Del Norte’s First AAPI Panel: Was it effective?
In response to the recent rise in anti-Asian sentiment, Del Norte’s Racism and Equity task force hosted its first cultural awareness panel on April 7th in order to highlight the voices of Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
The panel itself was composed of 8 student panelists and 2 moderators who directed the conversation. Panelists discussed their experiences with Asian stereotypes and racism, their perception of the model minority myth, what they’d like teachers and staff to know in regards to the Asian American experience, and their feelings toward the rise in anti-Asian sentiment.
At one point, the AAPI panel had 135 students in attendance.
Panelist Minju Kim (‘23) expanded on her experience as both a speaker and observer. Kim mentioned that she gained new insight after hearing about the other panelists’ experiences, especially the ways in which they related to her own.
Kim noticed commonalities in the way the model minority myth pressured AAPI students into being better than their peers. She also said that many AAPI panelists had a similar experience hearing insults about their cultural foods.
Kim went on to say that “although [the panelists] may share some common experiences or thoughts, we also had some very different perspectives. It was good that we all felt Asian culture should be shared and educated but it was also interesting to learn about the individual experiences that each person went through. Overall I learned that others were willing to stick up for themselves just as I was, and that made me feel empowered.”
Kim hopes the panel will have “sparked people to start thinking about how we feel as people who are being targeted today, and I hope it started a conversation about how people in the community, regardless of race, can help others who are being victimized right now.”
One member of the audience, Eva Crickard (‘23) remarked that this panel helped her know what to look out for when trying to support the AAPI community. She commented on how Kim’s experience having to extensively practice English outside of school in order to fit in resonated with her.
“It’s so disappointing to me that that’s something she felt was required of her. It’s such an unreasonable thing for a second grader to have to do.”
Crickard said that the AAPI panel was effective in raising awareness about the microaggressions students in the AAPI community face and the harmful effects of them.
“If you understand the AAPI students’ point of view, if you understand how these microaggressions are hurting them, you’ll be more inspired to take action against it.”
Del Norte’s first AAPI panel aimed to portrayl AAPI experiences and start conversations about how to combat anti-Asian sentiment and highlight cultural experiences.