On Monday, November 23, 2020, The College of Liberal and Professional Studies hosted a webinar with panelists from Penn’s Task Force on Support to Asian and Asian-American Students and Scholars. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an alarming increase of anti-Asian behavior began at Penn, in Philadelphia, and beyond, and members of the Penn community recognized the need to offer support for students and staff by bringing together the University’s experts, resources, and support staff.
Director Scott Moore of the Penn Global China Program gave an overview of the Task Force’s three main initiatives: to create a better reporting structure for victims or witnesses of anti-Asian behavior; to develop programming to raise awareness of anti-Asian behavior and its historical roots; and to demonstrate the determination of Penn community to stand together anti-Asian behavior with a new campaign called “Flatten the Hate.”
Several other members of the Task Force joined the webinar to discuss their roles and the support services they have to offer:
- Paige Wigginton, Senior Associate Director of Special Services at the Division of Public Safety, gave participants an overview on reporting incidents of bias, emphasizing that University resources are focused on helping victims holistically.
- Sharon Smith, Associate Vice Provost for University Life, explained the Task Force’s focus on offering a multidisciplinary approach to student support by working closely with other divisions across the University.
- Ryan Villanueva, Assistant Director for Integration and Community Engagement at International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), gave an introduction to the “Flatten the Hate” campaign, and reviewed other initiatives ISSS is developing around internal training and creating virtual connections.
- Peter Van Do, Director of Pan-Asian American Community House, shared details about Penn Global’s dialog series, “Stopping the Hate and Starting to Heal.”
- Dr. Josephine Park, Director of Asian American Studies, reviewed a short history of racism and demonization against Asians in the US, noting the recent ties of the Asian and Asian-American communities to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Watch the Task Force webinar:
Resources for students and staff:
Task Force on Support to Asian and Asian-American Students and Scholars
Learn about the Task Force’s objectives and initiatives, find ways to report hate and bias incidents, get resources to prevent and respond to anti-Asian behavior.
Task Force on Support to Asian and Asian-American Students and Scholars website >
“Flatten the Hate” campaign
Learn more about the campaign at Penn News >
Penn Global dialog series: Stopping the Hate and Starting to Heal
Visit the Penn Global site for details on programming.
Reporting anti-Asian incidents
- Visit the Task Force website and access the Resources for Reporting for Hate and Bias Incidents section for reporting links.
- Contact Special Services in the Division of Public Safety 24-hour helpline at (215) 898-6600 or by email at Specialservices@publicsafety.upenn.edu. Special Services is able to assist all Penn students, faculty, and staff regardless of school/center affiliation.
