WACO, TX — Baylor students of the AAPI community and other backgrounds have come together to stand up and make a change. This comes after an Asian American student was verbally and physically assaulted based on his race..
Christine Phan, coalition intern under the Department of Multicultural Affairs, organized Tuesday's demonstration and says it's time the AAPI community has a voice.
"The stereotype is that Asians are not politically active, and so just to have everyone come out to today, just to see everyone post the fliers on social media, it means a lot," Phan said.
She knew without this demonstration, things would never change.
"It would be a disservice if this demonstration didn't happen today," Phan continued.
Joshua Myung is a fraternity brother and friend of the man assaulted. Growing up, Myung says he was known as the "model minority."
"That where somebody who's kind of left in the middle of like, where we don't get racially discriminated and we don't have much of a voice," he said.
Another organizer, Nicole Ma, hopes this demonstration helps bridge a gap between all races.
"Coming together to talk with professors, to come together as peers and to lay out the needs we definitely want to see on campus is definitely very important," Ma said
Students marched silently throughout the Baylor campus, holding signs that asked everyone to stop the hate towards the AAPI community and any other group of people.
Ma hopes this demonstration helps start a conversation, and that moments like this continue to happen.
"We want to build a relationship with our administration and understanding that these are matters we definitely need to be addressed," Ma said.
Students like Myung want to call Baylor home but have a hard time doing so knowing they could be assaulted next.
"It's upsetting that it had to happen at Baylor University. I don't want to fault Baylor. I want to fault the students who did the thing," he said.
All the students say even though they're acting on the issues now, there is a long road ahead for monumental change throughout the student body and university.
Baylor University released the following statement after the assault.
“The University was made aware of the alleged incident via social media on Wednesday afternoon (April 21), and it was immediately reported to the Equity Office for investigation.
“We grieve with our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) neighbors, brothers and sisters in the midst of what has been an intense year of anti-Asian sentiment and violence. We are constantly reminded that racism is not merely a black and white issue; it affects all of us. As fellow bearers of the image of God, our AAPI students are part of our Baylor Family, and we especially will not stand for such sentiment, bias or violence within our community. If any student experiences such things, the University provides resources through the Equity Office and law enforcement as well as additional support through Spiritual Life, the Counseling Center and Multicultural Affairs.”
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