DAY OF ACTION #ASIANAMERICANSTUDIESNOW
CALL OF ACTION FOR AN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT AT BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
December 7th 2015 — December 8th 2015
Too often, the Asian or Asian American experience is silenced and we are denied our right to be heard. Too often, we assume that assimilation means acceptance and that Brandeis has never been and never will be our house.
Now is the time to show that we are unafraid to voice our place and belonging at Brandeis University. We are contributors to Brandeis and have been dismissed for too long. For years, students have tried to voice the need for an Asian American Studies department. We must understand the injustices of our past and must be given the chance to see our places in the history of America. We wish to hear our ancestors stories while taking control of our own.
We cannot subscribe to complacency any longer. We cannot allow ourselves to be silenced and unheard. We must take action and stand up for ourselves. In doing so, we must foster mutual support among our peers and truly come together as a community. Come together to show Lisa Lynch and other members of the administration that our voice must be taken seriously and that it is full of strength and support from our peers, rich with our diverse experiences, and willing to demand what we deserve.
What is Asian American history if it is never taught to the generations their ancestors died for?
Monday, December 7th 2015
1. Email Campaign
Send Lisa Lynch (lisalynch@brandeis.edu), Susan Birren (birren@brandeis.edu), and Irv Epstein (epstein@brandeis.edu) the following email:
Dear Lisa Lynch, Susan Birren, and Irv Epstein,
Brandeis University subscribes to a mission that emphasizes citizenship, diversity, and the pursuit of knowledge. Brandeis talks frequently of the importance of Social Justice, student activism, and seeking truth even unto its innermost parts.
However, Brandeis students — particularly Asian American Brandeis students — currently have no access to the rich and unquestionably important history of Asian Americans. Asian American students are denied the opportunity to learn about themselves and their collective past; they are unable to seek the truth of the complex relationships between their community and systems of oppression in America.
Brandeis University’s commitment and enthusiasm towards diversity is meaningless if Brandeis does not truly act in manners that support its diverse student body. We ask that Brandeis University recognize the imminence and importance of the call for an Asian American Studies Department and fulfill its obligation to Asian American students, as students and seekers of knowledge, to listen and provide.
We ask that you recognize the efforts of the Brandeis Asian American Task Force to bring an Asian American Studies department to Brandeis by signing the contract provided in the Letter to the Administration on the demand for an Asian American Studies Department by December 8th, 2015 11:59PM. For Lisa Lynch, if not already held we ask that you call an emergency meeting with the Board of Trustees in recognition of how urgent and important this matter is.
Sincerely,
The Concerned Students of Brandeis University
2. Call Campaign
Call Lisa Lynch at 781–736–3001 expressing your support of an Asian American Studies Department at Brandeis University. For ease, you can recite the following message:
Dear Lisa Lynch,
Brandeis University’s commitment and enthusiasm towards diversity is meaningless if Brandeis does not truly act in manners that support its diverse student body. We ask that Brandeis University recognize the imminence and importance of the call for an Asian American Studies Department and fulfill its obligation to Asian American students, as students and seekers of knowledge, to listen and provide.
We ask that you recognize the efforts of the Brandeis Asian American Task Force to bring an Asian American Studies department to Brandeis by signing the contract sent to you by December 8th, 2015 11:59PM. If not already held, we ask that you call an emergency meeting with the Board of Trustees in recognition of how urgent and important this matter is.
Sincerely,
The Concerned Students of Brandeis University
Tuesday, December 8th 2015, DAY OF ACTION
1:30–3PM Bernstein-Marcus Administrative Building
- DAY OF ACTION RALLY
It’s time for Asian and Asian American students to rise and share our stories. Share our experiences of feeling othered in America, at Brandeis University, and the pain of the immigrant experience. Vocalize the diaspora and break the image of the model minority.
Fellow people of color and allies, show your support at our Day of Action Rally by bringing your voices and bodies. We value and love your support — now is the time to help tell Lisa Lynch and the Board of Trustees that our voices matter and we must be heard. We will hold Brandeis University accountable for the diversity it celebrates and the Asian and Asian American students they admit, but fail to serve.
Join us at 1:30PM on December 8th at the Bernstein-Marcus Administrative Building.