principles of community that we espouse. We must make real in our lives the ideals of a liberal arts education and the wisdom that it brings. We must actively intervene and not walk away. And we must look for ways to support, hold up, care for, and shower kindness upon those in our midst who so badly need to feel our embrace.

The pandemic has shown us what collective action can accomplish. Surely we can apply that lesson, today and every day, to bring change to our communities. We condemn these murders, this senseless violence, these acts of terror. To every Bucknellian who is hurting or fearing because of the tragedy in Atlanta, or for any reason, we stand with you, we recognize the ugly truths you sometimes bear alone, and we will do whatever we can to lift you high.

John Bravman
President

We join with President Bravman in condemning this violence and standing with our Asian communities.

Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak
Provost

Thelathia "Nikki" Young
Associate Provost for Equity & Inclusive Excellence