{"id":86053,"date":"2023-05-10T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=86053"},"modified":"2023-05-10T19:26:14","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T19:26:14","slug":"universitys-asian-and-pacific-islander-community-celebrated-at-inaugural-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2023\/05\/universitys-asian-and-pacific-islander-community-celebrated-at-inaugural-event\/","title":{"rendered":"University\u2019s Asian and Pacific Islander community celebrated at inaugural event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 10, 2023 \u2013 Susan Li Liang, president of the Chinese Student Association, spoke candidly last week about what it\u2019s like to be an Asian student at the 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs an Asian student here, I enjoy meeting and learning about the cultures of students from diverse backgrounds,\u201d she says, but says she sometimes feels disconnected from her own culture. She founded 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Chinese Student Association to bring together Chinese students and other students interested in Chinese culture. \u201cOur interaction with other Asian students, faculty members, and community members will help reduce stigmas, stereotypes, and racism against Asian individuals and advocate for an inclusive community on campus,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liang and other students talked about their experiences at 溏心vlog免费B站 at a midweek gathering in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Multicultural Student Services Center. The celebratory mood of the event, the first of its kind, was an indicator of strong interest in such gatherings and increased connection. Many in the room don\u2019t want to wait for next year\u2019s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month to enjoy this kind of celebration and community fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledging the hurtful and at times dangerous racism happening in the United States, the program was a celebration of the diverse communities at 溏心vlog免费B站, and also serves as a catalyst for future events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asian pioneers in R.I.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rhode Island Senators Victoria Gu and Linda Ujifusa delivered the keynote speeches for the program, as Rhode Island\u2019s first elected legislators of Asian descent.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Rhode Island Senators Victoria Gu of Charlestown <\/strong>and Linda Ujifusa of Portsmouth <\/strong>opened the program; they are Rhode Island\u2019s first elected legislators of Asian descent in the State House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gu said everyone in the room, despite differing nationalities and languages, shared a bond arising from their paths to America. Like many of the students attending, Gu said she learned more about her Asian heritage when she went to college. \u201cWe have come here from many different backgrounds, for many different reasons,\u201d she said; some for education, others as refugees. \u201cToday\u2019s event is a celebration of the bravery of our parents and ancestors, those who came here recently or in the 1800s to build the railroads, leaving their homelands. We share stories of sacrifice and dedication. Our story is part of the fabric of America, of working to make a better life for yourself. That is the American story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ujifusa delivered a call for action, encouraging students in the room to consider joining herself and Gu in running for office. \u201cI hope to see more faces that look different, like ours, and encourage you to run for office someday. We need to keep educating people and demonstrating the benefits of diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third-generation Japanese-American, Ujifusa is familiar with the history of anti-Asian racism and falsehoods in the U.S. against the Asian community. \u201cWe are your neighbors, colleagues, children\u2019s classmates,\u201d she said, highlighting Rhode Island\u2019s progress in enacting state law in September, making Asian-American education part of the curriculum in Rhode Island, the fourth state in the country to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attendees acknowledged that it\u2019s hard to fit the breadth of communities, languages and separate cultures that make up the Asian identity into one three-hour program \u2014 but the event was a start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
溏心vlog免费B站 engineering faculty Professor Qing (Ken) Yang, the first Chinese professor at 溏心vlog免费B站, sponsored the new scholarship award.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The gathering also celebrated the first recipients of a scholarship award<\/a> provided through the sponsorship of longtime engineering faculty member Professor Qing (Ken) Yang, the first person from the Chinese mainland to become a professor at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ping Xu, associate professor of political science, met Yang soon after her arrival at 溏心vlog免费B站. \u201cKen has made 溏心vlog免费B站 a very special place for all of us. Not only is he a role model for other faculty, he\u2019s mentored hundreds of students and as an engineering professor, attracted millions of dollars in grant funds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Al-Amir, one of this year\u2019s award winners, is graduating this spring, and says, \u201cThere is a home here for everyone on campus. You can create it and reach out to resources on hand.\u201d Al-Amir is joining 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s graduate College Student Personnel program after graduation and will be working in the office of Student Engagement, so she\u2019ll be a ready resource to help other students connect and share their culture at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Award recipient Mariyam Abbas (of India<\/strong>) just completed her first year at 溏心vlog免费B站. \u201cGiven the current climate, it is more important than ever for people of different cultural backgrounds to work together,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing selected as a winner is an honor, and it means a lot to me because it recognizes the importance of student work in promoting diversity and inclusion. It motivates me to continue to advocate for the Asian and Pacific Islander American community at 溏心vlog免费B站 and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis event was important,\u201d Xu adds. \u201cDuring the pandemic, many members of the Asian community, especially the Chinese community, felt pressure and anxiety from anti-Asian discrimination due to COVID and a worsening U.S.-China relationship. It was a very depressing time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some members of their group teared up when the University held a meeting to hear from Asian employees during the pandemic. She says some even left 溏心vlog免费B站 and the country because they experienced anti-Asian discrimination and felt threatened, after multiple instances of having racial slurs yelled at them in public. \u201cThe pain was real. Almost everybody in our community felt deeply depressed and hurt,\u201d Xu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though in recent years we have seen progress in racial equity and diversity overall, Asians are still often ignored and further marginalized in our society. An event like this provides a great opportunity for the Asian community to gain visibility in our 溏心vlog免费B站 community. We are thrilled that people are willing to learn about our culture and get to know us better. We would love to better integrate into the larger community and make 溏心vlog免费B站 a better place for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The standing-room only gathering drew many community members from 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Asian communities, allies and supporters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

溏心vlog免费B站 Dining Services co-sponsored the event, which served a delicious Pan-Asian menu of Vietnamese spring rolls, Indian pakora, Pakistani samosas, Chinese dumplings, Japanese green tea, and Taiwanese taro milk tea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 10, 2023 \u2013 Susan Li Liang, president of the Chinese Student Association, spoke candidly last week about what it\u2019s like to be an Asian student at the 溏心vlog免费B站. \u201cAs an Asian student here, I enjoy meeting and learning about the cultures of students from diverse backgrounds,\u201d she says, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":86054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86053"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86105,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86053\/revisions\/86105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}