Email Message to the Penn State Law Community: Condemning Anti-Asian Violence and Supporting Asian Members of Our Community

Dear PSL and SIA Community:

I want to acknowledge the ongoing reporting of violence against Asians during the global pandemic. During the global pandemic, Asians have experienced increased bullying, harassment, and hate crimes. According to Stop AAPI Hate: “Between March 19, 2020 (when Stop AAPI Hate began collecting reports) and December 31, 2020, Stop AAPI Hate received over 2,808 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate from 47 states and the District of Columbia.”

President Biden issued a Memorandum which states in part “The Federal Government has a responsibility to prevent racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against everyone in America, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. My Administration condemns and denounces acts of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against AAPI communities.”

The Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs also issued a statement condemning these actions and calling “for all Pennsylvanians to stand up against anti-Asian hate and racism in all forms.”

The Penn State Law and SIA community is not immune from the harm caused by the spike in anti-Asian hate, all during a global pandemic and during the Lunar New Year season.

Penn State Law and SIA seek to provide resources to build awareness. We have added the following resources to the Penn State Law Diversity page and invite you to share additional resources.

• Report a Hate Incident: https://stopaapihate.org/
• Support Asian American Colleagues: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/19/how-to-support-asian-american-colleagues-amid-anti-asian-violence.html
• Watch the PBS Special Series Asian Americans: https://www.pbs.org/weta/asian-americans/
• Penn State Law APALSA: https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/about-us/student-life/student-organizations/asian-pacific-american-law-students-association-apalsa
• Anti-Asian Racism, Anti-Asian American Racism, COVID-19, Humor, and DEI https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3664356

It is important that we acknowledge the fear and anger from acts of violence and support our Asian students, faculty, staff, and alumni. It is not ok that Asian members of our community have to live in fear for themselves and their loved ones

Student services in both Penn State Law and SIA are here to support our students. I also wanted to share university resources to support students and employees. 

• Penn State CAPS has a specific page for racial and ethnic minority groups: https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/counseling/resources/resources-racially-minoritized-students 
• The Paul Robeson Cultural Center provides resources and programming:  https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/cultural
• For employees needing support, the Penn State Employee Assistance Program (EAP), through the EAP+Work/Life program, offers short-term counseling from licensed EAP professionals, by phone, email, or in-person to help employees better cope with personal, family and work issues. EAP also offers access to Personal Health Advocates, who can help navigate healthcare and insurance systems, efficiently and dependably. More information is available at https://hr.psu.edu/health-matters/employee-assistance-program.

Each of us has a role to play in building inclusivity through education and our everyday actions. Thanks to the leadership of the Student Bar Association’s Law and Equity Committee and Penn State Law Affinity Student Organizations, Penn State Law will hold a Name Pronunciation Workshop What’s in a Name: Discussing the Importance of Name Pronunciation & Pronouns on Tuesday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. ET. More details will follow. Taking the time learn and say the preferred names of our students, including our Asian students, sends an important message about identity and feeling valued.

Penn State Law is here to build awareness and support our community.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Hari Osofsky
Dean of Penn State Law and School of International Affairs
Distinguished Professor of Law, Professor of International Affairs, Professor of Geography
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park