Members of the Peninsula College Community:
Tuesday’s tragic shootings in Atlanta, which took the lives of eight people, underscore a disturbing trend in our country since the start of the pandemic: growing numbers of threats and violent acts targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Threats and violence targeting individuals of Asian or Pacific Islander descent have a long history in our nation, but have been amplified by inflammatory rhetoric since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic. Similarly, violence against women, especially women of color, constitutes a moral crisis for our nation.
Peninsula College condemns these threats and any violence targeting persons on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender identification. We stand up for our AAPI students and staff, and with our international students who hail from numerous countries in Asia and from across the globe, against this fear and intolerance.
Our campus and community are enriched and made stronger by the diversity of our staff and students. We must continue our work to create and sustain a safe, welcoming college community for all, a community that values diversity, strives for equity, and celebrates inclusion. By continuing this work, we can demonstrate the power of education to our broader communities and be agents for positive change. It is incumbent on us to lead by example.
If you or someone you know are the target of a hate crime, I urge you to contact the appropriate agency listed on the attached EAP resource sheet. It offers guidance and resources for both those who are targets and witnesses of hate crimes.
Be safe and look out for one another.
Luke Robins
President
Click here to download ANTI-ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER VIOLENCE: TIPS AND RESOURCES (PDF)