Anti-Asian Bias

Dear Montclair State University Community:

Once again in our country, ignorance and fear of “the other” raises its head, this time in deplorable harassment and violence directed at Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. It is painful and deeply disappointing to see such incidents. We long for the time when these destructive instincts will have been educated away, when there will be no “other,” when we, with all our wonderful racial, ethnic, and cultural differences, will be one.

As we prepare to celebrate April as Asian/Pacific Americans Heritage Month at the University, let’s make it count.  As a University that welcomes persons of all backgrounds as full and valued members of our community, let’s make sure that our Asian and Pacific Islander colleagues and students know that we stand with them, that they are, in every way, part of us. Let’s also make it count by doing what we do best, by teaching and studying and learning about the social, political, psychological, and historical issues and realities that help us better understand the root causes of hateful discrimination, so that all of us are better equipped to do the work necessary to the creation of a just society.

Every day in which we reaffirm our purposes as an academic community, education for genuine democracy and freedom for all people, helps move society in a better direction.

Sincerely,
President Cole